High school football previews: Week 8

Central (6-1) at Chaminade (4-3)

Last week: Central 55, Farmington 7; Chaminade 55, University City 12

Last year: Central 28, Chaminade 21 (OT)

Outlook: Central will enter its final two non-conference games wearing the title of SEMO North Conference champs. The Tigers did not suffer a letdown last week, securing their first outright title since 2002 after defeating rival Jackson in their previous outing.

Senior running back Braion Owens rushed for a personal-best total for a second straight week with 208 yards against Farmington. He has a team-leading 766 yards on the season (7.6 ypc). Senior quarterback Peyton Montgomery has 546 yards (7.9 ypc) and junior Al Young is next with 468 (8.1). As a team, Central is averaging 6.9 yards rushing per carry and 305 yards per game.

"This is a tough situation," said Central coach Nathan Norman, whose Tigers are ranked No. 7 in Class 4. "We've won the conference and we're sitting in a position where we have two non-conference games against people that we're not real familiar with, really."

The Tigers are in the position of trying to preserve momentum but also maintain health for Week 10, when they begin defense of their Class 4 District 1 crown.

"You want to win, but you don't want to get anybody hurt," Norman said. "You want to stay strong, you want to have momentum and you want to play well," Norman said. "That's the key. We want to get better with another week for districts. They had a good week of practice."

Young leads the receivers with 15 catches for 270 yards. He has scored a team-high 17 TDs through rushing, receiving, kick returns and interception returns.

The Red Devils reside in the tough Metro Catholic League, having sustained a 51-0 loss to unbeaten CBC, ranked No. 4 in Class 6, as one of their three losses. Chaminade is one of only two schools to defeat SLUH -- the other is CBC -- this season. The Devils also sustained a 16-6 loss to Timberland and a 38-21 loss to Vianney.

Chaminade has no single player that stands out statistically. Sophomore quarterback Michael McGovern has completed 50 percent of his passes for 588 yards, according to stltoday.com. His top receiver is senior Mark Gorman, with nine catches for 189 yards. The Red Devils have four rushers between 200 and 300 yards on the season, with sophomore Darius Daies leading the way with 259 (4.3 ypc). Sophomore Andre Whitley (7.5 ypc), senior Dominique Bobo (6.0) and sophomore Bryce Johnson (7.0) all average more per carry than Daies.

"This will be a good test for us," Norman said. "They're big. They're physical. They present us with some matchup problems."

Norman said the Red Devils are much like his own ground-oriented team, running power, traps, counters and double-tight ends.

"They're going to be a good test for us," Norman said. "We're approaching it like a playoff game. It's the type of team we'll have to beat on the road to do what we want to do in the future."

Class 4 District 1 standings -- 1. Central (6-1) 48.39; 2. Festus (6-1) 42.81; 3. Hillsboro (5-2) 42.12; 4. Farmington (3-4) 33.41; 5. Sikeston (3-4) 31.68; 6. Perryville (2-5) 20.76; 7. North County (1-6) 18.77; 8. De Soto (1-6) 16.53

Seckman (1-6) at Jackson (6-1)

Last week: Oakville 55, Seckman 14; Jackson 42, Sikeston 0

Last year: Did not play

Outlook: The Indians, ranked No. 7 in Class 5, bounced back from their first loss of the season with their second shutout of the 2014 campaign.

While the defense was pitching the shutout, the offense rolled to more than 400 yards of offense in its usual balanced fashion of rushing and passing among an assortment of players. Senior quarterback Dante Vandeven is completing close to 60 percent of his throws and has 1,257 yards passing on the year with 11 TDs and four INTs. He leads the team with 523 yards rushing. Senior Xominique Davis leads the receivers with 25 catches for 504 yards.

The Indians face a former district opponent in the Class 6 Jaguars. Seckman's only win of the season was a 21-7 victory over Northwest (Cedar Hill) in Week 6. The Jaguars, who opened the season with shutout losses to Pattonville and Rockwood Summit, are averaging 11.8 points a game. They sustained a nine-point loss to Fox in Week 5, a school that lost to Poplar Bluff by 14 points. Jackson blasted Poplar 42-0.

A large Seckman line, combined with wet weather in the area concerns Jackson coach Brent Eckley.

"They're big, and with that size it makes me a little nervous with how crappy our field is going to be in the rain, so that is an advantage there," Eckley said. "This is also the only group to beat our seniors when they were freshmen. That was their only loss that year, so there might be some matchup issues. They're not real good record-wise, but they do lot of different things offensively."

Seckman sophomore quarterback Connor McCoy has completed 51 percent of his passes for 607 yards, according to stltoday.com. Junior tailback Joe Ambrose leads the Jaguars with 597 yards rushing (4.3 ypc), while Garrett St. John is the top receiver with 13 catches for 168 yards. Five Jaguar receivers have between nine and 13 catches on the season.

Class 5 District 1 standings -- 1. Jackson (6-1) 44.33; 2. Vianney (4-3) 39.01; 3. Rockwood Summit (4-4) 34.88; 4. Parkway South (3-4) 33.55; 5. Oakville (3-4) 32.72; 6. Fox (3-4) 32.52; 7. Poplar Bluff (4-3) 31.13

Chaffee (0-6) at Jefferson (3-4)

Last week: Malden 68, Chaffee 8; Jefferson 34, Grandview 7

Last year: Chaffee 56, Jefferson 22

Outlook: Chaffee's quest for its first win of the season goes to Hillsboro, Missouri, and the Red Devils will be looking to put behind their worst loss in more than a decade.

The Red Devils are facing increasingly thin ranks due to injuries. All-state lineman Trevor Morehead was lost in Week 5, and additional injuries are plaguing the Class 1 program. Sophomore lineman Augie Knutson will miss his second consecutive game (back) as will sophomore linebacker Ryan Holderfield (ankle) and senior running back Thomas Robbins (shoulder). Robbins' replacement at running back last week, Devon Nanny (linebacker), injured an ankle in the first quarter and also will miss this week.

"It's been kind of an odd year, because normally we don't [have this many injuries]," Chaffee coach Charlie Vickery said.

Despite the injuries, Vickery said the Red Devils had what he called their "best practice of the year" on Wednesday.

"The kids are going hard and nobody is giving up," Vickery said.

The ground-oriented Blue Jays, who have shown split-back option, spread and I-formations this year, are led by junior quarterback Austin Graves. His 115 rushing attempts are twice as many as any other player on the team, and his 637 yards (5.5 ypc) are double the output. Sophomore Dustin Grovo has 313 yards (6.8 ypc) on the season, but ran for 243 yards and three touchdowns last week against Grandview, according to stltoday.com. The Eagles had 383 yards rushing in the game.

Graves has completed less than half his throws, with Kenny Williams (18 catches, 253 yards) and Jordan Shockley (12, 131) his top targets.

Class 1 District 1 standings -- 1. Valle Catholic (7-0) 57.05; 2. Monroe City (4-3) 40.43; 3. Mark Twain (4-3) 38.07; 4. Barat Academy (3-4) 35.72; 5. St. Vincent (1-6) 30.17; 6. Crystal City (2-5) 28.95; 7. Louisiana (0-7) 22.12; 8. Chaffee (0-6) 22

Red Bud (Ill.) (2-4) at Scott City (3-4)

Last week: Breese Central 36, Red Bud 22; Hayti 28, Scott City 14

Last year: Did not play

Outlook: The Rams will play a non-traditional opponent when they host the Musketeers of Red Bud, Illinois.

Scott City has struggled to find an opponent for Week 8 since the start of the new district format. The Rams had an open week in 2012 and slotted Christian of O'Fallon, Missouri, last year.

"Actually, they had contacted St. Vincent about trying to play them, maybe," Scott City coach Jim May said. "They're closer to Perryville, obviously. Their AD knew I was looking for a Week 8, and he passed that info on to me, and I was like, 'Sure, I need a game.' So here we are."

Scott City will try to rebound from a conference loss to Hayti in which it yielded 14 points over the final six minutes of the game.

The Rams, who have moved sophomore running back Braden Cox to quarterback to replace injured sophomore Ty Wilthong (broken foot), hope to return Jake Elders to the offensive side this week to boost an attack short on weapons. Elders was restricted to linebacker last week in an attempt to help him mend from an injury.

Cox is the Rams' leading rusher with 663 yards (6.4 ypc).

The Musketeers' two wins are over Dupo and Wesclin, schools that have a combined 3-9 record. Only one of Red Bud's six opponents currently have a winning record, and that belongs to Freeburg (5-1), which routed the Musketeers 40-6.

Dustin Sauer leads the Musketeers with 220 yards rushing but averages 11.6 yards per carry, according to stltoday.com. Mason Wren (164 yards, 6.8 ypc) and Brandon Fadler (119, 3.1 ypc), the team's quarterback, are also names of note. Musketeer quarterbacks only have completed about 20 percent of their passes.

"They try to run the ball, but they've got some big wide receivers," May said. "I know one is 6-6, and one is 6-3. They can throw it, and he does throw it, but I don't know if that's their game plan."

Class 2 District 1 standings -- 1. Malden (7-0) 49.8; 2. Caruthersville (4-3) 36.6; 3. East Prairie (5-2) 36.45; 4. Portageville (4-3) 34.71; 5. Hayti (3-4) 29.11; 6. Kelly (3-4) 29.11; 7. Scott City (3-4) 27.12; 8. Charleston (0-7) 17.95

Grandview (2-5) at St. Vincent (1-6)

Last week: Jefferson 34, Grandview 7; St. Pius 33, St. Vincent 28

Last year: St. Vincent 63, Grandview 0

Outlook: St. Vincent fell just short of back-to-back wins in a five-point loss to St. Pius last week.

The Indians took a 28-20 lead into the fourth quarter and surrendered the go-ahead touchdown in the final minute. The aftermath wasn't pretty either.

"We came out about as unhealthy as we've been all year," St. Vincent coach Nathan Rowland said. "We lost several key players. ... It was a pretty hard battle last week."

Sophomore Riley Riehn, who leads St. Vincent with 258 yards rushing on the season (4.2 ypc), is questionable for tonight's game, as are junior lineman Kyle Brown and sophomore lineman Layne Hlavek. Sophomore fullback/linebacker Tyler Unterreiner is out for tonight.

Aside from the injuries, Rowland likes the direction his team is headed.

"We kind of saw this coming this year, being a young team," Rowland said. "It's taken them six games to realize what they need to do to win in varsity. They played hard enough at Crystal City to win, and [if] we get a break, we beat St. Pius, too. We were unable to get a break there at the end, but they played well enough to win that game, and that's a big step forward for this team.

"A few weeks ago, coming into St. Pius, we were looking at getting drubbed pretty big the way they were playing, but now they're playing with a lot of confidence. The ultimate goal is district. Whether you're undefeated or haven't won a game yet, you still have a chance to win a district championship the way it's set up right now.

"We're under no illusions that all roads lead to Valle, but right now we just have to take care of ourselves. We need to try to get healthy and try to put together another win here."

Junior Trevor Leible is the Indians' top receiver with 10 catches for 195 yards. Junior quarterback Joe Whistler has completed 47 percent of his passes for 474 yards.

Grandview has lost its last three games -- Valle Catholic, Herculaneum and Jefferson -- by a combined score of 129-13. Its two wins are against Chaffee and Missouri Military Academy, who have a combined 1-11 record.

Perryville (2-5) at Windsor (2-5)

Last week: Ste. Genevieve 34, Perryville 20; Windsor 28, North County 27

Last year: Windsor 21, Perryville 20

Outlook: The Pirates will try to end a five-game skid and avenge a one-point loss suffered to the Owls last season.

Windsor dropped its first four games but has won two of its last three. However, the two wins have come against De Soto and North County, who both have 1-6 records (North County's win is against De Soto).

The Owls are a run-first team, having passed just 24 times on the season with four completions for 45 yards, according to stltoday.com. The Owls have rushed 197 times for 1,131 yards.

Junior Tyler Stenger leads the Owls with 392 yards rushing (8 ypc), followed by Brandon Fouts (215, 5.7), senior Alex Andrews (189, 6.1) and senior Cody Ranallo (151, 5.4), the quarterback.

Portageville (3-4) at Kelly (3-4)

Last week: East Prairie 34, Portageville 32; Caruthersville 60, Kelly 18

Last year: Did not play

Outlook: Kelly's first-year varsity program is coming off its roughest bump thus far. The Hawks yielded a season-high 60 points and 483 yards rushing to Caruthersville.

Portageville will be another big challenge for the Hawks and will likely be in a foul mood after a two-point loss to East Prairie in Week 7.

The Hawks are led by junior quarterback Jon Garrett Kellams and junior running back Daniel McRay, who rushed for 111 yards last week.

Portageville will be without coach Jeff Bullock, who must sit out this week after being ejected from last week' loss.