High school football capsules: Week 4

Poplar Bluff (3-0) at Cape Central (1-2)

Last week: Poplar Bluff 44, Farmington 30; Sikeston 23, Cape Central 19

Last year: Cape Central 26, Poplar Bluff 6

Outlook: Tigers coach Nathan Norman believes his team was outplayed in last week's upset loss to Sikeston, and he doesn't expect to let it happen again tonight against the Mules.

"We've had a quality week of practice," Norman said. "We've made some changes, and the kids have worked hard. I think they're excited to play."

Thanks to a pair of goal-line stands, Poplar Bluff came out on the winning end of its first conference game last week at Farmington.

The Mules are averaging 42.7 points per game, led by Tristen Francisco, who has a team-leading 11 touchdown passes and also leads the team in rushing attempts (25) and yards (130). Steven Haley recorded a team-high 16 tackles in last week's win over the Knights and is among the leaders on defense. Andrew Miller added 13 tackles for the Mules, and Francisco contributed 10. Poplar Bluff is giving up an average of 15.7 points per game this season.

"Bluff's always going to be well-coached. Coach [Mark] Barousse and his staff do a great job, and their kids play hard," Norman said. "They do a very good job on offense. They move the ball around. They've got a quarterback who's accurate and gets rid of the ball quickly, and they've got several receivers that can catch the ball and make you pay if you're not in the right position.

"They're a big problem. They're coming in and playing well. Our job is to match their enthusiasm and effort and play with great technique."

Central has generated 28 points per game through the first three weeks and is allowing 23 points per game. Senior wide receiver Al Young has 42 touches for six scores and 373 yards from scrimmage, but the emergence of sophomore running back Aaron Harris has been the Tigers' biggest bright spot. Harris has 34 rushes for 233 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 6.9 yards per carry.

Central will play its final six games of the regular season in the confines of Cape County. The Tigers' only remaining road game is a trip to Jackson on Sept. 25.

"We need to worry about us. ... I feel confident taking our kids anywhere," Norman said. "Our main thing is getting our kids to play with great enthusiasm, attitude, effort and technique, the things that win football games."

Norman said there are no significant injuries heading into tonight's game.

Fredericktown (0-3) at Perryville (2-1)

Last week: Potosi 12, Fredericktown 7; Park Hills Central 51, Perryville 26

Last year: Fredericktown 33, Perryville 6

Outlook: The Pirates haven't reached the three-win mark since 2012 but will look to change their fortunes tonight against the conference rival Blackcats.

Perryville enters the game after dropping a 25-point decision against Park Hills Central, which is ranked No. 6 in this week's Class 3 media football rankings. The Pirates were plagued by four first-half turnovers and trailed 30-7 at halftime. A key turnover game in the first quarter when the Perryville defense forced the Rebels to punt but fumbled deep in its own territory. Pirates coach Mike Wojtczuk referred to the mishap as a "gamebreaker."

"We know that we did several things to shoot ourselves in the foot that we knew we'd have to clean up before this week," Wojtczuk said. "They're not major things. They're just little things that if you don't take care of will obviously cost you the ball game, one of which is turnovers. ... They were in key situations of the ball game. You can't play like that and expect to be successful against a team like Park Hills."

Perryville was outscored 26-19 against Park Hills' starters in the second half, but Wojtczuk said he was pleased with the way his team responded after halftime.

"We made a couple adjustments at halftime, not major adjustments," Wojtczuk said. "We basically just told the kids, 'Hey, we've got to come out and play in the second half.' ... It would have been really easy for those kids to just roll over and quit. We didn't do that. We came out and played."

The Pirates will face a Fredericktown team that is winless on the year with losses to Kennett, Hillsboro and Potosi. The Blackcats held a one-point lead over the Trojans last week but were beaten on a last-second heave to the end zone.

"We know that they've played some good competition, and I don't think that them being 0-3 is really representative of what their football team actually is," Wojtczuk said. "They're big and strong up front, and they've got a big quarterback."

Wojtczuk said the Blackcats primarily operate their offense in the I, wishbone and spread formations.

"They've got a couple fast kids in the backfield," he said. "They run multiple sets. ... A lot of those same kids are playing defense as well. They've got a really nice linebacker in the King boy. He's probably one of the better linebackers in our conference, and he also plays on the offensive line."

Perryville quarterback Brandon Renaud had three interceptions last week but connected with Connor Stark on a touchdown pass in the final seconds before adding a 12-yard touchdown run later in the game. Blake Mattingly had a 32-yard scoring run for the Pirates, and Aaron Mueller added a 55-yard interception return for a touchdown.

"We know we've got our work cut out for us, and we're going to have our hands full," Wojtczuk said. "We've got to come prepared. We've had an excellent week of practice, and we feel like that we've done everything we can possibly do to get our kids ready. We've just got to clean up our mistakes and play mistake-free football, and we think we'll be just fine."

Jackson (0-3) at Farmington (2-1)

Last week: Marquette 42, Jackson 21; Poplar Bluff 44. Farmington 30

Last year: Jackson 55, Farmington 7

Outlook: The Indians are still looking for their first win of the season as they open SEMO Conference play on the road.

Jackson has won all three meetings with the Knights under the direction of coach Brent Eckley in routs, winning by a combined score of 127-29. The Indians entered last year's meeting unbeaten and ranked No. 2 in Class 5.

The Knights appear to be a stronger team this season, getting off to a 2-0 start with wins against Ladue and North County before falling to unbeaten Poplar Bluff in their conference opener last week.

Farmington returns senior Brandt Busenbark at quarterback and have averaged 32 points over the last two games. Busenbark completed 11 passes for 223 yards against Poplar Bluff, with seven passes going to Brayden Krause for 197 yards. Krause is also the team's kicker.

Jackson has been competitive in the face of stiff competition. After falling to Class 5 champion Battle in Week 1, the Indians played Vianney to a stalemate until halftime and Class 6 Marquette even through three quarters before yielding three touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

The Indians' quarterback situation has been unsettled due to injuries. Sophomore Cooper Callis, the team's No. 1 quarterback heading into summer practices, has not yet played a down due to an elbow injury. Senior Triston Thele has played well in Callis' absence but left last week's game in the first quarter with a leg injury and did not return. His availability for tonight's game is uncertain. Senior Landry Moore directed three scoring drives after Thele's departure, but the Indians' mustered just one TD in the second half on a 29-yard pass to senior Jeremy Elliott, the Indians' leading receiver on the season with 17 receptions for 253 yards.

Malden (3-0) at Scott City (2-1)

Last week: Malden 62, Portageville 8; East Prairie 30, Scott City 24 (OT)

Last year: Malden 71, Scott City 8

Outlook: Scott City is looking to bounce back from its first loss of the season against a team which has dominated the rivalry.

Malden, ranked seventh in Class 2, has won the last eight meetings and 10 of the last 11. The Green Wave has outscored the Rams 175-31 in the last three meetings. The last time Scott City beat Malden was a 14-6 win in 2007.

The Rams mounted more than 400 yards of offense in last week's loss, with all-purpose junior Braden Cox leading the offense with 119 yards rushing. Cox has a team-high 277 yards (6.0 ypc) rushing on the year.

Malden is unbeaten after a 13-1 season in 2014 that ended in the Class 2 semifinals. The Green Wave graduated Carr Award finalist Dremond Robinson, who rushed for more than 2,000 yards last season, from a juggernaut offense but still are averaging 46.6 points per game.

Malden has a veteran quarterback in senior Chapen Riley, who has started since his freshman year. Riley has weapons in running back Nick Thompson, who scored three TDs against Portageville last week, and running back/receiver Kylus Thompson.

St. Vincent (1-2) at Herculaneum (0-3)

Last week: St. Vincent 38, Kelly 19; Jefferson 45, Herculaneum 8

Last year: Herculaneum 28, St. Vincent 14

Outlook: The Indians are coming off their first win of the season and will be facing a squad in search of its first victory in the Blackcats.

St. Vincent senior quarterback Joe Whistler rushed for a career-high 217 yards in the victory last week where the Indians also received a 182-yard rushing performance from junior Riley Riehn. Whistler left the game in the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury described as a "stinger" and did not return.

"He's feeling like a kid that ran for 200 yards last week," St. Vincent coach Nathan Rowland said. "He's beat up. He is feeling very beat up."

That said, Rowland indicated he would be "shocked" if Whistler, who has practiced during some limited practices this week, wasn't ready to go tonight.

The 38 points and 475 yards of offense -- 357 rushing -- was welcome news for the Indians, who had just six points over the first two weeks.

The Indians are still without linemen Luke Wibbenmeyer and Blake Hennemann, who have been out with injuries.

Herculaneum has scored just 14 points in its first 0-3 start since 2007. The Blackcats have yielded 131 points in losses to Scott City, Lutheran South and Jefferson. The split back, power-running game is led by senior quarterback Timothy Venable, who is the Blackcats' leading rusher with 164 yards on 27 carries (6.1 ypc), according to stltoday.com. Sawyer Wilfong, a senior, has the most carries at 44 and averages 3.4 ypc.

"We're expecting them to be a between-the-tackle football team again," Rowland said.

Confluence Prep (0-3) at Kelly (0-3)

Last week: Gateway 38, Confluence Prep 0; St. Vincent 38, Kelly 19

Last year: Confluent Prep 37, Kelly 6

Outlook: For the fourth consecutive week, Kelly will be facing a team in search of its first win. The Hawks have obliged the three previous teams -- East Prairie, Crystal City and St. Vincent.

The Hawks' defense has yielded 48 points per game, while the offense is averaging 17.3 points.

Confluence, a Class 3 school, has been outscored 134-10. Two of the losses have been to unbeaten teams in Kennett and Gateway. The other loss is to 1-2 Eldon, whose two losses are in turn to unbeaten teams.

Kelly has been playing without tight end/defensive end Jacob Black, who injured his right foot during the Week 2 loss to Crystal City.

-- Jeff Breer and Trent Singer