HIGH SCHOOL: ST. VINCENT FACES 1A RIVAL VALLE

Though St. Vincent, ranked No. 2 in Class 1A, will likely face No. 9 Hayti for the District 1 title next week, it's doubtful the 8-0 Indians -- despite not being scored upon in the last three weeks -- will look past Valle in tonight's 7 p.m. matchup in Ste. Genevieve.

Valle is St. Vincent's fiercest rival and the two teams haven't played in a few years. This game will also decide the Mississippi Area Football Conference Blue Division. Besides all that, Valle is not a bad 1A football team despite losing 36-20 to Hayti last week.

"It's a big rivalry here and we're expecting about 3-5,000 people there," said St. Vincent coach Keith Winkler. "We're going to have to play disciplined football. We're going to have to shut down the passing game and make them try to run the ball on us."

The Warriors (3-5) have played some good teams close, including 3A schools Ste. Genevieve (17-6 loss), St. Pius (22-21 loss) and Park Hills (13-12 win).

St. Vincent has posted back-to-back 35-0 victories over Crystal City and Chaffee and shut out Caruthersville the week before that.

"We're happy with the shutouts but we need to keep it going," Winkler said. "The kids take a lot of pride in their defense, but we know Valle has a capable offense and can put up some points. That streak could end real quick."

Hayti at Chaffee

Hayti defeated Chaffee 47-30 in a shootout last year and, with some of Hayti's young talent getting more experience, it will be a difficult task for the Red Devils to knock off 1A's ninth-ranked team.

Led by running back Ortiz Banks (834 yards, 15 touchdowns, 122 carries), Hayti has been able to use its speed to compile a 7-1 record, while a gritty Chaffee team comes in with a 3-5 record.

"They've always had speed and that will be key for us to keep them inside," said Chaffee coach Allan Horrell. "If they get the corner, I don't' think we have anyone to run with them."

The Red Devils are coming off a 35-0 loss to another state-ranked Indian team, No. 2 St. Vincent.

"I'm kind of anxious to see how we come off a blank to St. Vincent and to see if we can respond, to be honest," Horrell said. "We're trying to improve on last year's record. We hope to catch them sleeping. I know, they know, and St. Vincent knows that everybody's looking to next week. I hope to catch them looking past us a bit."

Chaffee is led in rushing by G.P. Glueck who has 810 yards and eight touchdowns on 167 carries. Jeremy Lynn has caught an area-high 42 catches for 491 yards, while Perry Rice has 306 yards on 17 catches.

Chaffee quarterback Travis Hanback has completed 67 of 152 passes for 897 yards and six touchdowns while being intercepted nine times.

Crystal City at Scott City

The Rams may not quite be as good as they've been in the last couple of years and Crystal City may be a bit better than it has been, but Scott City will still be the favorite to win this game and the Class 2A, District 2 title.

Crystal City is coming off a 30-10 loss to Charleston and stands at 3-5 on the year, while Scott City is 6-2 after beating Grandview 31-14.

The Rams destroyed the Hornets 55-0 last year.

Scott City junior Marcus Klund has rushed for 1,238 yards and 15 touchdowns on 166 carries, while classmate Brad Glenn has 684 yards and eight touchdowns on 110 carries.

Dexter at Fredericktown

After knocking off Kennett in a come-from-behind, 29-26 win over a tough Kennett team, the Blackcats would have to be considered a favorite to beat Dexter at home.

Fredericktown, which defeated Dexter 28-0 last year, is 6-2 and has assured itself of having its first back-to-back winning seasons in 37 years.

Dexter is 4-4 after losing 38-7 to New Madrid last week.

Charleston at Grandview

Charleston is starting to reap the benefits of playing a tough schedule. After playing four 3A and 4A schools in its 0-6 start, the 2A Bluejays have won two straight.

Should Charleston knock off a weak Grandview team tonight and if Scott City beats Crystal City, it will set up yet another District 2 title showdown between the Bluejays and Rams.

Grandview lost to Scott City 31-14 last week.

Poplar Bluff at Vianney

The Mules (5-3) did almost everything right in their impressive 51-14 win over Francis Howell last week.

Vianney is coming off a 27-0 loss to Jackson and if Poplar Bluff and Jackson win as expected, it would stage a huge showdown between the Mules and Indians in the final game of the season for the district and SEMO North Conference titles.

Stan Revelle, who threw for 317 yards on 15 of 19 attempts last week, has completed 123 of 210 passes for 1,968 yards, 13 interceptions and 19 touchdowns.

Sikeston at Farmington

Farmington, now ranked sixth in Class 4A, will look to improve to 8-1 when it takes on a struggling Sikeston squad which was blistered 23-0 by Cape Central last week.

Cape Central and Farmington will likely meet for the district championship at Farmington next week.