High school football capsules: Week 7

Sikeston (5-1) at Jackson (2-4)

Last week: Poplar Bluff 26, Sikeston 16; Cape Central 48, Jackson 35

Last year: Jackson 42, Sikeston 0

Outlook: Both teams enter with hopes of winning the SEMO Conference North Division title as they hold their 100th meeting all-time at The Pit tonight.

While Sikeston leads the series 56-37-6, Jackson is 2-1 against the Bulldogs under fourth-year coach Brent Eckley. The Indians have won the past two meetings by a combined 91-0 score after dropping a 26-17 decision in a Week 6 showdown in 2012 when both teams entered with 5-0 records. The 2012 win secured Sikeston last conference title.

"They're always well prepared on both sides of the ball," Jackson coach Brent Eckley said. "It seems like they do a really good job specifically of getting their defense to play hard and run to the ball. On the offensive side, they're well prepared and execute well. Their coaches do a good job of getting their kids into the right position to go make plays."

Jackson, Cape Central and Sikeston all enter tonight's final week of conference play with 2-1 conference marks.

A 19-point win by Cape Central over Poplar Bluff has been the biggest margin of victory in the eight conference games played thus far.

"We're all fairly even," Eckley said. "There's not really been a blowout."

With a win tonight and loss by Cape Central to Farmington, Jackson can claim its first conference title since 2013.

The Indians sustained their first conference loss last week to arch-rival Cape Central, which suffered its only conference loss to Sikeston in Week 3. If Sikeston defeats Jackson, it will win the title outright regardless of the Central-Farmington outcome due to the head-to-head win over the Tigers.

Sikeston was dealt its first loss of the season last week when it fell to Poplar Bluff despite a season-high 210 yards passing from quarterback Nathan Hampton.

As usual, the Bulldogs run a ground-oriented attack. Victwon Riley leads the tam with 549 yards rushing and 10 TDs, while Earnest Fobbs has 455 yards and six TDs.

Jackson has yielded 43.3 points per game to opponents this year and has had trouble stopping the run.

Cape Central rushed for 369 yards against the Indians last week -- the most given up by Jackson this season -- averaging 7.4 ypc. The Tigers totaled 468 yards offense against a Jackson's defense that is yielding 466 yards per game.

"[Sikeston] should have a lot of confidence, because they do run the ball well, and we've struggled stopping it," Eckley said. "I'm sure they're going to test us early and often to see if we can hold up."

However, Sikeston had more success against Poplar Bluff in the air than on the ground in totaling 363 yards of offense. Receiver Justus Faulkner had five catches for 101 yards, while Bryce Bays had one catch for 47 yards.

"They have a good feel for what runs set up the passes," said Eckley, noting the Bulldogs tendency to run screen and play-action passes.

Meanwhile, the Jackson offense averages 31.5 points and 424.5 yards a game despite being prone to turnovers. The Indians displayed a balanced attack against Central in posting 389 yards of offense -- 197 rushing and 192 passing -- but committed the game's only two turnovers on a fumble and an interception.

Eckley said senior quarterback Landry Moore will get his third consecutive start but figures to rotate in senior Triston Thele and sophomore Cooper Callis Cooper.

"It's kind of a feel for what I want play call-wise, so they both have to be ready," Eckley said. "I'm not running them one guy has one series and the other guy has the next series. I've not done it that way. I'm having one guy in there, and as I want to change what I want to do, and it's something the other kid does better, then I plug him in."

Moore completed 18 of 26 passes for 149 yards and three TDs against Cape Central and has 70.5 completion percentage on the season for 1,001 yards, 11 TDS and three INTs. Thele, more of a running threat, completed 5 of 8 passes for 43 yards and one TD against the Tigers.

"Both quarterbacks did a really good job for us," Eckley said about last week's game.

Callis is coming off a fractured throwing elbow. He has not seen any game action thus far but Eckley said he has been rotating in pretty evenly in practice for the last two weeks.

"It's kind of kind of good because we have three quarterbacks who are getting really good practice reps, but at the same time that's kind of bad because it's tough for us to develop continuity with three guys, and each one of those three guys is lessened by the number of reps they are getting," Eckley said. "The last couple years previous to this, Dante (Vandeven) was getting 80 percent of the snaps, so he was getting the opportunity to get that much better in practice. You get three guys going, and they each get a third of it. It's a challenge, but they've stayed focused. All three guys want to help us win, so it's a positive situation."

No matter the quarterback, senior Jeremy Elliott is often the top target. He had his fifth 100-yard receiving game of the season against Cape Central and has a team-leading 52 catches for 674 yards and nine TDs.

Sophomore running back Ethan Laster has 401 yards rushing (8.5 ypc) on the season, while Junior running back Bryndan Reid has 352 yards (4.4 ypc).

"They're going to definitely try to manage the game the way they want," Eckley said about Sikeston. "They're going to try to run the ball and try to really eat up the clock and use up the snaps available in the game. So it's going to be important for us, defensively. We're still trying to force turnovers, but they have an experienced group and have a couple years experience handling the football. It'll be a challenge for us to force anything, so we'll have to do a great job of trying to get off the field on third and fourth down. We've not been very good at that this year, so that's something we're going to have to do. Offensively, there's not much room for error. We have to take care of the football and we need to finish drives."

Farmington (3-3) at Central (3-3)

Last week: Farmington 42, Normandy 6; Cape Central 48, Jackson 35

Last year: Central 55, Farmington 7

Outlook: A victory tonight will give the Tigers their first winning streak of the season, and coach Nathan Norman has been pleased with his team's effort in practice this week.

"I don't know if it's the weather or just our attitude, but we had a great practice Wednesday," Norman said. "It was probably the best practice of our year, and we're hoping that carries over to Friday night, of course."

Central enters its final SEMO North Conference game of the season a week removed from outlasting longtime rival Jackson in a 48-35 decision at The Pit in Jackson.

Junior quarterback Kway'Chon Chisom led the way for the Tigers, finishing with 148 yards rushing and two TDs on 11 carries against the Indians. He averaged 13.5 ypc and added a pair of scores and 97 yards through the air on 3-of-6 passing.

"I felt like he's played well all year," Norman said about Chisom, who's 25-of-45 (56 percent) passing with 580 yards, eight TDs and three interceptions. "He was able to make a couple big plays with his feet, which was huge, and obviously we welcome that every week. We try to be a little bit smart about how we use him in the passing game. We don't throw a bunch, but when we do, we need to be effective and efficient. He's getting better at that. ... I think we've gotten better around him honestly."

Senior Al Young continues to be the key component to Central's offensive success. He has 784 yards from scrimmage and 12 TDs on 67 touches, averaging 11.7 yards per touch. Sophomore Aaron Harris has a team-leading 621 yards rushing and four scores on 93 rushes.

The Tigers will take on a Farmington team that's winless in conference play but received a boost of confidence with last week's 36-point win over Normandy Collarborative at home. The Knights snapped a three-game skid with the victory over the Vikings after starting the season with wins over Ladue Horton Watkins and North County, respectively.

"They're very dangerous. I shouldn't have to use any more motivation other than that they beat Ladue and we didn't," Norman said. "They're very good. They're sound at what they do on offense, and they run a scheme that's difficult to defend if you're not prepared for it. You've got to read your keys and play your position and allow your teammates to make tackles because you've done your job with your tackling responsibility."

Farmington is led by senior quarterback Brandt Busenbark, who's 55-of-86 passing for 1,083 yards, 11 TDs and one interception, according to stltoday.com. Busenbark also leads the Knights in rushing with 108 yards and four scores on 108 carries while senior Brayden Krause is the team's leading receiver, accounting for 58 percent of Busenbark's completed passes. Krause has 32 receptions for 750 yards and nine TDs.

The Knights are scoring an average of 28.8 ppg and are allowing 22.2 ppg.

"They're a solid defensive football team," Norman said. "They fly to the football. They're well-coached. They're disciplined."

A Central victory over Farmington coupled with a Jackson win over Sikeston will give the Tigers their second consecutive conference title.

"I think you can flip a coin in the conference, to be honest. It's really whoever shows up that night with the better attitude, whoever executes the best," Norman said. "... I think you just worry about the process and say, 'Hey, we've got to get better every day. We've got to work, install this and review and do whatever we can to be prepared for Friday night.' If you do those things, the wins and losses take care of themselves."

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

Last week: Portageville 38, Scott City 30; Malden 38, Hayti 18

Last year: Hayti 28, Scott City 14

Outlook: This SEMO Conference Southern Division meeting has been a one-sided affair over the years. Hayti has won the last eight meeting and is 15-1 against the Rams since 2000.

The Indians have two losses on the season but to state-ranked opponents -- Thayer (5-1) in Week 1 and unbeaten Malden -- with a combined record of 11-1.

Hayti brings in an experienced squad led by returning junior quarterback Maurice Farr and returning senior running back Jamal Brooks. The Indians have averaged 44 points per game in wins over Charleston, Chaffee, East Prairie and Portageville.

The Rams own a win over Chaffee but fell in overtime to East Prairie and lost to Portageville last week.

Scott City had trouble bringing down Portageville's Daniel McCray last week, allowing 244 yards rushing to the senior, and face a multi-weapon attack in Hayti.

"Offensively they'll run the football, and if we don't come out and tackle better than we did last week, it's going to be a long night," May said.

May said the Indians will run a shotgun with two backs.

"Any of those three can go," May said. "It's a little more diverse, and they got some speed."

The Rams mounted 387 yards of offense last week, with junior quarterback Ty Wilthong throwing or a season-high 200 yards and three TDs on 17 -of-28 passing.

Versatile junior Braden Cox continues to lead the team in rushing with 490 yards and eight TDs, but senior Nick Bickings has accumulated 267 yards rushing over the last two weeks and is now a close second with 471 yards and five TDs on the season.

Senior Dylan Keller leads the receivers with 21 catches for 190 yards. He had six catches for 52 yards last week in a balanced passing attack that saw junior Jaden Kaiser haul in his first two TD passes of the season and senior Jordan Kluesner record his first TD catch.

"We felt like we should have beat Portageville, so we feel like we should have a chance, but we've got to do a better job of making some sustained long drives and not giving up big plays -- they just kill you in a game like this. We've got to get off the field defensively. Last week we had some third -and-longs and fourth-and-longs, and we couldn't get off the dang field. We're going to have to try to get our offense the ball and try to move the ball.

"They're very good defensively, so it will be a big challenge for our offense."

St. Pius (2-4) at St. Vincent (3-3)

Last week: Father Tolton Catholic 34, St. Pius 7; St. Vincent 23, Crystal City 22

Last year: St. Pius 33, St. Vincent 28

Outlook: After last week's come-from-behind victory over Crystal City, Indians coach Nathan Rowland made sure his team refocused its attention heading into homecoming week.

"This is a time where we did not celebrate a win," said Rowland, whose team erased a eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter against the Hornets. "We understand that we have to be much better to beat other teams that we're hoping to beat in our conference and in our district, and we're not going to get it done if we play with a lack of enthusiasm and a lack of emotion."

St. Vincent has won three of its last four games and will face a Lancers team that's 2-1 in I-55 Conference play. The Indians turned the ball over four times against Crystal City but were re-ignited by the play of junior Riley Riehn, who scored two touchdowns and sealed the game with a defensive stop in the final minute.

"We've really worked hard in practice, and these guys have started to mature as junior players and started making plays," Rowland said. "That's kind of the whole deal. If we can make plays on offense and defense, we can be in most games, and now we're starting to pull some close games out, whereas in the past we weren't."

St. Pius is led by Jalen and Tryson Thornton. Jalen, a freshman, has 351 yards rushing and eight TDs on 43 attempts while Tryson, a senior, has 145 yards rushing on 20 carries.

"We've been battling with those guys for years, and it looks like we're going to have to battle with the younger brother, who's the starting running back. That kid's a handful," Rowland said about Jalen. "He's one of the faster athletes we're going to see all year. Every time he touches the ball, he can take it to the house, and that's a great tool for any team to have."

Sophomore Elliott Fischer directs the Lancers' offense. He has 622 yards on 41-of-82 passing with six TDs and six interceptions, according to stltoday.com. Senior Jevon White has been Fischer's top target with 342 yards and four scores on 15 grabs.

St. Pius is scoring 19 ppg and giving up an average of 39.5 ppg while the Indians are generating 18.2 ppg and allowing 32.5 ppg.

With the energy surrounding homecoming week, Rowland said it's definitely a challenge to keep his players focused.

"It's great for the school, but for the football team, it's just distraction after distraction," Rowland said. "We're constantly telling the kids to focus on the football game at the end."

St. Vincent will be without junior Darren Ernst, who was injured this week in practice.

"We're just kind of banged up like everybody else," Rowland said.

Kelly (2-4) at Caruthersville (3-3)

Last week: Kelly 48, Charleston 18; Caruthersville 49, NMCC 14

Last year: Caruthersville 60, Kelly 18; Carutherville 63, Kelly 14 (Class 2 District 1)

Outlook: The Hawks find themselves on a two-game winning streak after dropping their first four games of the season.

Kelly is in just its second season of varsity football, and the Hawks found Caruthersville uncooperative in the maiden voyage. A strong Tigers team outscored the Hawks 123-32 in two meetings in 2014, which included a first-round win in district play that ended the Hawks' historical season.

The Tigers are on a three-game winnings streak after opening the season with losses to Liberty (Mountain View), Malden -- both state-ranked teams -- and Kennett. Those three teams have a combined 17-1 record, with Kennett having suffered its first loss last week to rival Dexter.

"That's a good ball club," Kelly coach Lance Powers said about Caruthersville. "They played some good teams right out of the gate those first three games. Them being 3-3 doesn't tell you how good they really are."

Quarterback Peyton Faulkner again is directing the Tigers' offense, and he leads the team with 646 yards rushing and 16 TDs. Roderick Jones also returns in the backfield and is second to Faulkner with 402 yards rushing, while Demario Slaughter is not far behind with 374 yards.

"Faulkner is a really good athlete," Powers said. "If we're going to be successful on defense, we're going to have to stop him."

Kelly had a pair of 100-yard rushers in its win last week against winless Charleston, with senior Maurice Davis going for 142 yards and two TDs on seven carries, while senior Matt Burford bulled out 131 yards on 23 attempts and also rushed for two TDs. Davis has a team-high 411 yards and six TDs rushing on the season and averages 14.2 ypc. Burford has 335 yards rushing (5.2 ypc).

"We've gotten better, and that's all I ask of the kids," Powers said. "Our offensive line has really come alive and they're getting big holes for Maurice and for Matt, and that's what we're asking. Good things can happen if our line keeps blocking the way they have been."

Davis also is the top target of junior quarterback Kyle Fitzgerald, having pulled in a team-high 14 catches for 181 yards.

Senior Bryan Rogers leads the team with 28 tackles, with Burford, Davis and senior Jacob Black not far behind. Black leads the team with five tackles for loss despite missing two full games due to a foot injury.

Chaffee (2-4) at Malden (6-0)

Last week: East Prairie 36, Chaffee 22; Malden 38, Hayti 18

Last year: Malden 68, Chaffee 8

Outlook: The Red Devils have dropped back-to-back games, and the road doesn't get any easier this week against the unbeaten Green Wave.

Chaffee enters the game after losing by 14 points to the Eagles last week on the road. The Red Devils pulled within a point at 23-22 entering the fourth quarter before East Prairie scored to make it 29-22. Chaffee marched to the Eagles' 4-yard line in the final minutes, but a false start forced a long fourth down before East Prairie got a defensive stop and added another score.

"We had opportunities there," Chaffee coach Charlie Vickery said. "I think for the last seven quarters, our kids have played pretty well. Our motto is to just try to get better every week at every practice."

Freshman quarterback Landon Tenkhoff finished with 192 yards rushing on 26 attempts, bringing his rushing total to 685 on the season. He's also 39-of-92 passing for 361 yards two TDs and seven interceptions.

"He's a very good athlete, and the more experience he gets, the better he's going to be," Vickery said about Tenkhoff. "He's seeing different things every ball game. Just the experience and the playing time have continued to allow him to improve, so I'm pleased with how he's playing right now."

Malden enters the game as the sixth-ranked team in the Class 2 media state rankings. Senior Nick Thompson ran for 172 yards and three TDs on 21 rushes in last week's 20-point victory over Hayti while senior Chapen Riley, a four-year starter at quarterback, added 147 yards and a touchdown through the air.

"He's a good player. He runs the offense very well. He can throw it," Vickery said about Riley. "... They're a very formidable team. They're good defensively and offensively. They're well-coached. Even though they lost a lot of kids from last year, especially on the line, the new kids coming in have just kind of taken over and not missed a beat."

The Green Wave are giving up 16 ppg and are scoring an average of 44.5 ppg. Chaffee, meanwhile, is producing 18.3 ppg and is allowing 35.8 ppg.

"We've had good practices all year long, and I think they're actually getting better as the season ends here," Vickery said. "We know what's in front of us. Obviously we're the underdog. There's no question about that, but we want to be able to go out there and compete. And it's got to be every down."

Perryville (3-3) at Ste. Genevieve (5-1)

Last week: Potosi 28, Perryville 26; Ste. Genevieve 40, Park Hills Central 21

Last year: Ste. Genevieve 34, Perryville 20

Outlook: The Pirates are looking to avoid falling under .500 for the first time this season after dropping back-to-back games at home.

Perryville rallied but came up just short in a two-point loss to Potosi last week and was hammered in a 48-0 loss to state-ranked Affton the week before.

The Dragons have won four straight games by a combined 164-53, including last week's 19-point victory at home over MAFC White Division Conference rival Park Hills Central. Ste. Genevieve's only loss came in Week 2 against Class 1 powerhouse Valle Catholic.

Wyatt Lalumondier keys the Dragons' offense at quarterback. He was 7-of-15 passing for 155 yards and three touchdowns in last week's win over the Rebels, according to dailyjournalonline.com. Seniors Austin Brewer and Anthony Roe both eclipsed the 100-yard mark last week for the fourth consecutive game for Ste. Genevieve. Brewer had 163 yards rushing on 22 carries while Roe added 156 yards on 17 rushes.

Pirates junior quarterback Brandon Renaud is 67-of-127 passing with six scores and six interceptions on the year. He also has 324 yards rushing and seven TDs on a team-high 67 attempts while Blake Mattingly has a team-leading 389 yards rushing and two scores on 41 carries. Perryville is allowing 27.5 ppg and is scoring an average of 27 ppg.

-- Jeff Breer and Trent Singer