High school football Week 9: Chaffee seeks to end regular season unbeaten

Chaffee (8-0) at Charleston (4-4)

Last week: Chaffee 56, Jefferson 22; Charleston 40, East Prairie 20

Last year: Charleston 50, Chaffee 8

Outlook: History can repeat itself for the Red Devils tonight.

Chaffee can move to 9-0 for the first time since the 1956 Red Devils finished off an unbeaten season with a 41-0 victory over Charleston.

"It's just been business like normal," Chaffee coach Charlie Vickery said. "We've had good practice days. They know what's at stake ... It's important to finish 9-0, but you just want to go out and play good and see where it takes us."

Vickery said his team has maintained an even-keel despite success not seen at the school in decades.

"I haven't seen us be real sky high or be real down," Vickery said. "The only time I think we were a little off was after the Scott City game against East Prairie. Other than that we've been pretty steady all year."

To stay unbeaten, the Red Devils face possibly their biggest challenge in Charleston, a Class 2 school that has put together a .500 record against much tougher schedule than Class 1 Chaffee. The Red Devils' unbeaten record has come against six Class 2 schools and two Class 1 schools, while Charleston's schedule has included one Class 4 school (Sikeston), three Class 3 schools (New Madrid, Kennett and Dexter), as well as Caruthersville, ranked fifth in Class 2. The Blue Jays competed well with Sikeston (24-6), Caruthersville (26-18), New Madrid (22-8) and Dexter (27-26) despite losing all four. They beat Kennett (40-20).

Chaffee and Charleston both own victories over Class 1 Hayti and Class 2 East Prairie, winning by similar margins.

Charleston quarterback Mike Kellum directs a Wing-T attack that includes senior Robert Bogan and junior Rontavious Clark, who both were 1,000-yard rusher last season. While the Bluejays rarely throw, Kellum did pass for three TDs against Kennett, two of which went to Bogan.

Last year was the first time the schools met since 1964.

"They pounded us last year pretty good, and they have a lot of those kids back, but in turn I think we're better as well," Vickery said. "They're real good in the backfield. I think their running backs are real good and they have some good size up front -- another big task ahead of us."

Vickery said Charleston is somewhat of a combination of Malden and Jefferson, two run-oriented teams the Red Devils have faced the past two weeks.

Like Jefferson, Charleston runs power run formations.

"But they have more speed than Jefferson," Vickery said. "If they get outside on us, we're in trouble."

Chaffee junior quarterback Peyton Montgomery directs a no-huddle spread offense that averages 402 yards per game. Montgomery has completed 60 percent of his passes and averages 154 yards. Senior Layton Tenkhoff has a team-high 348 yards receiving, with senior Charlie Montgomery right behind at 334.

The Red Devils have three rushers averaging 7 yards per carry or better in Jimmy Golden (716 yards, 7.0), Peyton Montgomery (515, 7.0) and Charlie Montgomery (399, 7.8). Charlie Montgomery accounted for 195 (113 rush, 82 passing) of Chaffee's 409 yards last week.

Chaffee starting senior wide receiver Travis Hall will miss tonight's game with a sprained ankle, and junior lineman Brody Swinford (concussion) is out for the season.

Chaffee is virtually locked into the No. 2 spot in Class 1 District 1 behind Valle, the top-ranked team in Class 1.

Class 1 District 1: 1. Valle (8-0, 57.11), 2. Chaffee (8-0, 54.95), 3. Thayer 5-3, 45.68), 4. St. Vincent (5-3, 43.05), 5. Portageville (4-3, 39.73), 6. Hayti (2-6, 28.83), 7. Crystal City (1-7, 26.59), 8. Cabool (0-8, 24.91)

Jackson (6-2) at Francis Howell C. (5-3)

Last week: Hickman 34, Jackson 27 (OT); Francis Howell 31, Francis Howell Central 14

Last year: Jackson 56, Francis Howell Central 26

Outlook: Jackson closes the regular-season portion of its schedule with its second straight Class 6 opponent, then will get a chance to rest.

The Indians currently have the No. 1 seed in the district and have locked up a bye in the first round of six-team district tournament.

However, a win tonight could help their case for retaining the top seed in the inevitable appeal that No. 2 seed Vianney will file. The Golden Griffins are allowed an appeal to swap seeds with Jackson as a result of their Week 2 win over the Indians. The four other district teams will vote on the appeal and decide whether to change the current seeding. The No. 1 seed will host the district semifinals and final, should it advance.

"I'd like to say it would have something to do with who the best team is, but it will only be with how it benefits them," Jackson coach Brent Eckley said. "So as I'm looking at it, Bluff may feel they match up better with Vianney, so they might vote for us to be the No. 1 so they can be on the opposite side. I don't know if it matters who we play, but it certainly does matter that we get the home field because of the money we get to generate from a home football game."

An appeal also will play out for Fox and Rockwood Summit in the four-five spot.

"It's going to scramble a little bit," Eckley said.

Tonight's a chance for closing arguments, if they're of help.

FHC came into last year's game with a 1-7 record and lost by 30 points to the Indians.

FHC looks to be vastly improved. The Spartans are currently the No. 2 seed in Class 6 District 3, a district which shows Hickman as the No. 7 seed. Hickman defeated Jackson in OT last week.

The Spartans have faced Class 6 schools the past six weeks after opening with two Class 5 schools, which included a 37-13 Week 1 loss to unbeaten Fort Zumwalt East. FHC beat four straight Class 6 schools -- Troy Buchanan, Francis Howell North, Timberland and Fort Zumwalt West -- before a loss last week to third-ranked Francis Howell in which a rushing attack averaging 300 yards was held to 109. The Spartans were tied at 14-14 in the second quarter before Howell scored the game's final 17 points.

The Spartans have benefited from the transfer of Kendall Morris from CBC.

Morris is having a huge senior season, rushing for 1,459 yards and 19 TDs, according to stltoday.com. He's averaging 9.4 yards per carry.

"They've also benefited from some kids from Normandy that decided not to stay at Normandy," Eckley said. "They've decided to be at Francis Howell Central, so they've inherited some athletes that have certainly helped their program."

The Spartans return senior quarterback Brody Allen, who is the team's second-leading rusher (6.9 ypc) with 406 yards and has completed 50 percent of his passes for 644 yards. His top targets are seniors Justin Hayden (21, 362) and Justin Andrews (21, 307).

Both Morris and Allen rushed for more than 175 yards in a Week 7 win against Fort Zumwalt West.

Jackson's offense averages 453 yards overall. The Indians were held well below their average of 264 yards rushing last week with a season-low 96 yards on 33 carries.

Quarterback Dante Vandeven has rushed for a team-high 716 yards. He threw for 283 yards against Hickman, with senior running back Colten Proffer again productive with five catches for 155 yards. Proffer has more than 900 yards total offense over the last five games.

Junior defensive tackle Preston Hobeck leads the defense -- the Indians yield 254 yards a game -- with 24 tackles for loss.

Class 5 District 1: 1. Jackson (6-2, 42.56), 2. Vianney (5-3, 39.98), 3. Poplar Bluff (5-3, 36.98), 4. Fox (2-6, 26.94), 5. Rockwood Summit (3-5, 26.42), 6. Seckman (0-8, 13.26)

Festus (7-1) at Central (4-4)

Last week: Festus 31, St. Charles West 28; Central 28, Chaminade 21 (OT)

Last year: Central 24, Festus 15; Central 31, Festus 6 (district)

Outlook: Central is riding a season-high three-game winning streak as it enters a game that may serve as a district preview for the second consecutive year.

Central beat Festus in the Week 9 encounter last year, then recorded another win over Festus six days later in Week 10 in the first round of district play as the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds met.

"I'm telling my kids, they're 7-1, they're confident, and they had their feelings hurt -- we beat them twice last year so they're going to be excited to play us," Central coach Nathan Norman said.

Central is 2-0 against district opponents, having beaten Sikeston and Farmington. Festus, currently No. 1 in the district, is 3-1 against district opponents with wins over North County, Farmington and De Soto, and its loss coming against No. 2 seed Hillsboro.

High-scoring Festus was held to a season-low 31 points in last week's win against St. Charles West. Festus has scored as many a 70 points in a season-opening win vs. Farmington and averages 46.1 points per game.

"They run the ball and are a misdirection offense," Norman said. "They run a double-wing system and they've got good linemen and good skill kids. They're just a well-rounded football team."

Festus returns junior quarterback Andrew Hayden and possesses several weapons in its run-oriented attack, including 1,000-yard rusher Corey Carr, who averages 11.3 yards per carry. Jaden Reddick (535 yards, 8.8 ypc), Nathan Cummings (426, 7.5) and Travis Spraul (381, 21.2) also are prominent in the ground attack. Hayden has completed 56 percent of his passes and thrown for six TDs, but the Tigers have only attempted 42 passes all season. Spraul is the top receiver with seven catches for 108 yards.

"They do it by committee," Norman said about Festus' ground attack. "They're kind of like us."

Central has posted consecutive come-from-behind wins against Sikeston and Chaminade. It outscored the two opponents 44-0 combined after halftime in overcoming deficits.

"We need to be more focused early in the game," Norman said. "They have a never-quit, never-give-up attitude. It just sure would make my life easier if they would start out stronger."

Central has gained 67 percent of its total yardage on the ground this season, but the Tigers collected 60 percent of their yards in the air in last week's win. It was the second time that senior quarterback Dennis Vinson threw for more than 200 yards. Sophomore Al Young's 100-yard receiving night gave him 544 yards on the season and 21 catches. Junior Braion Owens is second with seven catches for 99 yards.

Senior running back Mikey Jones leads the ground attack with 900 yards (6 ypc), while Owens has 478 yards (6.1 ypc).

Central currently is in the fourth spot and in line to host a first-round district game.

There could be some flipping in the seeding due to the head-to-head results. Central has beaten No. 3 seed Sikeston, which could help the Tigers avoid a matchup with five-win North County in the first round of district. The six through eight seeds -- Farmington, Perryville and De Soto -- have four wins combined.

Class 4 District 1: 1. Festus (7-1, 42.25), 2. Hillsboro (6-2, 40.43), 3. Sikeston (6-2, 39.11), 4. Central (4-4, 37.68), 5. North County (5-3, 34.48), 6. Farmington (1-7, 22.16), 7. Perryville (2-6, 21.34), 8. De Soto (1-7 (17.98)

Jefferson (5-3) at St. Vincent (5-3)

Last week: Chaffee 56, Jefferson 22; St. Vincent 63, Grandview 0

Last year: Jefferson 49, St. Vincent 21

Outlook: The Indians will get a second crack at stopping the running game of the second-year football program.

Jefferson's has rushed 414 times for 3,500 yards this year while passing just 26 times.

The team has a 1,000-yard rusher in sophomore quarterback Austin Graves, while senior Conor Bourisaw is only about 50 yards shy of that mark. The Blue Jays average 37.6 points a game and over 400 yards a game.

"Hopefully the defense will show up and do what it's been doing all year," St. Vincent coach Paul Sauer said.

The Indians also have a running game that Jefferson must contend with. St. Vincent senior running back Alex Winkler eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in last week's rout of Grandview with 198 yards rushing. He has 1,195 yards on the season and has topped 130 yards in seven of the Indians' eight games.

"He's worked hard in his career and had a rough end to it last year with the knee injury," Sauer said about Winkler's ACL injury last year that required surgery. "It's good to see him having some success."

The Indians took advantage of five turnovers last week to score a season-high 63 points and increase their season average for points from 20.1 to 25.5.

The Indians have won four of their last five games and could secure their first winning season since 2008 and their first under Sauer since his return to the program in 2009.

"I think we're finally coming around a little bit offensively, and the offensive line is doing a great job and we're hitting the holes," Sauer said.

The Indians are trying to hang on to the fourth spot in their district and have a chance of moving head of Thayer into the three spot with a victory. A loss and a Portageville win could make for a long road trip to visit the Bulldogs in the first week of district play.

Class 1 District 1: 1. Valle (8-0, 57.11), 2. Chaffee (8-0, 54.95), 3. Thayer 5-3, 45.68), 4. St. Vincent (5-3, 43.05), 5. Portageville (4-3, 39.73), 6. Hayti (2-6, 28.83), 7. Crystal City (1-7, 26.59), 8. Cabool (0-8, 24.91)

Herculaneum (3-5) at Perryville (2-6)

Last week: Valle 47, Herculaneum 7; Windsor 21, Perryville 20

Last year: Herculaneum 40, Perryville 20

Outlook: Perryville enters on a six-game losing streak.

The Pirates lost a one-point heartbreaker last week after a run of lopsided losses that started in Week 3. Senior Johnny Pruiett scored all three of the Pirates' TDs in their loss.

Herky senior running back Dustin Johnson has repeated as a 1,000-yard rusher, topping the mark in Week 7 with 174 yards against Crystal City. Johnson has scored 13 of the Blackcats' 21 rushing TDs.

Class 4 District 1: 1. Festus (7-1, 42.25), 2. Hillsboro (6-2, 40.43), 3. Sikeston (6-2, 39.11), 4. Central (4-4, 37.68), 5. North County (5-3, 34.48), 6. Farmington (1-7, 22.16), 7. Perryville (2-6, 21.34), 8. De Soto (1-7 (17.98)

Scott City (1-7) Open

Class 2 District 1: 1. Caruthersville (6-1, 46.53), 2. Malden (6-2, 41.29), 3. St. Pius (6-2, 38.2), 4. Charleston (4-4, 36.56), 5. Jefferson (5-3, 35.76), 6. East Prairie (1-7, 19.57), 7. Scott City (1-7, 17.67), 8. Grandview (1-7, 17.45)

-- Jeff Breer