For area squads, only pride at stake this week

~ The six local teams head into their final games without any hopes for playoff berths, ending a 12-year run.

High school football teams across the state have battled all season to be in position to walk away with a district title after this weekend's games.

But, as Week 10 kicks off tonight, all six teams from the Southeast Missourian coverage area -- Central, Jackson, Scott City, Chaffee, Perryville and St. Vincent -- have been eliminated from the postseason.

This marks the first time since 1992 none of the six schools will win a district championship.

Coaches insist there still is plenty to play for this weekend.

"The thing about it, it's a football game," Jackson coach Carl Gross said. "Any time you play a football game, you want to win."

The Indians (5-4 but 0-2 in Class 5 District 1) will try to end its season above the .500 mark.

Chaffee (0-9) is carrying a 33-game winning streak, while Perryville (0-9) also seeks its first win of the year. Defending Class 1 state champ St. Vincent (6-3) will try to bounce back from being blanked last week by Valle, and youthful Scott City (3-6) tries to gain more experience for next year.

Central (2-7), meanwhile, ends its season tonight at home with a rivalry game and the chance for a second-place conference finish. The Tigers had their district hopes dashed last week in a rout at West Plains.

Central is in the same boat as last season -- same record against the same teams -- when it was routed by previously one-win Sikeston 37-8 to finish the year. The Bulldogs are 1-8 again this year, and the Tigers are hoping for a different result.

"It's a big game in that we talk about rivalries -- I know everyone tends to mention the Cape-Jackson one -- I would say as far as the coaches go, the Sikeston-Cape rivalry is a pretty big deal," Central coach Lawrence Brookins said.

Junior quarterback Blake Slattery will start his third straight game for the Tigers. Slattery has given the Tigers a spark on offense with his running ability.

"Blake's kind of a glider," Brookins said. "He's so long and lengthy. With his long strides, he's faster than he looks."

A win would give the Tigers a 2-1 mark in the SEMO North Division, which was won by Jackson. Central's nonconference losses included SLUH, state-ranked in Class 6, and Eureka, which is playing for a Class 5 district title this weekend.

"We've just been so terribly inconsistent," Brookins said. "That word, inconsistent, sums up our year. That inconsistency early on in the year is from a lot of inexperience in important positions. With that type of schedule you get into Week 4 or 5, and youth isn't a good excuse any more."

Scott City, Chaffee and St. Vincent each will play its final game tonight as well. St. Vincent goes to Hayti, Scott City hosts Charleston, and Chaffee travels to Valle.

Jackson plays Friday at Seckman in its bid for a second straight winning season.

"That would be something we could be proud of," Gross said. "We've had some big victories this year."

The Indians (5-4) will have to play their final game of the season without starting quarterback Rex Meyr, who hurt his shoulder in the Eureka loss. In Meyr's absence, the Indians had two fumbles returned for touchdowns in a 24-10 loss.

"For being really a first-year starting quarterback, I thought he had a great year and obviously we're going to miss him," Gross said.

Juniors Alex Austin and Austin Leimer took the snaps at quarterback during practice this week. Austin, who finished out at quarterback in the loss to Eureka, likely will get the start.

Senior running back Joel Penrod should get plenty of carries against Seckman. He needs 120 yards to secure a 1,000-yard season.

"We're just going to have to do a good job blocking, and Joel's got to have a good game running," Gross said. "We're still going to have to throw it."

Perryville, coming off a heart-breaking 21-20 overtime loss to Kennett last week, will have to beat district champion Dexter to avoid a winless season.