HEAVENLY BATTLE IN JEFFCO SHOULD DECIDE RUNNER-UP

Oakville at Cape Central, 7:30 p.m.

Friday's games

(7:30 p.m. kickoffs)

Belleville, Ill. Althoff at Jackson

Waynesville at Poplar Bluff

Caruthersville at Scott City

Chaffee at East Prairie

Portageville at Hayti

Kennett at Malden

Dexter at Charleston

New Madrid Co. Central at Vashon

Perryville at Windsor

St. Vincent at St. Pius

Potosi at Fredericktown

Anna-Jonesboro at DuQuoin

Ballard Co., Ky. at Cairo (7 p.m.)

Two saints will be duking it out for second place in the Jefferson County Conference small school division Friday night, when the St. Vincent Indians travel to Festus to play the St. Pius Lancers.

With Herculaneum (5-0 overall, 1-0 in league) the heavy small school favorite, the Lancers (2-3, 2-0) and Indians (3-2, 1-1) have emerged as the top contenders for second place.

Last year an experienced St. Vincent team won 53-0 on their way to second place in the small school division. But this time the Lancers look to have the experience edge, returning six starters on both sides of the ball from last year's 1-9 team.

"St. Pius has a good solid ball club and an experienced club," said St. Vincent coach Paul Sauer. "They played a lot of young kids last year and took their lumps, but they've played some good football."

Both teams have beaten league-foe Crystal City. The Indians won last week 19-14 and the Lancers beat the Hornets 14-6 in Week 3.

Brian Overberg leads the Lancers offense with 476 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Quarterback Bill Basler adds 399 yards through the air.

While struggling at times offensively, the Indians have used a swarming defense to stay competitive. Senior linebacker Corey Robinson, the lone returning starter from last year's Class 1A playoff team, has 41 unassisted tackles among his 67 total.

"We've made some improvements, but we still have along way to go," Sauer said. "We've developed into a decent football team."

Caruthersville (1-4) at Scott City (4-1)

After two 4-6 seasons under coach Terry Flannigan, the Rams will be shooting for victory No. 5 when they take the field against Caruthersville.

Scott City enters with a three-game winning streak after last week's 59-0 explosion at Chaffee. The Tigers scored for the first time this season in last week's 13-12 win over East Prairie.

The Rams did most of their damage against Chaffee on the ground (411 yards), but Lance Amick remains the top yardage passer in the area with 521 yards. Although it doesn't count toward his passing totals, Amick completed all five of his two-point conversion passes in the Chaffee rout.

Last year Scott City won 17-6.

Chaffee (1-4) at East Prairie (2-3)

East Prairie, coming off a 13-12 loss to previously winless Caruthersville, has a chance to redeem itself against the Red Devils in a SEMO South Conference battle.

Chaffee, coming off a 59-0 Homecoming loss, has struggled for most of the season. The Red Devils lone victory was a forfeit win over Malden.

Chaffee quarterback Matt Graham is one of the top passers in the area with 427 yards, but the Red Devils would prefer to control the ball on the ground with running back Tommy Stidham (325 yards).

Last year both teams came into this contest winless, with East Prairie prevailing 29-9.

Perryville (2-3) at Windsor (5-0)

Perryville halfback Ben Kohm has rolled up some impressive numbers on the ground for the Pirates.

But Kohm's area-leading rushing total of 772 yards pales in comparison to the Windsor Owls backfield tandem of Corey Lawson (959 yards, 13 TDs) and Cody Harris (765, 10 TDs). The Owls have totalled nearly 2,300 yards rushing through five games, with only 110 yards coming through the air.

The Owls have yet to be challenged this season as they open defense of their Jefferson County Conference large school title. Windsor, which returns nine starters on both sides of the ball from 1996, has outscored its opponents 215-14 with four shutouts.

The Pirates, 1-1 in the JeffCo large division, need a win to have a shot at the league title. Last year Windsor won 27-14.

Dexter (2-3) at Charleston (1-4)

In a preseason coaches poll conducted by the Southeast Missourian, Dexter was picked to finish ahead of last year's champion Charleston for second place in the SEMO Central Conference.

The Blue Jays will have a chance to prove the conference coaches wrong when the Bearcats open their league schedule at Charleston (1-2 in the SEMO Central). Last year Charleston won 41-14.

Charleston running back Larico Coleman came back from a one-game suspension and had another huge game in last week's 49-24 loss to Malden. Coleman ran for 264 yards and two TDs on 21 carries and added a 76-yard kickoff return for another score.

Malden (2-3) and Sikeston (3-2) have beaten both the Blue Jays and Bearcats. Besides last week's loss to Malden, Charleston lost to Sikeston 32-30. Dexter lost to Sikeston last week 40-8 and Malden the previous week 17-0.

Potosi (2-3) at Fredericktown (0-5)

After two victories to start the year, Potosi has gone downhill in a hurry with three lopsided losses to Hillsboro, Ste. Genevieve and Valle of Ste. Genevieve.

Of course, Fredericktown has been on a downhill slide since the start of the season. Last year Fredericktown also entered this game winless and came away with a 20-13 victory.

Fredericktown running back Jeremy Penwell continues to account for nearly half of the Black Cats total offense. Penwell, the fourth-leading rusher in the area, has 535 yards and five TDs on 100 carries. Quarterback Andy Clark adds 423 yards and two TDs through the air.

Sikeston open date

The Bulldogs get a week off after dismantling Dexter last Friday 40-8.

Sikeston running back Mark Blissett appears to be good as new after returning from a knee injury that sidelined him for two games. Blissett scored five times and rushed for 236 yards in the win over Dexter. Sophomore replacement Justin Robinson added 121 yards on only nine carries.

Sikeston returns to action next Friday at New Madrid.