CHAFFEE ENDS SKID VIA MALDEN FORFEIT

It's been nearly two seasons since Chaffee won a football game, but this week the Red Devils picked up a victory over the top team in the SEMO South Conference without having to break a sweat.

Malden, which beat Chaffee 38-0 in the opening week of the season, discovered after a 42-14 loss to New Madrid last week they had used an ineligible player in its first three games. It turns out the ineligible player was too old, forcing the Green Wave to forfeit their victories over Chaffee and Hayti. Malden's loss to New Madrid does not affect its record.

The forfeit gave second-year Chaffee coach Brian Horrell his first victory at the school.

"You have to give Malden credit," said Horrell, who found out about the forfeit Friday. "They found (the mistake) themselves and didn't hide it. They turned it in and they need to be commended."

The forfeit is Chaffee's first victory since opening the 1995 season with a 25-14 win over Hayti. The Red Devils along with Hayti, which was bombed by Malden 77-6 in Week 2, both improve to 1-2 overall.

Malden, the overwhelming pick to repeat as division champions, fell to 0-3 and 0-2 in the conference with the forfeits. East Prairie and Chaffee are now on top of the Southern Division at 1-0, pending the outcome of the Red Devils conference game a Portageville Saturday night.

"This makes the conference wide open," said Horrell. "It makes it a race again."

It also gives the Red Devils a much-needed victory for their efforts during a losing streak that had reached 21 games.

"The nice thing about it is we preach to our kids that the team that works hard has a better chance to get lucky," Horrell said. "Our kids have been working hard."

Former champs falling

Malden isn't the only 1996 SEMO Conference division winner off to a rough start.

Charleston, last year's Central Division winner, got blasted Friday by state-ranked New Madrid 46-0 to fall to 1-3 overall and 1-2 in the league.

New Madrid, ranked ninth in Class 3A and expected to replace the Blue Jays on top of the Central Division, improved to 3-1 and 1-0 in the division.

Jackson, last year's North Division champion, is the only undefeated team in its division and in the area. The Indians have rolled through a competitive schedule by a combined score of 127-35, including Friday's 34-7 win at Graves County, Ky.

Not this year

The Cape Central Tigers were shooting for their first 4-0 start Friday night against Marshall County (Ky.) since 1977 when the Tigers started 5-0.

But for the second consecutive year, Marshall County handed the 3-0 Tigers their first defeat of the season. Central lost 26-19 last year in Kentucky and 29-6 Friday at Houck Field.

Dutch Myer coached the 1977 Tiger team to a 9-2 record.