SIKESTON, NEW MADRID TO PUT AREA'S TOP TWO RUNNING BACKS ON ONE FIELD

If you're a high school football fan and you don't follow one particular team, the Sikeston-New Madrid game at Sikeston tonight would likely be your game of choice.

Without question, Sikeston's Justin Robinson and New Madrid's Ricky Smith are the top two running backs in the region this year and the two will go head-to-head tonight.

Robinson is coming off a record-breaking night when he ripped off 318 yards against Cape Central as Sikeston (4-2) won 47-27.

Smith will be looking to rebound from his worst performance of the year when St. Francis-Borgia, the third-ranked team in Class 3A, held him to just 66 yards in the Eagles' 29-6 loss. New Madrid dropped to 5-1 with the loss.

Perryville at John Burroughs

With the exception of one or two football games in Southeast Missouri this week, most of the high school contests figure to be lopsided.

One of the few exceptions in Week 7 of this football campaign could be the Perryville-John Burroughs game in St. Louis.

With no common opponents, this one is a tough one to call.

Burroughs, a Class 2A school, comes into Saturday's 2 p.m. kickoff with a 2-4 record, while Perryville, a 4A squad, is also 2-4.

Both teams have played some traditionally tough competition this season.

Burroughs was blasted 43-27 in the season opener and was ripped by North County 61-23 the following week, but has generally played teams tougher since those two games.

Perryville, meanwhile, has won two straight -- a 40-7 win over Brentwood and a 42-6 win over Festus -- after losing the first four games of the season.

Scott City at Hayti

The Rams have had a shortened practice week after having to play its game against Caruthersville on Monday because of a power outage Friday night.

But it really shouldn't matter as the Rams (5-1) are heavily favored to win again, although Hayti -- despite its 2-4 record -- isn't without talent.

Hayti running back Charles Gains, a sophomore fullback, is one of the top running backs around this season.

Scott City also has one of the top backs in the region. Make that two.

After not playing any running back, his first three years, David Enderle has become an additional threat to Matt Underwood in Scott City's backfield. Enderle, the point guard on the basketball team, has come on strong of late, rushing for three touchdowns and scoring another on a kickoff return to lead the Rams to a 42-7 romp on Monday.

Scott City has outscored its last five opponents 190-19.

Hayti has posted wins over East Prairie and Thayer this season.

Malden at Chaffee

The automatic prediction to this game would be that Malden should roll over the Red Devils.

But Chaffee (3-3) has played well this season when considered the underdog and Malden (4-2) has been inconsistent to a fault.

Malden shut out Scott City 30-0 in the season opener, but lost to Dexter 28-6. Then, last week, it upset a strong Kennett team 7-6.

"They seem to be beat up and we hope to catch them off guard," said Chaffee coach Allan Horrell. "They may be looking past us."

Chaffee is 3-3 for the first time in many years and it is hoping to go above the .500 mark for the first time since the season opener.

St. Vincent at Grandview

Coming off its biggest win of the year, the Indians must be aware of a letdown tonight.

A win over Grandview would wrap up at least a share of the Jefferson County Conference title tonight.

The Indians, the second-ranked team in Class 1A, are the favorite going in, but Grandview may not be a walkover like it has been in the past.

Herculaneum, the only team to beat St. Vincent (5-1) in the past two regular seasons, only beat Grandview by 11. St. Vincent lost that game by 6.

However, St. Pius, which St. Vincent beat 24-0 last week, beat Grandview 35-6. Grandview (2-4) has also posted some lopsided wins this season, knocking off Aquinas Mercy 47-0 and Maplewood 41-0.

So far, St. Vincent has shut out three of its six opponents, which ties it with Scott City for the most shutouts in the region.

If Herculaneum, St. Vincent and St. Pius all win again tonight, they will be tied at the top of the conference.

Fredericktown at North County

Fredericktown is doing things this year that the football team hasn't done in 15 or 20 years, posting wins over Ste. Genevieve and Valle of Ste. Gen.

But North County would be something else.

Fredericktown (4-2) will be looking for its third straight win of the season against North County (6-0), the second-ranked team in Class 4A.

Fredericktown pounded Potosi 41-20 last week, while North County defeated De Soto 21-0.

Poplar Bluff at Belleville-Althoff

As the season has progressed, it has become obvious that Poplar Bluff and Jackson are the two best large-school teams in the area.

Which one is better?

Poplar Bluff's game tonight will give fans a better indication.

Jackson downed Althoff 21-6 last week, a game that should've been 21-0. But Althoff's first-team capped off a two-minute drill against Jackson's second and third-team defense with a touchdown on the last play of the game.

Poplar Bluff is coming off its first loss of the season, a 27-20 setback to Columbia-Hickman.