CENTRAL VISITS OAKVILLE FOR BIG CAT FIGHT

When the Cape Central Tigers visit south St. Louis County tonight, they will not find the usual Oakville football team.

Oakville is off to a 2-1 start in 1998, with wins over University City (27-6) and Seckman (38-12).

Probably most impressive was the fact that the Tigers went to double overtime before losing to Parkway North, a team which also has beaten defending Class 5A state runner-up Parkway Central this season.

Kickoff is slated for 7:30.

Cape Central (1-2) crushed Oakville 47-20 last year at Houck stadium.

"They seem to be getting better," Central coach Jerry Dement said. "They're a more run-oriented team than they have been in the past. They're fairly basic, and they don't make many mistakes."

Oakville has a strong backfield, including 220-pound fullback LaRon Coleman, who has been an effective between-the-tackles runner in the Tigers' three games.

Oakville also has good size on its offensive line.

"We don't worry about size too much," Dement said. "They tend to move the ball in long drives, so we're going to try to put a little bit more pressure on them, but we have to be patient, make our assignments and play with discipline."

In last Thursday's heartbreaking 18-14 loss to Blytheville, a pair of turnovers inside the Chickasaws' 20-yard line cost the Tigers their second win of the season.

After forcing a turnover with less than two minutes to play in a tied game, Blytheville shredded the Tigers' defense and scored with 23 seconds left in the game.

"Our kids were very disappointed," Dement said. "But if we can get that kind of effort again this week, we'll be alright."

Oakville does not have Blytheville's speed, especially in its defensive secondary. And Dement says Central will try to exploit that deficiency with the pass -- weather permitting.

Quarterback Frank McGinty has completed 69 percent of his passes for 705 yards this year. Chris Allen has caught 29 passes.

Thirty five pass attempts may not be out of the question Friday.

"They've been better against the run than the pass, and if there's anything we think we can take advantage of, it's that they don't appear to be as quick as in the past," Dement said. "We think we can throw the ball, and we've been effective when we have."