THE BULLDOGS: TEXAS-SIZED LINE

If there is a team in the area with bigger linemen than what the Sikeston Bulldogs offer, Charlie Vickery would like to see it.

The 2001 Bulldogs will dress 19 players that are 205 pounds or heavier and 10 others that tip the scales at 240-plus.

Sikeston returns nearly every lineman from last season's 4-6 team and also return 1,000-yard rusher Heath Hunter.

And the line isn't just big, it's quality.

Headlining the group of big men are seniors Kevin Keller, Myron Hardin and Justin Lowes. The three have been starters since they were sophomores and they are also tremendous defensive players.

"I think it all starts with the line in any year -- you've got to have some linemen on both sides of the ball," said Vickery. "We've got a lot of experience there and a lot of size. We're expecting a lot of leadership out of our linemen."

Senior Desmond Green (6-foot-3, 305) has been impressive in practice as has Stuart Carraway and Scott Heuiser. Chris Barnes, Cedric Strong, Zach Bell, Ryan Barrozo, Tim Gardner, Kyle Tangen, Dustin Underhill and Dustin Heaton are the backup linemen.

Hunter, who gained 1,017 yards on 198 carries with seven touchdowns last year, is a durable, reliable running back.

A 1,000-yard rusher

"Anytime you've got a 1,000-yard rusher coming back then you've got a good running back," said Vickery. "Heath's always going to give you everything he's got. He obviously doesn't have the breakaway speed, but he's a tough runner, he follows blockers well, he doesn't make mistakes, he's not going to fumble."

Backing up Hunter will be junior Sam Owens, who gained 144 yards with a touchdown last season. After that, there isn't much experience returning. Senior Demetrius Fletcher, who hasn't played in two years, will also look for playing time.

Josh Bird, a punishing blocking fullback the past two years, graduated. Filling his void will be juniors Josh Monroe and Elgin Hunt and sophomore Jacob Priday.

Junior Kevin Johnson will also vie for playing time.

One of the biggest questions entering the season will be at quarterback. Every year since 1997, Sikeston has started a different quarterback.

Junior Drew Lawrence and sophomore Blake DeWitt are the candidates right now and Vickery says they are fairly even.

Reliable options

"I think whoever it is we're going to be in pretty good shape because I feel very comfortable with either one," said Vickery. "They both have good arms, they're both very intelligent and they understand the game very well. I don't know who it'll be -- we're not going to name a starter until the week of (the first game). We very well could go into the first game playing both of them."

At receiver, Andrew Lambert (12 catches, 137 yards) and tight end Justin Freeman (11 catches, 123 yards) are back.

After giving up nearly 30 points a game two years ago, the defense was vastly improved last season, giving up 20.6 points a game.

Vickery expects that number to drop even more this year.

"I think we'll get better as the season goes on, but what's going to make us better is we've got some experience up front and experience at the linebackers," he said. "And also our overall team speed defensively is much improved. I'm not saying that we have great team speed or anything like that, but we're definitely overall faster than what we were last year."

Along with Hardin (59 tackles, 11 sacks), Keller (45 tackles, two sacks) and Lowes (44 tackles, six sacks), senior Travis Deere (81 tackles, sack) will help anchor the defensive line.

Team-leading tackler

Senior Kyle Duncan returns at linebacker where he led the team with 104 tackles. He also had a sack and two interceptions last year. Monroe (16 tackles, 1 interception), Hunt and Priday will also play linebacker. DeWitt and sophomore Nathan Eaves may also see some time.

In the secondary, Lambert (57 tackles, 2 int.) returns as the starting safety. Juniors Tori Rose and Colon will start at cornerback. Junior Keena Hatcher will vie for playing time.

Lambert returns at kicker, where he was 14-of-14 on extra points last year and 5-of-7 on field goals, including a 41-yarder.

One area where Sikeston needs improvement is in the return game. Last year the Bulldogs returned just seven punts for a total of 33 yards. And the kickoff return team averaged just 11.9 yards per return.

The poor field position would always hamper the offense.

"It's always easy to put points on the board when you've got breakaway speed," said Vickery. "In the past we've averaged 30 points per game, but we had breakaway speed. We're going to have to make up for it somewhere, but I think we'll be a pretty steady offensive team and I think we'll be able to mix it up some more."

SIKESTON

THE TEAM

P COACH: Charlie Vickery, 24th season

P ENROLLMENT, CLASSIFICATION: 1,077; Class 4A, District 1

P KEY LOSSES: (DL) Kris Eastwood, (FB/LB) Josh Bird, (QB/DB) Heath Self

P RETURNING STARTERS: 12

LAST SEASON (4-6) THIS SEASON

at Jackson L 30-3

at Charleston W 33-14

Dexter W 17-0

at Kennett L 41-27

Poplar Bluff L 6-3

at New Madrid Co. Cent. L 45-6

Roosevelt W 22-6

Cape Central L 23-0

Farmington L 18-0

at Perryville W 24-7

A. 31 vs. Jackson

S. 7 vs. Charleston

S. 14 at Dexter

S. 21 vs. Kennett

S. 28 at Poplar Bluff

O. 5 at New Madrid Co. Central

O. 12 vs. Roosevelt

O. 18 at Cape Central

O. 26 at Farmington

N. 1 Perryville

THE MAGNIFICENT ELEVEN

{PROBABLE STARTERS}

P OFFENSE

QB Drew Lawrence or Blake DeWitt

RB Heath Hunter (5-11, 185, sr.)

FB Josh Monroe (5-8, 170, jr.)

OT Kevin Keller (6-6, 280, sr.)

OT Desmond Green (6-3, 305, sr.)

OG Myron Hardin (6-3, 260, sr.)

OG Scott Heuiser (5-11, 190, sr.)

C Stuart Carraway (5-11, 215, sr.)

TE Justin Freeman (6-3, 205, sr.)

FL Larry Newman (6-3, 170, sr.)

SE Andrew Lambert (6-2, 160, sr.)

P DEFENSE

DE Myron Hardin (6-3, 260, sr.)

DE Travis Deere (6-3, 215, sr.)

DT Kevin Keller (6-6, 280, sr.)

DT Justin Lowes (6-3, 275, sr.)

LB Kyle Duncan (6-1, 190, sr.)

LB Elgin Hunt (5-10, 210, jr.)

LB Jacob Priday (6-0, 185, so.)

LB Josh Monroe (5-8, 170, jr.)

CB Tori Rose (6-0, 155, jr.)

CB Michael Colon (6-2, 165, jr.)

FS Andrew Lambert (6-2, 160, sr.)

P KEY SUBSTITUTES: (WR) John Fuchs, (RB) Sam Owens, (TE) Ben Jones, (OL/DL) Chris Barnes, (LB) Nathan Eaves

P SPECIAL TEAMS: (K) Andrew Lambert, 6-2, 160, sr.; (P) Blake DeWitt,

5-11, 175, soph.; (KR) Michael Colon, 6-2, 165, jr.; (PR) Nathan Eaves, 5-10, 165, soph.

THE GOOD

P With 22 seniors on the roster, leadership shouldn't be a problem.

P The line is one of the biggest in school history.

P Team speed on the defensive side of the ball has improved from last

season.

THE BAD AND THE UGLY

P The Bulldogs still lack a game-breaking offensive threat.

P Sikeston must improve its coverage and its return game on special teams.

P The offense must improve on last season's 13.5 points a game.

HOW BOUT IT COWBOY?

{Inside the mind of senior DL TRAVIS DEERE}

KEYS TO THE SEASON

P "We have to attack on both sides of the ball, attack on defense and just pound people on offense."

P "We need to get our passing game down."

P "We need to keep teams from driving down the field too much."

BEST THING ABOUT FOOTBALL

P "The hitting. Just hitting people is the best thing. There's no other sport where you can just have those collisions day after day. You can hit people and it's legal."

SUPERSTITIONS

"I drink a green Gatorade and eat a Milky Way before every game."

PERSONAL GOALS

"I'm at a new position and I'm trying to adjust to it. I want to get more tackles than I did last year and add a few more sacks and try to be one of the leaders on defense."

QUICK DRAWS

P Sikeston hasn't won a district championship since 1995, which is the school's longest drought since 1975 ... Sikeston hasn't had back-to-back losing seasons since 1985-86 ... Charlie Vickery has won more games than any other Sikeston coach with 139 victories ... At Sikeston, Vickery has a winning record against every team in the SEMO Conference except Cape Central, which evened the series last year at 12-12 ... Last season's 135 points was the lowest point total since 1985 ... Heath Hunter became the first Sikeston junior to rush for 1,000 yards since Mark Blissett in 1996 ... Games will be broadcast on KRHW-AM 1520 and KSIM-AM 1400.