Week 1 high school football preview capsules

Malden (0-0) at Scott City (0-0)

Last year: Malden 50, Scott City 14

Outlook: Scott City's loss to Malden last season was part of an 0-4 start to a 2-8 season. Last year's game was notable from the standpoint that Malden scored 42 points in the second quarter.

The Green Wave dropped their next five games and finished with an identical 2-8 mark.

The Rams are beginning their second season under coach Jim May and return some key players to help improve on the maiden voyage.

Garett Schaefer, a 1,000-yard rusher in 2009, was held out of last week's jamboree as a cautionary move following an injury in a scrimmage but will play tonight.

Senior quarterback Jamie Scholz returns to direct the offense.

Malden will have an inexperienced quarterback in sophomore Tanner Murphy, but returns experience at the other skill positions.

Returning at tailback are Patrick Wilson, Raymond Wilson and Justin Rowe, while fullback will be manned by 230-pound senior Kyle Lemarr.

Experience also returns at receiver in Quentin Jackson and Percy Johnson, as well as tight end Jordan McMunn.

Lemarr, an all-conference linebacker, is at the center of a defense that never yielded more than 29 points in any of its eight losses last season.

Malden will be trying to win its first game under first-year coach Joel Wyatt.

Chaffee (0-0) at Grandview (0-0)

Last year: Chaffee 12, Grandview 6

Outlook: Last year's season-opening victory against the Eagles was the last time Chaffee tasted victory as the Red Devils lost their final eight games.

The loss was the 35th in a row for Grandview, which snapped its skid at 36 games in Week 3 and advanced to the playoffs with two district wins in a 3-8 season.

Grandview returns nine players on both offense and defense but has a new quarterback in Andrew Holland.

The Eagles' other loss on offense was on the offensive line.

A young Chaffee offense never scored more than 20 points in a game last season but should be more potent with the return of junior quarterback Jordan Yahn and his main target, senior Mike Rutherford, who had 34 catches for 479 yards as a junior.

Yahn was the Red Devils' leading rusher last year with 377 yards as the ground game struggled, and the offensive line is inexperienced this year.

With Rutherford and junior Zach Dannenmueller back, Chaffee looks to pass more this season.

New Madrid (0-0) at Central (0-0)

Last year: New Madrid County Central 38, Central 35

Outlook: The three-point loss to New Madrid in last year's Week 2 meeting proved to be the closest the Tigers came to victory in an 0-10 season.

The winless 2009 campaign stretched Central's losing streak to 13 games, and the Tigers will be looking to stop the skid in Week 1 and establish momentum for the new season.

Central, which has not won a season opener since 2003, is 3-27 over the past three seasons. While Central took its lumps last season, the Tigers look to be stronger and faster with 10 starters returning on both sides of the ball.

Junior quarterback Christian Cavaness returns to direct an offense that has both speed in the backfield in Keilon Moore and James Poindexter and size at receiver in 6-foot-5 senior Andrew Williams and 6-4 tight end Zach Boerboom.

New Madrid advanced to the Class 3 quarterfinals last season and finished 9-4.

Senior quarterback G'Darius Stevenson returns to direct the offense. Stevenson was first-team all-state as a junior, which included a 294-yard rushing effort in a Class 3 sectional against then-unbeaten Potosi.

The Eagles lost some big contributors to last year's team, including first-team all-state defensive end Kony Ealy, who has moved on to play at Missouri.

Perryville (0-0) at Herculaneum (0-0)

Last year: Herculaneum 42, Perryville 0

Outlook: The Blackcats handed Perryville one of its four shutout losses last season, the Pirates' setback coming in the seventh week.

Herculaneum, which has dropped to Class 2, has replaced Maplewood in the Jefferson County Conference.

Herculaneum's Bryan Bone, one of three returning starters to the offense, could be one of the top rushers in the conference this year after running for nearly 900 yards last season and gaining second-team all-conference honors.

Blake Womack will direct the Herculaneum offense.

Perryville returns seven senior starters, including senior quarterback Joey Bauwens, to an offense that netted 42 points last season.

Running back Garrett Flentge and receiver Ryan Kassinger again will be threats on offense, but the Pirates are looking to depart from the penalties, mental mistakes and turnovers that habitually hampered the offense last season.

St. Vincent (0-0) at Park Hills Central (0-0)

Last year: Park Hills 27, St. Vincent 20

Outlook: The Week 2 loss last season was part of an 0-4 start for St. Vincent, which finished the regular season with a 5-5 record before falling in the first round of the playoffs.

Park Hills, which went 7-3 but fell short of the Class 3 playoffs last season, has won the last four meetings with the Class 1 Indians.

The Rebels graduated two first-team all-conference 1,000-yard rushers in fullback Tyler Friend and running back Matt Ketterer, but return four of their five offensive linemen, anchored by all-conference junior guard Josh Mitchell.

The Rebels return tailback Jaron Bridges and will add Potosi transfer Bryan Greer and Cody Harrison.

Aaron Tyree takes over the starting job at quarterback.

While Central has experience on the line, St. Vincent will be testing out a rebuilt offensive line, part of an offense that returns only junior quarterback Tim Schumer to the same position as 2009.

The Indians also lost a 1,000-yard rusher to graduation in C.J. Pavlovsky and will turn to junior fullback Derek Joggerst and senior tailback Mitchell Presnell.

SATURDAY

Jackson (0-0) at O'Fallon Christian (0-0)

Last year: Did not play

Outlook: No matter the outcome, the game will be a memorable one for O'Fallon Christian.

When the Class 2 Eagles host the Class 5 Indians, it will mark the first varsity football game for O'Fallon Christian.

The Indians played a JV schedule last season and compiled a 6-2 record.

Brendon Norwine, point guard on the Eagles' basketball team, directs O'Fallon's offense at quarterback. The multi-dimensional player is also the team's kicker and punter.

While giving up enrollment size, O'Fallon will not be size-challenged on the field with a 6-foot-4 fullback in Mason Burnett, a 6-3, 195-pound receiver in Robby Wilkinson and an offensive line that tips 200 pounds across the board.

Jackson is coming off possibly its worst season in the 115-year history of its program.

Jackson, which played in the Class 5 state semifinals in 2008, avoided an 0-10 2009 season with a comeback victory over rival Central in the final game of the season.

Bobby Clark, a three-sport athlete (baseball, basketball) at Jackson returns at quarterback for the Indians. Clark is also the team's punter.

Jackson's offense also returns leading rusher Ethan Ruch, who came on strong the second half of the season.

Ruch rushed for more than yards 600 yards last season and had 306 yards over the final two games.

-- Jeff Breer