A look at this week's high school football games

Tonight's games

Scott City (0-4) at Chaffee (1-2)

Last week: Fredericktown 36, Scott City 14; St. Pius 41, Chaffee 0

Last season: Chaffee 28, Scott City 6

Outlook: Chaffee ended a 21-game losing streak in its rivalry with Scott City in 2007 and has since built a two-game winning streak against the Rams. "That's two too many as far as we're concerned," said Scott City coach Jim May, a former player with the Rams who has lost his first four games at the helm. "We have to play better to put an end to it because they have a good little team." May is a former assistant at Chaffee. The Red Devils have lost their last two games since an opening 12-6 win against Grandview. Chaffee has yielded 40 points or more in losses to Crystal City and St. Pius. "They won't be any hungrier than we are," Chaffee coach Charlie Vickery said. "We've taken butt kickings the last two weeks." The Red Devils fell flat against St. Pius last week with just 92 yards of offense. "We played the worst game we've played in three or four years," Vickery said. "We weren't good in any aspect." Scott City last started a season 0-4 in 1995, when it ended the skid with a 34-0 victory over Chaffee in Week 5. Scott City has been outscored 156-41 thus far, and the problems have started early. The Rams have trailed by at least 15 points at halftime in all four of their games. The Rams yielded 44 second-quarter points to Malden in their season opener, and Scott City was outscored by a combined 73-6 in the first half of its next three games. "We have to figure out a way not to be down two touchdowns when we start to play," May said. "We've been working on it all week. Hopefully with it being a rivalry, it will help us be a little more intense from the get-go. I know they will be." Much of the Rams' offense revolves around running back Garett Schaefer, who has more than 400 yards rushing over the past three games. Scott City junior Jamie Scholz made his first varsity start at quarterback last week and completed only 2 of 10 passes for 5 yards. Chaffee junior linebacker Cody Enderle, the team's leading tackler, will miss tonight's game with a knee injury. Scott City junior linebacker/fullback Wade Keezee will return to the lineup after missing last week due to injury. However, Rams defensive end Todd Morrison will miss tonight's game with a knee sprain.

St. Vincent (0-4) at St. Pius (1-3)

Last week: Maplewood 25, St. Vincent 7; St. Pius 41, Chaffee 0

Last season: St. Vincent 38, St. Pius 9

Outlook: The Indians are off to their worst start since 1991. The Indians led Maplewood 7-6 at halftime last week, but were outscored 19-0 in the second half. That has been a recurring theme for the Indians. With the exception of a 59-7 loss to Valle, the Indians have been in all their games at halftime. And against Valle, St. Vincent scored the first points of the game. "We come out after halftime and we were just flat," St. Vincent coach Paul Sauer said of last week's game. "It looked like two different teams that played the first half and second half. Hopefully we can put together a full 48 minutes." Sauer said as many as eight players were playing on both sides of the ball, and he plans to cut that number down to one or two tonight. "We're going to start off with an offensive and defensive team and see if we can get deeper into the game with fresher legs," Sauer said. The Indians have battled injury problems on the offensive line all season and are starting a sophomore, Tim Schumer, at quarterback. St. Pius is coming off its first victory of the season. The Lancers saw their spread offense break loose for 41 points in their shutout of Chaffee after averaging 10 points in their first three games. The two teams saw each other at the preseason jamboree. "At the jamboree, they struggled with their passing game and didn't have much of a running game," Sauer said. "I'm impressed with the strides they've made in just four weeks." The Lancers mounted nearly 400 yards of offense against Chaffee, churning out 277 yards on the ground in 46 rushing attempts. The Lancers threw only 13 times but completed eight for 120 yards. Tyler Hoog, a three-year starter, has returned to quarterback after missing time due to injury. Hoog has rushed for a team-leading 135 yards on 20 carries. He has completed 24 of 48 passes. Juniors Luke Linderer and Luke Rumping lead the Lancers in receiving. The St. Pius defense had been surrendering an average of 34 points before the shutout.

Potosi (4-0) at Perryville (0-4)

Last week: Potosi 48, Herculaneum 28; Park Hills 29, Perryville 6

Last season: Potosi 24, Perryville 14

Outlook: The task doesn't get any easier for Perryville, which is off to its first 0-4 start since going winless in 2005. Potosi, ranked fourth in Class 3, has rolled over its first four opponents, averaging 41.5 points on offense and giving up 13.5 a game. Perryville will get a firsthand look at one of the top running backs in the state in senior Brandon Bourbon, who only needs to rush for 91 yards to top the 1,000-yard mark this season. Bourbon, 6 foot 2 and 207 pounds, has averaged 227 yards and three touchdowns a game and 12.5 yards a carry this season. Bourbon, who has a 6-minute highlight video on YouTube.com, rushed for 2,420 yards as a junior and was named first-team all-state. Bourbon has been offered scholarships by Big 12 schools Missouri, Kansas and Kansas State but has committed verbally to Stanford, according to rivals.com. When the ball hasn't been in Bourbon's hands, senior fullback Dylan Wyrick has rushed for 272 yards and 9.7 yards a carry. Potosi junior quarterback Matt Marler (6-2, 224) has completed 55 percent of his throws for 614 yards. Garth Rodgers, a junior, leads the receivers with 10 catches for 272 yards and four touchdowns. The Trojans already have avenged a two-point, season-ending regional loss to New Madrid County Central with a 33-point victory in Week 3. Perryville has surrendered an average of 36 points in its four games and averaged four points on offense. Coach Keith Winkler is looking for his first win at Perryville since moving across town from St. Vincent after the 2008 season.

Saturday's game (1 p.m.)

Jackson (0-4) at Hazelwood Central (4-0)

Last week: Sikeston 27, Jackson 0; Hazelwood Central 37, Ritenour 6

Last season: Hazelwood Central 35, Jackson 7

Outlook: Off to its worst start since 1992, Class 5 Jackson finds itself playing the defending Class 6 state champions. Hazelwood Central went 12-2 in 2008 and ended its season at the Edward Jones Dome with a 25-20 victory against Blue Springs South. The Hawks brought a six-game winning streak into the 2009 season and have extended it to 10 games. They currently sit atop the Class 6 state rankings. Jackson has struggled offensively and defensively the entire season. The Indians are averaging less than nine points a game and are coming off a shutout loss to Sikeston. Jackson is averaging less than two yards per rushing attempt and has yielded more than six yards a carry to opponents. Last year, the Indians played the Hawks to a 7-7 tie in the first half, then surrendered several big plays in the second half. "This year we're going into this game trying to get our focus back and trying to improve and get where we need to be for the rest of our season," Jackson coach Van Hitt said. "The problems we're having now is getting focused and staying focused throughout an entire ballgame." After defeating University City 14-12 in its opener, Hazelwood won its next three games by an average of 23 points. The Hawks graduated a 1,900-yard rusher in Maurice Scott, but return quarterback Kerry Gibson, who was a distant second in rushing last year with 682 yards. Junior running back Tra Brown is the Hawks' leading rusher this season with 375 yards and averages 9.1 yards a carry. Gibson, a senior, has rushed for 277 yards and averages 7.3 yards a carry. Rodney Smith, a junior, averages 5.9 yards a carry and has 184 yards. Gibson has passed for 515 yards and four touchdowns. The senior receiving trio of DeAndre Young, Spencer Davis and Jawyne Thomas have combined for more than 300 yards receiving. The Hawks are coached by Richard Nixon. Jackson will play without senior linebacker Cole Rodgers, who reinjured a knee against Sikeston. "Hopefully he'll be back in two to three weeks," Hitt said of the second-leading tackler in the region last season. The Indians will return senior cornerback Jerrett Schwab to the lineup after missing a game with a hand bruise.