High school football, Week 4: Jackson begins title defense

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

Last week: Farmington 13, Poplar Bluff 0; Jackson 22, Marquette 14

Last year: Jackson 38, Farmington 7

Outlook: Jackson officially begins defense of its SEMO North title in its homecoming game tonight.

The Farmington-Jackson results have reflected the plight of the two programs since the Knights joined the SEMO North Conference for the 2008 season. Farmington won the first four encounters with the Indians, a couple in routs against an Indian program that struggled after reaching the state semifinals in 2007. The trend has reversed over the past two years, with Jackson teams led by coach Brent Eckley winning by a combined score of 72-22. The Indians have had back-to-back winning seasons, while the Knights have had back-to-back losing years.

"We just came off the dip and they just got in one," Eckley said of the last two meetings.

However, the Knights have shown signs of rebounding under second-year coach Erik Kruppe, who already has surpassed the win total posted in last year's 1-9 season.

The Knights are coming off their first shutout since 2011 after unexpectedly blanking a Poplar Bluff team that averaged 32.5 points in a pair of wins over Fox and Dexter. However, the Knights were able to focus on a limited Mules attack after Poplar Bluff lost starting quarterback Kameron Misner to a hamstring injury in the second quarter.

"They're a little more physical and they do a little bit better job of taking care of the football," Eckley said about this year's version of the Knights. "Defensively, I've been pretty impressed with them so far. They do a good job of keeping it in front of them."

Junior Brandt Busenbark, a first-year varsity quarterback, directs the Farmington spread offense. He was 16 of 23 for 203 yards against the Mules. His primary target was Tyler Finch, who had seven catches for 100 yards. Trevor Keith also had four receptions in the game. The Knights feature Brayden Bohn in their ground game.

The Knights have a competent kicking game, with Brayden Krause booting a pair of field goals against the Mules.

Jackson needed to post its first comeback victory of the season last week, scoring the winning touchdown on a 9-yard run by quarterback Dante Vandeven with less than two minutes left in the game. It was some late production from an offense that posted a season-low 276 yards from scrimmage -- 112 passing and 164 rushing. Vandeven was the only Indian to rush for more than 35 yards, collecting 73 yards on 14 carries.

"It's a horrible position to be in, as far as we felt pretty powerless," Eckley said about the late deficit. "I didn't think we played that well. There were a lot of things we could have done better. Our defense carried us, our special teams was solid and our offense was horrible."

Jackson, ranked No. 2 in Class 5, made plays at the end.

"Hopefully it was a learning experience that our focus needs to be better going into the game, and in addition if it's a tight game, we have confidence that we can find a way [to win]," Eckley said.

Eckley said the offense wasn't in sync, and it's been a point of emphasis in practice this week. He said his team has shown a focus this week despite the distractions of homecoming.

"I think our kids are all excited at the possibility of playing well," Eckley said. "And we haven't put that together in all three phases yet, and I think that's a challenge for them, that we all want to be sharp."

Jackson has committed just two turnovers on the season and forced seven by opponents.

Vandeven has a team-high 272 yards rushing on the year (5.44 ypc). He's completed 52 percent of his passes. His top receivers have been seniors Xominique Davis and Ben Maudie.

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

Last week: Central 47, Sikeston 7; Farmington 13, Poplar Bluff 0

Last year: Central 59, Farmington 21

Outlook: Central has successfully built on the momentum of last year's Class 4 semifinal finish by getting off to its first 3-0 start since winning its first four games in the 2011 season.

The Tigers, ranked No. 7 in Class 4 and who have topped 40 points in all three of their wins, are coming off their most dominating performance, rolling to a 41-0 halftime lead in a rout of previously unbeaten Sikeston.

Junior Al Young has been a touchdown machine, manufacturing nine over the past two weeks in versatile fashion -- rushing (6), receiving (2) and punt return (1). He has 12 touchdowns on the season.

Young leads the team in both rushing (295) and receiving yards (179). He averages 12.8 yards per carry and 19.9 yards per reception. Senior Braion Owens turned in a team-high 122 yards rushing against Sikeston last week and averages 7.6 yards per carry.

Senior quarterback Peyton Montgomery has completed 17 of his last 23 passes (73.5 pct.), with six going for TDs.

Meanwhile, Central's defense held Sikeston to less than 150 yards total offense and has yielded only seven points over its last six quarters.

Central will face a Poplar Bluff team that was surprisingly shut out by Farmington last week after averaging 32.5 points in wins over Fox and Dexter. A big reason the Mules' offense went dormant was a hamstring injury suffered by dual-threat quarterback Kameron Misner, a 6-foot-4 junior. Misner was averaging about 100 yards rushing and completing 55 percent of his passes. Misner, who was injured during the second quarter and did not return, will not play tonight. Sophomore Joe Darlin will reportedly start in his place.

The Mules do return senior running back Bi Nguyen, who has rushed for a team-high 301 yards (5.5 ypc). Nguyen, who could see a heavier workload, set a Poplar Bluff school record with more than 1,700 yards rushing as a junior behind a line that was hit hard by graduation. Misner is second on the team with 262 yards, and the next Mule in line, Tristen Francisco, has only 22 yards.

Senior Briar Alford leads the Mules receivers with 10 catches for 91 yards. Francisco has a team-high 11 catches for 52 yards, while senior Austin Jefferson has seven catches for 88 yards.

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

Last week: Herculaneum 35, Jefferson 21; Kelly 20, St. Vincent 14

Last year: St. Vincent 20, Herculaneum 14 (OT)

Outlook: The Indians will make their fourth attempt to get their first win under first-year coach Nathan Rowland when the Blackcats visit.

The teams have played a common opponent in the Rams of Scott City. Herculaneum posted a four-point, season-opening win over the Rams, while St. Vincent dropped a 19-point decision to Scott City in Week 2.

Senior running back Landon Harper ran for 307 (29 carries) of the Blackcats' 348 rushing yards, according to stltoday.com, in a weather-delayed victory over Jefferson. The game was played Saturday after lightning forced the postponement Friday.

Junior quarterback Timothy Venable, who ran for two touchdowns against Scott City -- including the game winner with about three minutes left -- directs the offense. Venable and Harper both topped 100 yards rushing in the win over Scott City.

"They've always been a big, physical team," Rowland said about the Herculaneum squad.

Rowland said the Blackcats like to run behind fullback Mikell Brown, who also carries the ball and anchors the defense at linebacker.

"When he gets downfield he's hard to bring down. He's a big kid," Rowland said.

As for his own squad, Rowland is looking for four quarters of execution, especially in the red zone.

His offense controlled the football in the second half last week against Kelly but netted points on only one of three trips inside the 20.

Junior tight end Trevor Leible is questionable after injuring a hand last week against Kelly. He has not practiced this week.

The Indians, who opened the season against defending Class 1 champion Valle, are coming off their best offensive showing of the season. Sophomore running back Riley Riehn -- one of five sophomores on each side of the ball -- had 90 yards rushing for the Indians and junior quarterback Joe Whistler added 60 yards.

"There are growing pains we knew would come with this," Rowland said. "They're making strides and we're seeing improvement every single quarter we've played so far. It's just going to take some patience before we can finally put together all four quarters."

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

Last week: Park Hills Central 42, Perryville 12; Potosi 19, Fredericktown 0

Last year: Fredericktown 48, Perryville 0

Outlook: The Pirates saw their unbeaten status end against state-ranked Park Hills Central last week.

Perryville will try to get back on track against a Fredericktown team that has mustered just seven points over its last two games and is off to its first 0-3 start since 2011.

Fredericktown has used Drake Spangler and junior Brock O'Neal at quarterback, and senior Caleb Carver has been the primary ball carrier in the Black Cats' spread attack.

For Perryville, sophomore quarterback Brandon Renaud has completed 46 percent of his passes for 304 yards, four TDs and six interceptions. Junior Holden Stortz leads the receivers with seven catches for 93 yards, while senior Trevor Green has four catches for 93 yards.

Senior Austin Mills has rushed for a team-high 187 yards (6.7 ypc) and Renaud is second with 152 yards.

The Pirates are averaging 232 yards of offense a game.

Sophomore linebacker Lucas Ponder is the top tackler on the Perryville defense,

"I know it didn't show up Friday night, but one of the things we've prided ourselves on this year is playing pretty good defense," Perryville coach Mike Wojtczuk said. "We were able to shut down a pretty good St. Pius team and contain a very talented, quick Sumner team. I think our defense is definitely ahead of our offense right now, but the offense is coming along real nice."

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

Last week: Scott City 46, East Prairie 45; Malden 54, Portageville 7

Last year: Malden 42, Scott City 7

Outlook: Scott City is on a two-game roll, but the Rams encounter a Malden team riding a three-game wave that has washed away everything in its path.

The Green Wave, ranked No. 8 in Class 2, has featured the most point production of any Missouri team south of Ste. Genevieve, where Valle Catholic resides and averages 54 points. Malden's production has been consistent in churning out an average of 51.7 points a game. The Green Wave posted 54 points against both New Madrid and Portageville -- the Bulldogs had posted shutouts in their first two games -- and trounced Caruthersville 47-0. The defense has been stingy overall, yielding 33 points on the season.

Malden's offense is directed by junior Chapen Riley, who has been effective in his limited attempts, throwing for 250 yards with five TDs and no INTs. The Green Wave have had little reason to pass: In last week's win against Portageville, the Green Wave rushed for 460 yards on 35 attempts.The ground attack features senior running back Dremond Robinson, who led the SEMO South in scoring last season. Robinson has 331 yards and six TDs this season in limited duty. Senior Cortez Dobbins has run for more than 200 yards and six TDs, while junior Nick Thompson has 223 yards on 16 carries (15.9 ypc).

Scott City is coming off a season-high 554 yards of offense -- 306 rushing in its one-point win last week. Sophomore Braden Cox led the way with 248 yards passing and 244 yards rushing on 33 carries. Cox completed 18 of 36 passes in filling in for sophomore Ty Wilthong, who injured an ankle a week earlier. Scott City coach Jim May said Wilthong's status for tonight is probable. Senior Jake Elders led the receivers with three catches for 77 yards. Senior Austin Spriggs had seven catches for 60 yards and has a team-leading 13 receptions for 147 yards on the season.

(Saturday)

Kelly (1-2) at Confluence Prep (0-3)

Last week: Kelly 20, St. Vincent 14; Gateway Tech 14, Confluence Prep Academy 12

Last year: Did not play

Outlook: The Hawks got their first varsity win in school history out of they way before a supportive home crowd. Now they'll try to claim another first -- a road win.

They'll try to do it against a Titan squad that is operating under similar circumstances. Like Kelly, Confluence Academy did not compete at the varsity level last year, fielding only a JV team. However, the St. Louis-based school did play three seasons of varsity football from 2010 to 2012 with limited success -- they had a few wins, mostly losses and a few forfeits in the mix.

Kelly, which resides in Class 2, will be playing up in class for the only time this season. The Class 3 Titans are 0-3, including a 47-6 loss to Class 3 Kennett in Week 2.

Kelly coach Kenneth Riedinger said there is relief with the first win, but not necessarily satisfaction.

"We didn't play very well against St. Vincent, believe it or not," Riedinger said. "We've been [working] to make sure we correct the mistakes. Against St. Vincent, we could have very easily got beaten just like Crystal City."

Riedinger said his team played a good first half against St. Vincent but failed to maintain that level in the second half.

Riedinger said Confluence will feature the biggest lines the Hawks have faced to date. The run-oriented Titans use spread, pistol and I formations, among others, with most trying to get the ball into hands of junior Marvin Williams, who moves around from quarterback to tailback to receiver, and junior Antonyo Hubbard.

The Hawks have passed around the team-high rushing honors -- juniors Matt Burford, Maurice Davis and Ethan Faries -- in their three games. Faries ran for a season-high 95 yards last week on 16 carries, but Riedinger would like to get 6-foot-3 senior receiver Dalton Huffman more involved in the offense.

"We've got one of the fastest kids in Southeast Missouri, and he can jump," Riedinger said. "We need to take more shots with him."

-- Jeff Breer