TIGERS, BROOKINS TO MAKE DEBUTS TONIGHT AT COLUMBIA HICKMAN

Lawrence Brookins' first win as head coach won't come easy.

Not in the first week, anyway.

Brookins' Cape Girardeau Central Tigers will have the not-so-easy task of trying to beat a strong Columbia Hickman team after making a three-plus hour drive into the heart of the state. Tonight's season-opening kickoff is set for 7:30.

And the Kewpies, who run the wishbone, have the heart of their team back from a year ago.

Hickman held off a late and furious surge last year and defeated the Tigers 47-39 at Houck Stadium after building a huge third-quarter lead.

The Kewpies return two 1,000-yard rushers in the backfield. Quarterback Danny Perry ran for 1,001 yards and passed for another 978. Jake Whitesides ran for 1,262 yards last season as a fullback, but he may play more at tailback this season. Both Perry and Whitesides scored 16 touchdowns last year and they averaged a whopping 7.4 yards per carry.

"Perry is a very good option quarterback," said Brookins. "He's their most dangerous runner without a doubt. (Whitesides) is the kind of runner that doesn't quit. He'll run out of arm tackles."

Perry and Whitesides benefit from an experienced offensive line. Junior center Jed Paulsen (6-3, 270) has started since his freshman year. He is the largest offensive lineman for the Kewps. Hickman averages 250 pounds per lineman.

The 1998 Hickman team finished the year with a 10-2 record and a No. 6 ranking in Class 5A. Both of Hickman's losses came to teams which were ranked No. 1 in the state at the time. The first was a 28-6 loss to Jefferson City and the second was a 43-16 loss to Rockhurst in the Class 5A quarterfinal

"Their team speed is very good," said Brookins, who was an assistant coach at Hickman from 1993-96. "They have good size -- not monstrous -- but solid on both offense and defense. They're well-coached. Their head coach (Greg Nesbitt) is one of the hardest workers I've ever coached with or against."

With all that going for the Kewpies, though, Brookins is convinced that Hickman is beatable.

"They're good, but not invincible," he said. "We've got to be a physical, nasty bunch. I would like a nasty, grind-it-out game where we pull it out in the end. We can't get in a track meet with them."

One of the reasons Brookins doesn't want a high-scoring game is because Hickman is a deeper team than Central.

"They've got 100 guys on their roster," Brookins said. "The roster took up three pages. They platoon two teams and very few of their guys go both ways."

Though the Kewpies are a run-oriented team, the passing game cannot be ignored. Perry threw for nine touchdowns a year ago.

"They're like most option teams," Brookins said. "They get you so concerned about the run ... and lo and behold there goes the play-action over your head. We've been pounding it in to our secondary this week that no matter what, take a couple of drop steps first, before coming up."

Make no mistake, Central will be gunning for Perry.

"I'm anxious to see how their quarterback can take a lick if he really gets nailed," Brookins said. "We didn't get to him last year and I haven't seen him take a good hit on film."

Brookins said Perry left the jamboree early last Friday after suffering a minor injury.

"I'm sure he's okay by now," Brookins said. "He was walking it off toward the end of the jamboree last week, but he didn't return."

The Hickman defense won't be as impressive as the offense. At least that was the case last season.

"They can be scored on," Brookins said. "I saw some things in their defense I think we can take advantage of."

The Kewpies allowed 25 or more points in six of their games. But they scored more than 30 nine times and more than 40 seven times.

The most points the team scored last year was 62 in a 30-point blowout of Poplar Bluff.

Tonight's games

(Games start at 7:30 p.m.)

Cape Central at Columbia Hickman

Jackson at Sikeston

Scott City at Malden

Grandview at Chaffee

Perryville at Farmington

St. Vincent at Carlyle, Ill.

Fredericktown at Park Hills

Charleston at Kennett

Dexter at Poplar Bluff

Mt. Vernon, Ill. at New Madrid

East Prairie at Hayti

Gosnell, Ark. at Portageville

Green Co., Ark. at Caruthersville

Anna-Jonesboro at Herrin

Elverado at Cairo (7 p.m.)