RAMS TAKE ON MUCH IMPROVED HAYTI TEAM

At the beginning of the year when looking at Scott City's schedule, there were a certain number of games which appeared to be automatic wins for the Rams.

After Scott City beat Hayti 38-0 last year, the Indians looked to be one of those vending-machine victories for the Rams -- put in a quarter or two and get a nice, hot cup of victory in return.

Don't look now, but it'll probably take four solid quarters to knock off Hayti this year.

Hayti is surprisingly 5-1 going into tonight's matchup.

For the last several years, the Indians not only scraped the bottom of the Bootheel, but they were generally considered one of the worst teams in the state, particularly in 1998 when only 16 players went out for the team.

But this year has been different.

Granted, the Indians haven't played the toughest competition, but neither has Scott City, which is also 5-1. A win for Hayti would forge a three-way tie at the top of the SEMO South Conference.

Coming off their first loss of the year -- a 28-19 loss to 3A Park Hills -- the ninth-ranked, 2A Rams will no doubt be challenged again this week.

Hayti is led by talented running back Ortiz Banks (670 yards, 13 touchdowns).

Scott City, though, has one of the most impressive running games in the area as Marcus Klund and Brad Glenn have combined for 1,603 yards. And the Rams also have some motivation after suffering a rare loss last week.

Chaffee at Malden

Standing at 3-3, the Red Devils are looking to get over the .500 hump against Malden.

The Red Devils appear to have a chance in this game as the Green Wave considered by many as one of the top two small schools in the preseason have been hit by some key injuries.

Perhaps the biggest blow has been the loss of quarterback Conrad Ivie, which makes Malden a bit more one-dimensional.

Malden (3-3) has knocked off Hayti, Dexter and Charleston this season. Chaffee has beaten Grandview, Portageville and East Prairie.

Park Hills at Fredericktown

The Blackcats (4-2) will try to keep their momentum after coming up with an impressive 23-13 win over Ste. Genevieve last week.

Park Hills Central (3-3), meanwhile, is coming off a big win as well, knocking off Scott City, which was then ranked fourth in 2A .

"It ought to be a good football game and it's kind of our rivalry," said Fredericktown coach Kent Gibbs.

Gibbs said that Park Hills has a nice running-back tandem in Colby Scott and Gabe Nicholson, but "two weeks ago they threw the ball 26 times. It'll be real interesting to see what they come out and do. We just need to slow down the big play."

Crystal City at St. Vincent

St. Vincent is looking to improve to 7-0 when it takes on Crystal City (4-2).

The Hornets are coming off a 42-14 win over Winfield, while the Indians managed a 24-0 win over Caruthersville last week.

St. Vincent will be looking to stop Jeff Sanders, who has rushed for 872 yards this year, 300 of it coming last week.

St. Vincent and Crystal City has one common opponents so far this year.

The Hornets lost to St. Pius 35-7, while St. Vincent beat the same team 31-15.

East Prairie at Charleston

The Bluejays desperately need a win after starting the year 0-6.

East Prairie, though, is much improved, standing at 1-4 with a couple of near misses.

In the last three games, Charleston has been outscored 110-18.

Each of Charleston's next three opponents figure to be beatable, but if the Bluejays want something to build on for next year, they need to start tonight.

Windsor at Perryville

It appears that a rugged schedule is getting the best of the Pirates this season.

Perryville is 0-6 after losing 50-0 to a Hillsboro team that is now 2-4.

The Pirates will look to break into the win column this week against Windsor (2-4).

The two teams have played one common opponent in Ste. Genevieve. The Dragons beat Perryville 27-14 in Week 2, while Ste. Genevieve beat Windsor 44-14 in Week 3.