Today's area football games

Central at St. CharlesWest

Last year's record: Central 10-2, St. Charles West 9-2

Last year's game: Central 33, St. Charles West 25

n Notes: St. Charles West went 6-0 in the GAC North last season before losing 29-19 to Hannibal in the sectionals, but West lost its starting quarterback and top two running backs. Central's run defense will have to be on alert after St. Charles West's wishbone offense burned it for 264 yards last season. The Tigers are coming off of another trip to the state quarterfinals. Central lost a tight contest to state runner-up Eureka 24-21. The Tigers will test a couple of new feature backs with Will Johnson, Brandon Twiggs and fullback Mikell Abraham all likely to receive carries. Central will be led by quarterback Mitch Craft, who enters his third season as a starter. Craft threw for 168 yards against St. Charles last season. St. Charles West leads the series 5-2.Jackson at Sikeston

Last year's record: Jackson 2-8, Sikeston 7-2

Last year's game: Sikeston 21, Jackson 14

n Notes: Sikeston will have a new starter at quarterback and running back with the loss of Lavar Morgan due to graduation and senior Blake DeWitt's decision to not play football. Those two players combined for nearly 200 yards rushing and 64 yards passing last year in Sikeston's win over Jackson. Jackson will break in five new starters on the offensive line, which is considerably smaller than a year ago. The Bulldogs will have Stephen Miller at quarterback. The defense will be a strength for Sikeston with the majority of the front seven back led by linebackers Jacob Priday and Nathan Eaves. Sikeston leads the series 58-29-6.Scott City at Malden

Last year's record: Scott City 4-6, Malden 4-6

Last year's game: Malden 28, Scott City 0

n Notes: The Rams will see their first action under new coach Jackie Johnson, who will use a more wide-open offense compared to the three-back sets of coach Jason Burkman last season. Despite a 4-6 season last year, Scott City rebounded in the district before a 42-7 loss in the district championship game. The Rams are relatively young with returning quarterback Luke McClellan and running back Matt Schaefer both entering their junior years. The Rams must do a better job of scoring this season after averaging a little more than 10 points a game last season. Scott City's defense will likely be a strength with its top five tacklers returning. The Green Wave have eight players back on defense but lost most of their skill players on offense. Malden scored a big win over Charleston last season but lost big to district opponent Portageville and ended the season with a loss to Johnson's Caruthersville squad. Malden leads the series 19-14.Grandview at Chaffee

Last year's record: Chaffee 1-9, Grandview 3-7

Last year's game: Grandview 34, Chaffee 14

n Notes: Former Charleston coach Terry Brashers takes over a Red Devil squad that will start the season with only two seniors on the roster. Chaffee will have sophomore Jeff Daugherty at quarterback and the combination of freshmen Chris Hanback and Michael Armitage at running back. Senior receiver Nick Powderly should provide leadership to the offense after starting last season. Chaffee leads the series 9-6 and posted wins over Grandview in 2000 and 2001. Grandview will look to build its offense around junior fullback Brandon Lawson.Priory at St. Vincent

Last year's record: St. Vincent 7-3, Priory 6-4

Last year's game: St. Vincent 16, Priory 14

n Notes: After a down year in 2001, St. Vincent posted seven wins last season and lost to Hayti 7-6 in the district championship game. The Indians return senior quarterback Chad Lane, along with the brother running back combination of Chris and Kyle Kline. St. Vincent had a stingy defense last season but will have to replace defensive backs Tyler Paulus and Brad Renner. Junior running back Brenton Jamison rushed for more than 1,200 yards last season for Priory and likely will lead the offense again this season. Priory wide receiver Matt Merjavy will be the top target for quarterback Ted Horan.Perryvlle at Herculaneum

Last year's record: Perryville 2-8, Herculaneum 5-5

Last year's game: Herculaneum 21, Perryville 0

n Notes: Perryville is back under the guidance of Rick Chastain, who takes over the program he helped rebuild more than 10 years ago. Perryville scored only 74 points last season, an area were Chastain hopes to make immediate improvements. The Pirates, who used mainly a running attack last season, will try to air it out more this season. Kyle Dobbelare will be the main weapon at wide receiver, with Corey Buerck and Tyler Stevens taking the snaps at quarterback. Herculaneum has a solid line led by two-time all-state lineman Jeff Sobol, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 275 pounds.

-- Jeremy Joffray