High school football: Week 5

Chaffee (0-3) at Scott City (2-2)

Last week: Malden 71, Scott City 8; Chaffee open

Last year: Chaffee 51, Scott City 16

Outlook: Both teams enter the annual SEMO South Conference rivalry game with a chance to build momentum for the second half of the season.

While Chaffee resumes its search for the first win of the 2014 season -- the Red Devils were 4-0 entering last year's game against Scott City -- after an open week, Scott City will be looking to avenge a rare beatdown administered by the Red Devils in 2013 and heal from a 63-point loss to Malden suffered last week.

Scott City has generally fared well in the rivalry. While Chaffee has won four of the past seven meetings, Scott City had won the previous 21 encounters.

"Normally I don't like to have a week off. You like to have something scheduled every week, but it really worked out good for us this year because we are so young and inexperienced," Chaffee coach Charlie Vickery said. "We got to go back and get back to some of the basics a little more and try to get better."

Scott City was held to less than 200 yards offense last week after posting a season-high 554 yards a week earlier against East Prairie.

"They've got some really good skill people," Vickery said about the Rams. "They scored a lot of points until last week against Malden, but they can run it and throw it both."

Scott City will find a more favorable matchup in Chaffee after getting burned for 321 yards rushing by Malden on 26 attempts. Chaffee has accumulated 307 yards rushing through its first three games. Senior Thomas Robbins leads the Red Devils with 169 yards (5.1 ypc). Junior quarterback Jordan Wilburn has completed 28 percent of his 85 attempts for 131 yards.

Sophomore Braden Cox is the Rams' top rusher with 278 yards (5.7 ypc). The bulk of his yards (244) came against East Prairie.

Scott City sophomore quarterback Ty Wilthong played last week after missing the previous game with an ankle injury and struggled against Malden with the rest of the offense, completing 13 of 34 passes for 93 yards with three interceptions. On the season, Wilthong has completed 40 percent of his 90 passes for 385 yards with five interceptions and two touchdowns. Senior Austin Spriggs leads the receivers with 15 catches for 168 yards.

"We don't want to give them anything," Vickery said. "We have to make people work for everything they get, and we just have to play mistake-free football."

Poplar Bluff (2-2) at Jackson (4-0)

Last week: Central 26, Poplar Bluff 6; Jackson 55, Farmington 7

Last year: Jackson 26, Poplar Bluff 6

Outlook: Jackson apparently didn't reinforce its status as the No. 2 team in Class 5 with a beatdown of Farmington in its SEMO Conference North opener. The Indians dropped to No. 3 in this week's state poll despite its most lopsided win of the season, giving way to 3-1 Winnetonka, which must have impressed media members with a 21-7 win over Raytown.

Meanwhile, the Mules dropped their second straight game in falling to 0-2 in the SEMO North. Poplar Bluff has scored just six points over the last two weeks, which includes a 13-0 loss to Farmington in Week 3. The offensive woes have coincided with a hamstring injury to dual-threat junior quarterback Kameron Misner, who was completing 55 percent of his passes and averaging about 100 yards rushing per game. He was injured during the second quarter of the Farmington contest and has not played since. He is not expected to play tonight.

Poplar Bluff mounted just 104 yards of total offense in Misner's absence last week, avoiding a shutout in the final minutes. Sophomore Joe Darlin started in place of Misner and completed 7 of 17 passes for 36 yards with two interceptions. Darlin and fellow sophomore Zane Foust likely will split time tonight.

Senior running back Bi Nguyen has 345 yards rushing (4.8 ypc) through four games behind an inexperienced line after rushing for more than 1,700 yards as a junior.

Jackson gouged Farmington for more than 500 yards of offense, with almost half of its total output coming in a 28-point first quarter.

Senior quarterback Dante Vandeven leads the team with 302 yards rushing (5.5 ypc) and has completed 52 percent of his passes. The Indians are becoming increasingly versatile on offense with seven players scoring the eight TDs last week. Senior Xominique Davis leads the team with 14 catches for 271 yards, while senior Ben Maudie has 10 catches for 192.

Jackson, guided by third-year coach Brent Eckley, has defeated Poplar Bluff in the previous two meetings.

Lift For Life (1-3) at St. Vincent (0-4)

Last week: Herculaneum 28, St. Vincent 14; Lift For Life 23, Carnahan 18

Last year: St. Vincent 35, Lift For Life 16

Outlook: The Indians are 0-4 for the first time since 2009 and will look to avoid their first 0-5 start since 1991.

The Hawks are coming off their first victory -- against winless Carnahan -- after getting outscored the previous two weeks by a combined 118-19 at the hands of Cardinal Ritter and Affton.

"They have several home run hitters," St. Vincent coach Nathan Rowland said about Lift For Life. "If they get in space, they're going to take it to the house in about any situation."

Alvin Sayles is LFL's top rusher and Laron Crawford leads the team in receptions and yardage. Quarterback Randy Love directs the spread offense.

"They're a little undisciplined as usual, but they make up for that by making explosive plays," Rowland said. "

Rowland said the Indians are struggling with health.

"We have eight or nine injuries -- that's a third of the team right now," Rowland said.

Rowland said junior quarterback Joe Whistler, who threw for around 200 yards and two TDs last week, has been banged up for much of the season, but will likely be able to start tonight.

Sophomore fullback Tyler Unterreiner has missed practice all week with a hip injury, while sophomore tailback Riley Riehn, the team's leading rusher, has been limited in practice. A couple of linemen also have been banged up.

"They're mainly sophomores, and they're learning to have to play through all these bumps and bruises we have," Rowland said. "We've had several X-rays this week, and luckily they've all come back negative."

Junior receiver Trevor Leible entered last week's game questionable with a hand injury but managed to excel with a 128-yard receiving performance and a TD.

"We're trying to piece together an offense here and attack Friday night," Rowland said.

Perryville (2-2) at Affton (4-0)

Last week: Fredericktown 33, Perryville 6; Affton 36, Jennings 22

Last year: Did not play.

Outlook: These team have not played in at least the last 20 years. None of the Cougars' four opponents thus far have a winning record and combine for a 4-12 mark.

Affton quarterback DeVontae' Burse has completed 15 of 32 passes this season with seven going for touchdowns, according to stltoday.com. He is also the team's second-leading rusher with 265 yards (7.0 ypc). Jordan Siegel leads the team with 368 yards rushing (14.2 ypc), while Tyler Burrus is third with 240 yards (10.9 ypc) and has a team-high six rushing TDs.

Westerband Lind leads the receivers in catches (11), yardage (135) and TDs (3). Siegel and Kyle Berry both have two receiving TDs.

Perryville struggled on offense against Fredericktown last week in dropping its second straight game. The Pirates, who trailed 21-0 at halftime, turned the ball over on fumbles twice, had at least one pass intercepted and sustained seven quarterback sacks

Kelly (1-3) at Fulton Co. (Ky.) (1-3)

Last week: Confluence Prep Academy 37, Kelly 6; South Fulton (Tenn.) 50, Fulton County 0

Last year: Did not play

Outlook: Both teams lost last week after picking up wins in the third week of the season.

Fulton County is playing its first home game. The Pilots are averaging 8 points a game on offense and yielding 33.7 on defense.

The Hawks are coming off a season-low six points and average 12.7 on the season. The defense yielded a season-high 37 points last week. Opponents are averaging 25 points against the Hawks.

Saturday (1 p.m.)

Central (4-0) at Ladue (4-0)

Last week: Central 26, Poplar Bluff 6; Ladue 17, Parkway Central 16

Last year: Did not play.

Outlook: Central, ranked No. 7 in Class 4, will be facing an unbeaten opponent before its annual showdown with SEMO North rival Jackson.

The Tigers' offense sputtered in last week's win against Poplar Bluff. Central entered the game averaging 44 points but netted a season-low 26 points against the Mules. A 13-0 halftime lead came courtesy of a 52-yard punt return by explosive junior Al Young and a 49-yard interception return by senior defensive back Braion Owens. The struggles came after a 41-point first-half outburst against rival Sikeston a week earlier.

"Part of that was probably a little mental letdown, and most of it was we just didn't play real well," Central coach Nathan Norman said. "We just didn't have things clicking like we needed to. We try to learn from that and hopefully ... we've had better focus this week in practice. Hopefully we can turn that into a positive and it will help us. We've had to re-evaluate some things and look at our offense a little bit differently and focus on the details. Hopefully it pays off for us."

The Tigers' passing game netted negative yardage, but senior quarterback Peyton Montgomery enjoyed his best rushing night of the season with 16 carries for 153 yards, which was the bulk of Central's 240 yards of offense.

"That was not a planned call; that was a scramble-type situation," Norman said about Montgomery's yardage. "They really had a good game plan against our O-line and our line didn't have its best week, and that led to our lack of ability to throw the ball."

Young added a TD run in the second half to run his team-high total to 14. He also leads the team with 328 yards rushing (11.7 ypc) and 174 yards receiving (15.8 ypc). Montgomery is second on the team in rushing with 303 yards (8.4 ypc) and Owens is third with 293 (6.8 ypc).

Ladue routed SEMO North opponent Farmington 46-7 in its season opener. None of the Rams' four opponents are better than 2-2 at this juncture. The Rams' Jack Fox kicked a 38-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining to defeat Jennings 22-20 in Week 2. It is one of eight field goals on the season for Fox, who also averages 40 yards per punt and moonlights as the Rams' quarterback.

"I would be surprised if our kids overlook them, that's for sure," Norman said about the game before the showdown with Jackson. "I don't think we'll have to worry about that, really. They're 4-0 and our kids have a lot of respect for them -- they better. They're a really good team."

Fox has completed 54 percent of his 91 passes for 631 yards and six TDs, according to stltoday.com. His top targets are Paul Flynn (19 catches, 261 yards) and Chuck Burton (13, 170). The Rams also have 6-foot-5 senior tight end/defensive end Nate Howard, who has committed to Wisconsin.

Daylen Edwards is the team's leading rusher with 204 yards (6.6 ypc).

"They're just a good overall, well-balanced team," Norman said. "They run the ball well and they throw the ball well. They're physical and they're big."

-- Jeff Breer