THE LATEST LINE: CAPE-JACKSON GAME FEATURES ADDED FLAVOR

Granted, they haven't exactly played a who's who list of the region's top high school football teams, which means the jury is still out on just how good they are.

But there's no denying one thing: Cape Girardeau Central and Jackson will enter their annual border war battle at Houck Stadium Friday night with the best combined record they've had in a long, long time -- and undoubtedly one of the best combined marks ever.

Jackson is 7-0, having outscored the opposition 239-54. Only two teams have come as close as 14 points to the Indians. And even though Jackson has played several downtrodden foes, they do own wins over a few pretty talented teams, namely Riverview Gardens, Althoff and Hannibal.

Central is 6-1, having outscored the opposition 248-110. In the Tigers' six wins, no team has come within 19 point of them. Central has waltzed past a bunch of weak teams, but the Tigers have beaten Althoff and demolished what was supposed to be a pretty talented Blytheville (Ark.) squad.

And as if the 13-1 combined record between the teams doesn't add some extra anticipation to a rivalry that is exciting enough to begin with, one other item will spice up this year's affair.

Last year the squads also had solid records entering the game, Jackson 7-1 and Central 6-3. But it was the final game of the regular season and the Tigers had already been eliminated from district contention by losing their first two district contests. The Indians won and captured the district title.

Friday's battle will mark the district opener for both teams -- meaning each squad still has high hopes of winning the district crown and advancing into the playoffs.

Jackson, after being dominated in the rivalry since the early 1960s, has grabbed the upper hand in recent years with three straight victories, something that no doubt doesn't sit well with the Central folks.

The game is one of the highlights of the area prep football season every year no matter what kind of success the teams are enjoying.

That the squads have only one loss between them and both have their sights set on a district title only enhances the rivalry.

* As I've said many times before, preseason practice is always an exciting time in any sport because everybody is always so optimistic.

So it is with SEMO basketball as the Indians begin the Gary Garner era.

It's hard to tell how the Indians -- who began practice Saturday -- will do this year because they play a rugged non-conference schedule and the Ohio Valley Conference is always pretty competitive.

But I will say this, after talking to a lot of people at Wednesday's media day: the players seem to have a genuine fondness for the new coaching staff, which can only bode well for the future.

Coaches don't have to be the players' best friends -- that would probably never work -- but I believe it helps if players at least like their coaches to some extent and they definitely have to totally respect them and their philosophies in order to reach maximum potential.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian