High school football capsules for Week 2

Festus (0-1) at Central (1-0)

Last week: Farmington 34, Festus 9; Central 41, New Madrid County Central 6

Last season: Central 28, Festus 16

Outlook: If a team ever had reason to be distracted, it might Central tonight.

The Tigers are playing the first game in their $2.9 million stadium. It also will be Central's first on-campus game in 100 years of football.

Jackson coach Van Hitt encourages his team during the second quarter of the Indians' 33-30 loss to O'Fallon Christian in Week 1. (Kristin Eberts)

There will be plenty of extracurricular activities to mark the occasion. The pregame ceremony will begin 30 minutes before the 7 p.m. kickoff.

First-year Central coach Nathan Norman saw his team post a lopsided win against NMCC in its season opener and will try to keep his team's focus on Festus.

"We have a lot going on," Norman said. "We've tried to downplay it to our kids as much as possible, and we just try to focus on Festus and not worry about all the other things that you could label as a distraction.

"But it hasn't been as bad as I thought, to be honest with you. They've handled it well and hopefully we can make it one more day focused on Festus."

Central largely is rebuilt from last year's 10-2 playoff squad, but that didn't hinder the Tigers from excelling both offensively and defensively against NMCC. The Tigers, who stormed to a 34-0 lead, held a 250-yard advantage in total yards. Central exhibited a balanced offense with senior Christian Cavaness at the controls. Eight Central runners combined for 208 yards on 41 carries, while Cavaness completed 12 of 18 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore Mikey Jones led the Central rushers with 74 yards on 10 carries, while junior Garan Evans led the receivers with four catches for 56 yards.

Tonight's game could serve as a frame of reference for Central. Festus' opening 25-point loss came against Farmington, which resides in Class 4 District 1 with Central. Festus trailed just 7-3 at halftime. Festus limited a potentially high-powered Farmington attack to 273 yards, but its own attack was hurt by three turnovers and mounted just 157 yards. Festus rushed the ball on 40 of its 48 offensive plays but mounted just 75 yards on the ground. Alex Graham led Festus rushers with 37 yards on 10 carries. Sophomore quarterback Blake Goddard rushed 31 times for 34 yards. Goddard also completed 2 of 8 passes for 82 yards with two interceptions. Blaine Eggemeyer had a 65-yard reception for the Tigers.

Scott City (0-1) at St. Vincent (0-1)

Last week: Malden 47, Scott City 21; Park Hills 28, St. Vincent 13

Last season: Scott City 42, St. Vincent 21

Outlook: Scott City will play its first home game since its field was renamed to William Wilthong Field last winter in honor of former coach "Wil" Wilthong, who coached the Rams from 1968 to 1995.

Wilthong, who compiled a 193-71 record, will be honored in a pregame ceremony at 6:30 p.m. and will perform the coin toss.

Scott City and St. Vincent both found reason for optimism in opening losses. St. Vincent held a 13-12 lead in the fourth quarter on a potentially solid Class 3 Park Hills team before yielding a pair of late touchdowns. Scott City fell behind 34-7 by halftime but outscored Malden 14-13 in the second half.

"We came out and went toe-to-toe with them," said St. Vincent coach Paul Sauer, who saw his defense force seven Park Hills turnovers. "They got their licks, but I think they discovered that little St. Vincent can deliver some licks, too. I was impressed with how we flew to the ball on defense."

Meanwhile, St. Vincent senior quarterback Tim Schumer completed 17 of 32 passes for 167 yards in his first game since suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 3 of the 2010 season. Schumer showed he was healthy, accounting for 40 of the Indians' 52 rushing yards.

"Our offense moved the ball, and Tim made some really good decisions," Sauer said.

Schumer's favorite target was junior Jesse Francis, who made eight catches for 70 yards.

Scott City demonstrated that it once again has an effective running game despite the graduation of two-time 1,000-yard rusher Garett Schaefer. Junior Travis Phillips ran for 122 yards on 15 carries, while first-year junior starter Jonathan McFall passed for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Austin Atchley led the receivers with four receptions for 78 yards.

While St. Vincent won the turnover battle in its opener, Scott City was haunted on that front. The Rams had three turnovers returned for TDs.

"We did some good things, but we just shot ourselves in the foot," Scott City coach Jim May said. "We couldn't get out of our own way. We just turned the ball over and didn't tackle at key moments, and that killed us."

Chaffee (1-0) at Portageville (0-1)

Last week: Chaffee 42, Grandview 7; Caruthersville 58, Portageville 0

Last season: Portageville 42, Chaffee 6

Outlook: Chaffee looks for its first 2-0 start in more than 20 years after a dominant win against Grandview. The Red Devils opened the 1990 season with wins against Hayti and Crystal City as part of a 6-4 campaign.

"I really think this is a really big game for us," Chaffee coach Charlie Vickery said. "It's on the road and Portageville is really looking to bounce back. If we could come out there and get a win, I think it would propel us to a really big season."

Chaffee rushed for more than 200 yards against Grandview and held the Eagles to just 2 yards on 20 carries. Sophomore Charlie Montgomery led the Red Devils with 130 yards rushing on seven carries.

Portageville was on the wrong end of a thrashing delivered by Caruthersville. Portageville, which trailed 42-0 at halftime, was held to less than 100 yards in the game and surrendered 490 yards rushing on 27 attempts.

"Caruthersville is such a big-play team," Vickery said. "They've got to be one of the top two teams in the area, if not the best team. They're big, fast, strong. Portageville is a lot better than the score indicated. They have a lot more speed than what we saw in the first week. I just think they have a lot more athletes. We're going to have to play a really good game to stay in it."

Jackson (0-1) at Parkway South (1-0)

Last week: O'Fallon Christian 33, Jackson 30; Parkway South 19, Fox 6

Last season: Parkway South 35, Jackson 13

Outlook: The opposition and the task get bigger for Jackson, which turned over the ball four times in a surprising three-point, season-opening loss at home to Class 2 O'Fallon Christian. The victory was the third in school history for Christian, which started a varsity schedule last season.

"Hopefully we have learned from our mistakes and won't make them again," Jackson coach Van Hitt said. "We had a good week of practice this week, and hopefully we have learned and we will go forward with success."

Jackson sophomore Colten Proffer ran 21 times for 146 yards in his first varsity game, but the yards in the trenches will be much tougher this week. The offensive and defensive lines for Parkway South, a Class 6 school, are formidable, including 5-foot-11, 290-pound senior Donnell Walker.

"They've got good size and they move well," Hitt said.

The Indians also face the task of stopping Patriots senior quarterback Eric Laurent, who is receiving college football interest from the likes of Kansas State, Wake Forest and Indiana, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Laurent runs the option out of an I-slot offense and is a threat to either run or throw. He had a 9-yard TD run in last week's win against Fox, finishing with six carries for 97 yards. He also threw a 25-yard TD pass to senior receiver Tyler Omlid. Senior running back Cameron Bounds also had a 5-yard TD run.

Parkway South will be playing its first game on its new artificial turf. All four Parkway schools recently replaced grass surfaces at an estimated total cost of $2.86 million, according to the Post-Dispatch.

Perryville (0-1) at De Soto (1-0)

Last week: Herculaneum 27, Perryville 8; De Soto 39, Pacific 21

Last season: De Soto 27, Perryville 0

Outlook: Perryville encountered its 13th consecutive loss in the coaching debut of Mike Wojtczuk, but the former assistant emerged hopeful after the 19-point loss to Herculaneum. Perryville trailed 13-8 after controlling possession for the majority of the first half, but injuries and fatigue hurt its chances in the second half.

"That game was a whole lot closer than that score represents," Wojtczuk said. "We were right there where we wanted to be."

The Pirates played the second half without senior running back Kirk Hadler and senior fullback Wyatt McAfee, who had 13 carries for 46 yards. Both also were lost on defense but are expected to play tonight. Junior running back Levi Zook finished as Perryville's top rusher, accumulating 50 yards on 11 carries. Perryville had 175 yards rushing but yielded 368 yards rushing to Herculaneum. Much of the yardage came on big plays by Blackcats running back Frank Abate.

Perryville will face another dangerous weapon this week in senior Jared White, who had 153 yards rushing and 133 yards receiving against Pacific. Overall, De Soto posted more than 500 yards on offense, including 370 yards rushing on 35 attempts. Junior quarterback Austin Hayes was the Dragons' second-leading rusher with 76 yards, and his four completions went to White.

"They'll take the White kid and put him in the backfield and they'll spread him out," Wojtczuk said. "They'll try to get him the football, which I totally understand because he's a heck of an athlete."

-- Jeff Breer