Central takes a message from poor jamboree

There aren't a lot of Hallmark moments in the game of football.

But after Central High School coach Lawrence Brookins came home after a disappointing performance in last week's jamboree, his wife, Willetta, thought the occasion might be appropriate.

Brookins smiled as he recalled his other half's advice after a flat performance against Jackson, which looked impressive at the expense of its rival.

"She said send them thank-you cards, saying , 'Thank you for kicking our behinds and waking us up,'" Brookins said.

He said no thanks to the "thank-you" idea but accepted the free lesson that came unaccompanied by the loss.

"They were a little ashamed of their performance," Brookins said. "We still can't figure out why that was the case. Maybe they think they're a little better than they are. We've got some abilities, but we're not perfect by any means."

The Tigers, who return seven starters on both sides of the ball from last year's Class 4 semifinalist, carry the freebie lesson into tonight's season opener against St. Charles West at Houck Stadium.

The Tigers are still at the starting point of a season they hope will take them past the Class 4 quarterfinals, where their past two seasons have ended.

"Even though we felt really bad about the jamboree, our expectations haven't changed at all," Brookins said. "Just our mindset."

The Tigers will open the season against the Warriors for the third straight year. Central is 2-0 in season openers against St. Charles West, including a 21-7 victory last year.

Central broke open a 7-7 deadlock in the fourth quarter for the win. St. Charles West bounced back with wins its next two games, but finished a 2-8 season with seven straight losses.

"They are a team that can beat you," Brookins warned.

The Warriors run a wishbone offense that features senior running backs Tyrell Jones and Brandon Williams, who combined for about 1,300 yards rushing last year.

St. Charles West coach Gary Strauss scouted the Tigers' jamboree and said his team will have its hands full. The Tigers promise to be one of the quickest teams in the area with players like running back/safety Monroe Hicks, fullback/linebacker Jeremiah Dukes and quarterback/safety Mitch Craft.

"Their speed is the biggest thing," Strauss said. " We've got to control the football which hard do against their speed on defense. We need to keep the ball out of the hands of Hicks, Dukes and Craft. We can't allow them be on field too much."

Sikeston at Jackson

Jackson coach Carl Gross takes a revamped team into tonight's opener against Sikeston, but he's not reading too much into an impressive jamboree showing.

"Basically we outmanned Perryville, and against Central we just kind of caught them with their pants down," Gross said. "We already had 36 snaps and that was their first group. We had a couple really good things happen early and just kind of got the momentum."

After displaying the flash of former running back Mario Whitney the last couple of seasons, the Indians may be playing a bit of role reversal against conference opponent Sikeston, a team they've beaten three straight years and in five of their last six meetings.

Last year Jackson posted a 34-7 victory over Sikeston, but Gross contends his team was beat up front by an experienced, physical Bulldog offensive line. Sikeston graduated much of its brawn in the trenches but returns experience at the skill positions, including running back Lavar Morgan, a swift senior who rushed for over 700 yards in the final six games last season. If the Indians key too much on the run, they stand the chance of being burned by a couple of strong-armed quarterbacks, senior Drew Lawrence or junior Blake DeWitt, and a speedy receiver corps.

"We have to be physical and have to hope that we can keep receivers in front of us and get a good pass rush," Gross said. "And at same time, we have to be able to still stop the run."

Jackson displayed a balanced attack of its own in the jamboree. A ground game led by running back Stuart McIntosh and 260-pound fullback Justin Rollet was a nice complement to junior quarterback Tyler Profilet, who'll be making his first varsity start. Profilet demonstrated the ability to burn opponents when he teamed up with speedy senior Tyler Boyd, who anchors the receiving corps, on a couple of occasions.

Ready or not, the Indians will unveil their rekindled power approach.

"You finally reach point where you're tired of practicing," Gross said. "You're not as good as you need be and you know that, but you just have to play somebody else and watch yourself on film in order to get better."

jbreer@semissourian.com

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