Tonight's the night for Central football

This is it, tonight's the night.

After destroying the Windsor Owls and their Harry Potter band (you had to be there), the Central Tigers are back at Houck Stadium, where they will host the Eureka Wildcats in a Class 4 quarterfinal game.

Eureka poses the biggest test for coach Lawrence Brookins and the Tigers this season and maybe, given the circumstances, all other seasons.

It's obvious the Tigers have something special this year. It's also obvious that this year's Class 4 brackets are nothing special. There are only a few title favorites left. And if the Tigers win tonight, they will be one of them.

If the Tigers get past Eureka, the road to the title could be an easy one. That's easier said than done, though.

The Tigers have made the playoffs the past three seasons but have failed to advance past the quarterfinals each year. If there was ever a time to break the trend, it's now.

The Tigers have never been considered underdogs this season, even against North County (their only loss). There's a first time for everything. It's time to see how good the Tigers really are.

The biggest event of the week is today but there is still plenty to do in your week ahead:

Today

The Tigers and Wildcats. Who would you take in a fight? If you watch the Discovery channel, you would know the tiger would always defeat a wildcat. But, since I don't watch the Discovery channel, I'm going to discover the winner myself. You should, too, at 7 p.m.

Thursday

The Blues' goalie merry-go-round continues to spin as the Blues look to remove the Kings' crown. Meanwhile, you can get your own crown as it is Schnucks/Pepsi hat night. The first 15,000 fans receive a free hat. What kind of hat? I don't know, get tickets and find out.

Friday

The season opener for Southeast Missouri State's men's roundball team is on the road. The Indians visit Arkansas State University at 7 p.m.

The more intriguing game on this night is the women's game, ironically. Henderson State visits the Show Me Center for the Otakians' regular season debut at 7 p.m.

Missouri hosts American in its season opener. The Tigers are led this year by Rolls Roycer Ricky Paulding and there's no doubt he'll have a big game against lowly American. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

Saturday

Mizzou football has had its fair share of heartbreaks in the past few years. The most recent came courtesy of Colorado and a poor call. But fresh off Saturday's double-overtime upset of Texas A&M, the Tigers return home to face another tough opponent in Kansas State at 2:30 p.m.

This is your last chance to see Michael Jordan, in a basketball uniform at least. He brings his Wizards to town to face the "new look" Grizzlies. I think they named that team after MJ, he truly is magical even now. 7 p.m.

David Wilson is a junior at Central High School and a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian