RAMS MAY FIND GREEN WAVE AT HIGH TIDE IN OPENING CLASH OF '99

Malden is supposed to be better. And Scott City almost certainly won't repeat its dominance of a year ago.

The combination of those two factors should make for one of the most intriguing games of the high school football season tonight. The kickoff in Malden is set for 7:30.

Last year, the Rams rode the Green Wave to a 39-12 win and later beat them 21-0 in the playoffs. It wasn't that Malden was all that bad (the team finished 6-5), it was just that the Rams blew out just about everybody.

But this year, Malden returns several key players. And Scott City lost almost its entire starting unit to graduation.

The Rams will have to stop a talented offensive backfield, consisting of quarterback Conrad Ivie (a transfer from East Prairie) and running backs Brian Benford, John Matthews and Brandon Porter.

"We'll have to put pressure on the quarterback and on his linemen," said coach Roy Williams, in his first year at Scott City. "He's a good quarterback, a good passer and he has speed. He can run the ball, but I don't know if they want him to run much.

"We'll also have to prevent their running backs from breaking long runs. They're balanced with the pass and the run. We'll just have to see how their young linemen on offense and defense do."

Malden will have to deal with the likes of Matt Underwood, the region's leading rusher of a year ago.

Underwood rushed for 1,844 yards last season behind a strong, talented offensive line.

Grandview at Chaffee

Last year, this was a game the Red Devils think they should have won.

The question is, should they win it this year?

"That's our goal, to be 1-0 and we'll go from there," said Allan Horrell, who will make his head coaching debut at Chaffee. "We're going to have to eliminate mistakes and stop shooting ourselves in the foot. I think its been about five years since Chaffee has won its opener and that would definitely be a plus and it gives us something to build on. I'd like to be on the winning side going into district play."

Last year, a couple of special-team breakdowns -- including a kickoff return for a touchdown and a missed extra point -- cost Chaffee as the Red Devils fell 14-13. Chaffee did what it needed to do defensively, holding Grandview to 85 yards on 32 carries. That said, Horrell has put an emphasis on special teams this year.

"A lot of times it'll take us six minutes to score, then we'll break down on a kickoff return," Horrell said. "Special teams is our area of improvement this year. We practice at least one area of special teams every day. Special teams is one of the most important downs in football. They set the tone for the offense and defense."

Chaffee went just 1-9 a year ago, while Grandview went 2-8. One of Grandview's losses was a 74-0 debacle at the hands of Scott City.

St. Vincent at Carlyle, Ill.

St. Vincent lost in the state championship game last year 30-7.

Other than that, the Indians never tasted defeat.

But Carlyle gave St. Vincent a good test last year as the Indians edged the Illinois team 28-21.

St. Vincent got better as the season went along last year and starting blowing teams out in the second half.

That said, St. Vincent is confident heading into its season opener, especially after a solid showing at the jamboree last week.

Class 1A St. Vincent -- which played Class 3A Perryville and Class 5A schools Jackson and Cape Central -- was the only team there to score a touchdown and shut out its opponents.

Perryville at Farmington

Like many other games in the opening week, this one figures to be an interesting matchup.

Both Perryville and Farmington are coming off solid seasons.

Perryville went 9-2 last season and won its district.

Farmington, meanwhile, went 7-3 and improved dramatically throughout the season. The Knights return 16 starters and also added Doug Wiles, a transfer quarterback/linebacker from Sikeston.

Perryville returns just four starters -- and just one on offense -- but coach Jerry Tucker said most of his seniors this year could have started on most teams as juniors last year.

Fredericktown at Park Hills

Fredericktown would like a repeat of last season, at least in the opener.

In the first game last year, the Black Cats rolled over the Rebels 31-6.

The Black Cats return six offensive and eight defensive starters from the team which went 4-6 a season ago and came tantalizingly close to claiming a district championship.

The bulk of that team remains intact as there were only six seniors on last year's squad.

Fredericktown's backfield did take a big hit, though. The Black Cats lost their quarterback and leading rusher from last season.

Charleston at Kennett

Last year, Kennett edged Charleston 28-27.

Kennett went on to go 6-4 while Charleston went 4-5.

This year's matchup figures to be close as well.

Like years past, Kennett will have a lot of size and Charleston will be blessed with team speed.

Kennett returns more from last year's team, while Charleston will be depending on sophomores at some key positions including running back, where Dontay Clark and Jordy Mixon figure to carry the bulk of the load.