High school football capsules: Week 7

Central (5-1) at Farmington (3-3)

Last week: Central 31, Jackson 21; Farmington 44, Normandy 20

Last year: Central 59, Farmington 21; Central 63, Farmington 28 (district, first round)

Outlook: Central can clinch its first outright SEMO Conference North title since the 2002 season with a victory tonight. The Tigers are coming off an emotional victory over previously unbeaten rival Jackson that improved their conference record to 3-0.

"As a coach, we're trying to fight the letdown," Central coach Nathan Norman said. "That's always scary and in the back of your mind, but that's human nature. You've got to learn how to do that, and that's what we're doing. We've had a good week of practice."

Central rebounded from its first loss, a 32-22 loss to Ladue, with its strongest performance of the season against Jackson.

"I told the guys, 'Hey, you have to get rid of that win, just like you got rid of the loss to Ladue the week before. We've got the chance to be conference champs,'" Norman said. "Obviously that's one of the goals we set out to accomplish before the year started, and it's here."

Central’s Braion Owens runs the ball during last week’s game againt Jackson at Tiger Stadium at Central High School. The Tigers won the 108th meeting between the schools 31-21 to improve to 5-1. Central can win its first outright SEMO Conference North title since 2002 when it visits the Farmington Knights tonight. (GLENN LANDBERG)

The Tigers, ranked No. 9 in Class 4, will be facing a Knights team that lost by 48 points to Jackson in Week 4. Farmington also lost by a point to SEMO North member Sikeston, which the Tigers walloped by 40 points in Week 3.

Central senior running back Braion Owens rushed for a season-high 147 yards -- he has a team-leading 558 yards (7.0 yards per carry) -- while the defense forced four turnovers against Jackson.

"We played sound and we were able to move the ball effectively with the running game, and we threw the ball just enough to be dangerous," Norman said about the winning formula.

Senior quarterback Peyton Montgomery had 127 yards rushing against Jackson on nine carries while completing 5 of 9 passes for 49 yards. The passes included a 33-yard toss to junior Al Young, who leads the team with 13 receptions for 206 yards on the season. Seven of Young's catches have gone for TDs, and he has six TDs rushing and 384 yards (7.8 ypc). Young has 16 TDs overall.

Young also leads the defense with three interceptions. Senior defensive back Jalen Reddin leads the team with 47 tackles; senior defensive lineman Deandre Banks has a team-high six tackles for loss; and senior defensive end Andre Statam leads with three sacks.

Farmington broke a two-game losing streak with a 24-point non-conference win over Normandy. Junior quarterback Brandt Busenbark led the Knights to a season-high 44 points after Farmington averaged 12 points through its first five games.

Chaffee (0-5) at Malden (6-0)

Last week: East Prairie 44, Chaffee 6; Malden 68, Hayti 6

Last year: Chaffee 28, Malden 18 (Week 7)

Outlook: A year ago the Red Devils went into this matchup with a perfect 6-0 mark and ranked in the top 10 in Class 1. It's a different situation this time around, with the Red Devils still searching for their first win and Malden coming in unbeaten and ranked No. 8 in Class 2.

The Red Devils ended a four-game losing streak to Malden last year as they secured their first SEMO South title since 1979 with a 10-point victory. However, the Green Wave have held a decisive upper hand over the years, winning 12 of the last 14 meetings.

The Green Wave have been washing away all opponents this season with their closest win a 28-point decision over New Madrid County Central in Week 1. Malden has scored at least 47 points in every game and has beaten its last five opponents -- Caruthersville, Portageville, Scott City, East Prairie and Hayti -- by a combined score of 295-27. In 2014, Malden has outscored opponents 124-6 in the first quarter and 270-18 in the first half.

Senior running back Dremond Robinson, who had 264 yards rushing in last year's loss to the Red Devils, is the most dangerous weapon in a balanced Malden attack with 682 yards (10.6 ypc). He rushed for 131 yards and three touchdowns on just six carries in a 71-8 rout of Scott City in Week 4. Junior quarterback Chapen Riley directs the attack, which includes senior running back Cortez Dobbins and junior Nick Thompson among others. As a team, Malden averages 9.4 yards per rush attempt.

"[Malden coach Joel Wyatt] is loaded with weapons," Vickery said. "They're good on every front. They're good up front, they're good on the skill, they're big, fast, well-coached. I'm telling you, it's going to take a real good team to beat them."

Chaffee lost two-time all-state senior lineman Trevor Morehead to a season-ending knee injury a couple weeks ago and now is without leading rusher Thomas Robbins, who is out with a shoulder injury. Junior Devon Nanny filled in for Robbins last week -- he totaled 86 yards on 14 carries -- and will do so again against Malden.

Hayti (2-4) at Scott City (3-3)

Last week: Malden 68, Hayti 6; Portageville 40, Scott City 14

Last year: Hayti 39, Scott City 20 (Week 7)

Outlook: The Indians have won the last seven meetings between the schools and are 13-1 against the Rams since 2000.

Scott City's lone win during that span was a 28-19 win in 2006.

Scott City has played its last two games without sophomore quarterback Ty Wilthong, who broke his foot in a Week 4 loss to Malden.

"We're hopeful he's back before its over," Scott City coach Jim May said.

Sophomore Braden Cox has returned to quarterback, the position he started as a freshman. He has more than 600 yards passing and is the team's leading rusher with 608 yards (7.4 ypc). He's topped the 100-yard rushing mark the past two weeks.

"He can do some things, but we're not real deep," May said. "When we get banged up, it's hard on us. When you start to take away a few of our weapons, we struggle to do a few things. I think we still had 300 yards offense last week, but we weren't real effective."

Three seniors, running back Caleb Sykes (second on the team with 431 yards rushing), receiver/linebacker Jake Elders and nose tackle Jon Sinn, are all questionable after trying to play through injuries last week.

"We struggled to get through last week," May said. "Injuries took a toll."

Hayti features sophomore quarterback Maurice Farr (385 yards rushing, 6.9 ypc), junior running back Jamal Brooks (250, 5.0) and senior fullback Cedric Fields (198, 5.4).

"They're big, physical and very athletic," May said. "They've not gotten a lot of breaks. They've had a lot of things like blocked punts and things not go their way, but they are a very quality team. You watch them on film ... they've got a lot of talent."

Jackson (5-1) at Sikeston (3-3)

Last week: Central 31, Jackson 21; Poplar Bluff 14, Sikeston 13

Last year: Jackson 49, Sikeston 0 (Week 6)

Outlook: This is a SEMO North Conference game between teams smarting from losses and looking to change directions.

Jackson fell from the ranks of the unbeaten, along with four spots in the Class 5 rankings to No. 6, with its 10-point loss to rival Central last week. The Indians committed four turnovers in scoring a season-low 21 points in the loss.

"We want to put our best foot forward any time that we're playing, and we don't feel like we did that last Friday, so the kids are real motivated to play this Friday," Jackson coach Brent Eckley said.

Eckley said he liked the way his team responded immediately after the loss.

"We had some good leadership after the game, some kids that stepped up and said, 'This is not our season ... there's no reason for us to be sad and cash in the chips. We can still achieve some of the goals that we set this year.'"

Not surprisingly, Eckley said ball security has been a major focus this week after the Indians' offense matched its five-game season total for turnovers with two fumbles and two interceptions against Central.

"We've just tried to clean things up the best we could," Eckley said. "We talked about it to the guys after last Friday night. That was a good opportunity for us to play against a really good, athletic team and that it's a good measuring stick to see what else we need to work on to get ready for the postseason."

Jackson mounted 359 yards of offense against Central, again displaying a balanced attack led by senior quarterback Dante Vandeven, who passed for 140 yards and rushed for 76 against the Tigers. On the season, Jackson averages 397 yards per game -- 191 passing and 206 rushing. Vandeven has a team-high 479 yards rushing and has completed 58 percent of his passes for 1,079 yards and 10 TDs with four INTs. Senior Xominique Davis has a team-high 22 catches for 442 yards, while senior Ben Maudie is second on the team in rushing (205 yards) and receiving (15 catches, 236 yards).

Sikeston is coming off a one-point loss to Bluff.

Sikeston has struggled to score points in its last four games -- 49 points total -- topping out with 15 points in a loss to Dexter. The Bulldogs netted 101 points combined in opening the season with wins over Charleston and New Madrid County Central.

Junior quarterback Nathan Hampton has completed about 50 percent of his passes for 508 yards. Senior Corbyn Blissett leads Bulldogs receivers with 248 yards (nine receptions), while juniors Victwon Riley (524 yards, 6 ypc) and Earnest Fobbs (416 yards, 5.2 ypc) pace the running attack.

St. Vincent (1-5) at St. Pius (4-2)

Last week: St. Vincent 34, Crystal City 14; Father Toltin Catholic 31, St. Pius 8

Last year: St. Pius 26, St. Vincent 13 (Week 7)

Outlook: First-year St. Vincent coach Nathan Rowland collected his first victory last week, and the Indians will try to build on the momentum against the Warriors.

Rowland said the team channeled the good vibes from the 2004 Class 1 state championship team, which was being honored at the game.

"That was a huge morale booster," Rowland said. "Everybody likes to see them come back. They made a little tunnel for [our players] and got them all excited, and it seemed like the ball finally started bouncing our way for once."

The defense led the charge, creating five turnovers, blocking a punt and registering nine sacks. The quarterback pressure resulted in a pick six.

"The defense just put us in some fantastic situations," Rowland said. "We were just able to capitalize off their mistakes. Our offense got better -- we didn't turn the ball over and we were able to score in the red zone, which we had not been able to do all year."

St. Pius had a three-game winning streak snapped last week by Father Tolton Catholic, a Class 2 school in Columbia, Missouri.

Junior quarterback Mickey Karoly directs the St. Pius offense, having thrown seven TDs. The Warriors' offense revolves heavily around Tryston Thornton, a versatile junior. He leads the team with 467 yards rushing and 163 yards receiving, according to stltoday.com.

"He is pretty much lightning," Rowland said. "You let him get to the corner and he's up the sideline. He'll pretty much line up all over the field."

Ste. Genevieve (3-3) at Perryville (2-4)

Last week: Park Hills Central 32. Ste. Genevieve 6; Potosi 27, Perryville 8

Last year: Ste. Genevieve 67, Perryville 0 (Week 6)

Outlook: The perennially-strong Dragons bring in a mortal .500 record, but the losses include setbacks to Valle Catholic and Park Hills Central, both unbeaten and state ranked.

Perryville is trying to end a four-game skid after opening the season with wins against Sumner and St. Pius.

Caruthersville (3-3) at Kelly (3-3)

Last week: New Madrid County Central 27, Caruthersville 20; Kelly 36, Charleston 6

Last year: Did not play

Outlook: Kelly is riding its first winning streak in school history after its second straight road win.

That streak will face a monumental challenge when the perennially-strong Tigers visit. While both teams have identical records, Caruthersville has faced a more demanding schedule that includes losses to Liberty (Mountain View) and unbeaten Malden. The Tigers saw a three-game winning streak end last week.

Caruthersville junior quarterback Peyton Faulkner has rushed for 188 yards in each of the past two games, including three rushing touchdowns against Dexter -- two went for a total of 110 yards. Senior running back Daniel Fugate has 724 yards on the season.

-- Jeff Breer