A better season

Even without a sense of urgency, the 2006 season was one of resurgence.

Following a 2005 season when the six local football programs were a combined 20-40 with no appearances in the state playoffs, expectations for 2006 weren't much.

The losing and the absence from the playoffs was a good bet to continue.

Jackson still was in a difficult Class 5 district, and St. Vincent's many graduation losses included the 2004 Southeast Missourian player of the year. Scott City's improved program still had to contend with Crystal City, and Class 4 Central still had West Plains as its district dominator. Perryville and Chaffee were just looking for wins after each posted an 0-10 record in 2005.

But 2006 turned out quite a bit better than expected.

The number of teams at .500 or better doubled from two to four.

The teams posted a combined record of 29-32. And one of the two sub-.500 teams, Central, surprisingly won a district title in dramatic fashion.

The Tigers joined St. Vincent in a second-half resurgence within the season that ended in playoff berths. Central improved from 2-5 entering district play to 4-6 at the end of the regular season. St. Vincent was 2-4 at one point before rolling off a five-game win streak that carried the team through districts and a sectional win against rival Valle.

The Indians' streak came to an end with a 14-7 loss at No. 1 Marionville, which will play this weekend for the state championship.

Chaffee and Perryville got their wins in the first week of the season and went on to win a whole lot more.

Chaffee finished 3-7, its highest win total since 2000, after ending a 34-game losing streak with a 43-14 drubbing of Grandview. The Red Devils also were close against Hayti and Malden before breaking through for a conference win in Week 10 against Portageville.

Perryville won its first three games, the only local team to be unbeaten that long into the season, before losing its starting quarterback to injury in a loss to Ste. Genevieve.

Central finished the year just 4-7 but its 34-31 victory against West Plains, decided with two late field goals by Tyler McNabb, propelled Central into postseason play for the first time since 2003.

Central did it despite losing leading rusher Hykeem Hammonds (630 yards on 98 carries) to injury prior to district play. Picking up the slack were senior quarterback Blake Slattery, who led the area in passing with 1,636 yards and 10 touchdowns, and sophomore receiver George Hamilton, who racked up 566 yards on 32 catches.

The Tigers again lost to Jackson in the 100th meeting of the rivals, but the 24-14 decision was the closest contest in the series since 2003. Central's highlight was a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Hammonds.

The Indians, meanwhile, came out of the game 5-1 and on their way to a SEMO North title, but injuries to running backs Trae Smith and Cody Randen in the game left Jackson limping down the stretch. The Indians finished the season 6-4 and tied with Poplar Bluff for the SEMO North. They came up eight points short against Eureka in district play and lost to district champion Parkway West as well.

Scott City's turnaround also came within the season. The Rams recovered from a 1-3 start to finish 6-4, doubling their win total from 2005.

The Rams still couldn't get past Crystal City, but they finished the year as the highest-scoring local team at 27.3 points per game and had the highest scoring margin at 9.6 points per game.

Junior running back Cody Carlyle led local scoring with 97 points (13 touchdowns, 14 PAT kicks, a field goal and a 2-point conversion).

He rushed for 959 yards, while senior Chris Blankenship added 702 yards, and junior quarterback Ethan Watkins passed for 935 yards. Most of his passes were caught by Jamie Pinkston, who had an area-best 34 receptions for 639 yards and seven touchdowns.

Perryville's 5-5 season was spearheaded by senior running back Kris Cottner, who picked up an area-best 1,225 yards on 239 carries.

Over at St. Vincent, the Indians' second-half march was helped along by Greg Finger's move from receiver to running back. The senior joined with Lucas Robinson and fullback Chris Fischer to form a formidable backfield. The trio racked up 1,873 yards. Finger's contribution of 769 yards came on just 110 carries for an area-best 7.0 per carry average among full-time running backs.

Robinson was among the area's kicking standouts. He had 15 extra points and an area-best seven field goals, including four of 40 yards or more.

Chaffee's Andrew Hendrix kicked 10 extra points and had a field goal, Perryville's Trevor French kicked two field goals and 14 extra points, one of which was the margin of victory in a game. McNabb's field goals -- he finished with four to go with 25 PATs -- sunk West Plains.

And Jackson senior Grant Ressel had the most points by kicking only, hitting all 30 extra points to go with five field goals.

One year after area kickers made seven field goals combined, this year they hit 20.

Scoring increased at five of the six area schools -- only St. Vincent fell off from last year. And after Scott City, Perryville, Central and Chaffee ran double-digit deficits in scoring margin last year, no team reached that point this year. Chaffee went from an average loss of 30 points per game last year to a scoring difference of -6.3 points per game this season.

It was, by just about every measure, a better year.