FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME: YOU HAVE TO LOVE THE BIG POWER OF THE LITTLE PEOPLE

When covering football games, I try to be as objective as possible.

But there is always a part of me that roots for the little guy.

I love watching the 155-pounder squirt through the arms of a burly, 250-pound defensive lineman. I like it when the 5-foot-6 safety lowers his head and chops down the 200-pound fullback.

There's no doubt that the best skill players in the area this year are Sikeston's Justin Robinson and New Madrid's Ricky Smith.

Both are great running backs who are exciting to watch.

But they're too big for my taste.

Tommy Stidham, Tory Meyr, David Enderle and Jamelle Austin are more my type.

Like them, I was once the little guy. Only I was about as slow as a 300-pound offensive tackle with a pulled groin and a bad case of turf toe. Okay, I wasn't that slow.

But I certainly wasn't as fast nor as crafty as Stidham, Meyr, Enderle and Austin.

Of the dozens of players I've followed this season, those four guys are my favorites.

And here's why:

Tommy Stidham (5-foot-6, 145 pound, sr.)

Of the four, Stidham is the only one I haven't seen play, but he's likely Chaffee's Most Valuable Player and has helped lift the Red Devils from the depths of Hades to a level of respectability.

To me, that's awesome.

The smallest running back in the area is largely responsible for the emergence of one of the worst football teams in the area.

It's the ultimate underdog story.

Chaffee still isn't the best team in the world, but now every Red Devil football fan has something to look forward to on Friday night.

Stidham, also one of the area's top baseball players, excels in all three phases of football and takes quite a pounding every week for a player of any size.

It's seems ridiculous, but it's quite possible that Stidham has gone against defensive linemen that are literally twice his weight. But there's not a 290-pound high school player in Southeast Missouri who will have a bigger impact on a game than Stidham.

Tory Meyr (5-11, 155, sr.)

What's most impressive about Meyr, to me, is that Jackson has become a different team because of him.

Because of his receiving skills -- and the accurate passing of quarterback Chris Stockton, who is not all that big either -- Jackson is no longer a run-it-down-your-throat team.

Unlike the past several years, you can't stack eight or nine in the box.

Meyr, one of the smartest football players you'll ever find, is easily the top receiver in the region this year. He has 30 catches for 548 yards and eight touchdowns thanks to precise patterns, accurate passing and timely play calling.

On defense, Meyr -- a three-year starter -- is as sound as they come from his safety position. He leads the team with three interceptions and is fourth in tackles. When it comes to one-on-one tackling, you won't find any better than Meyr.

David Enderle (5-8, 165, sr.)

Enderle was one of my favorite basketball players to watch last year, even though he didn't score much.

No one thought Enderle would score much in football this year, either.

But the Scott City strong safety/linebacker, who played almost exclusively on defense during his first three years, has quickly become a very fine running back.

Last Monday, he scored four touchdowns -- three rushing and one on a kickoff return -- and last Friday he returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown. Over those two games, Enderle ran for about 180 yards and piled up almost 400 total yards.

In other words, he does a little bit of everything and he's without a doubt one of the toughest players around.

"Any time you take a kid that's his size," said Scott City coach Roy Williams, "you really have to feel for that type of a kid. When you have the 6-foot-4, all-American size, you sometimes hope that kid loses. Enderle's the kid you really want to pull for."

Jamelle Austin (5-5, 170, jr.)

Austin isn't as dominating as Meyr, Enderle or Stidham, but he falls into the easy-to-root-for category nonetheless.

Austin (5-5, 170, jr.) entered this season as the third-string running back.

Last Friday night he ran for 214 yards on 32 carries.

He may have captured the starting spot by default, but you have to respect a guy who enters the season as a third-stringer and runs for more than 200 yards in a game and essentially becomes the team's offensive leader.

A linebacker on defense, the human cannon ball was actually a defensive lineman at the beginning of the year.

Coach Lawrence Brookins wanted to use Austin's speed and agility on stunts to disrupt the opponent's offensive line. The experiment didn't work out, but how can you not root for a 5-5, 170-pound guy who started the year on the defensive line?

Austin has improved with every game on a team that has endured a lot this season. He has done the best that could be expected behind a line that has struggled.

I haven't seen the movie Austin Powers and I really don't care to.

Quite frankly, I'd rather watch Austin's Power and the power of the little people on Friday nights.

Yeah, baby.

Bob Miller is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.