WEEK 2 MISSOURIAN FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Jackson welcomes familiar coach tonight vs. Lindbergh

Gravitational pull is a powerful force of nature.

Sun and Earth. Earth and moon. The Pit and Nathan Norman.

Any draw between the latter two, the home football field of the Jackson Indians and one of its all-time great players in Norman, can no longer be denied.

Norman spent three all-state seasons as a starter for the Indians, later spent seven seasons as a Jackson assistant, then spent time on the opposing sideline at The Pit with Cape Central.

He paid one visit as a Tigers assistant before making three more visits as Central's head coach.

Last season, his fifth and final as head coach, Norman led the Tigers to a 48-35 victory on his former home field.

Norman accepted the head coach job at Class 6 Lindbergh High School in the offseason after leading Central to the Class 4 semifinals for a third straight year.

Where will he be tonight?

Wearing headphones on the opposing sideline at The Pit.

In the first football meeting between the two schools, Norman and his Flyers, from St. Louis County, will take on his alma mater.

Both teams carry a 1-0 record into today's 7 p.m. kickoff.

Jackson coach Brent Eckley said the game was arranged before Norman ever took over for longtime Flyers coach Tom Beauchamp, who lost his position after Lindbergh finished 2-8 last season.

"We had already scheduled it, and I had already started collecting film when they made the switch," Eckley said.

Lindbergh was the replacement for Vianney, which had been the Week 2 opponent for the Indians since Eckley's first season at Jackson in 2012.

The Griffins also happened to be in Class 5 District 1, which ultimately led to annual postseason games and a heated rivalry.

Jackson and Vianney played a total of eight games over the past four years.

"We try to stay away from everyone in our district if we can," Eckley said.

So for the sixth consecutive season, Norman will be facing off against the school that he helped lead to Class 4 state title games in 1994 and 1995 and graduated from in 1996.

There will be no surprises from a strategic standpoint.

Eckley saw the film on Lindbergh's opener, a turnover-filled 17-14 comeback win over Oakville last week.

"Specifically on offense, they look very much the same," Eckley said. "The defense might be a little different than what they try to do at Cape, but the kids play hard. On offense, they're real big up front and physical. They're probably a little bit ahead with their running game than what they are with their passing game."

Eckley said the Flyers average 280 pounds on the offensive line.

"They like to run power first," Eckley said. "Their guys aren't quite as good at pulling as the kids from Cape have been the last couple of years, so they've been running iso. They've been very power oriented."

The Flyers' offense is directed by 6-foot-6 senior Parker Powell, and the running game features senior Andre Richie (5-10, 160 pounds) and junior Theo Price (5-11, 165). Price scored a TD in last week's game, while junior receiver Eric Martell also scored on a long pass. The Flyers also recorded a safety when Oakville mishandled a snap near its own goal line.

While the Flyers were able to fend off a couple of long desperation passes in the closing seconds, Jackson waltzed to a 42-7 victory over Hickman.

Jackson scored on its first three possessions of the season as it plowed to a 35-0 lead by halftime. Bryndan Reid kicked off his senior season with 127 yards on 11 carries to lead a running attack that featured nine rushers who totaled 342 yards. Reid carried nine times in the first half for 123 yards, during which the Indians accumulated the majority of their offense.

Junior quarterback Cooper Callis completed 9 of 15 attempts for 98 yards.

The win was dominant, but Eckley saw room for improvement.

"We played hard, but we need to clean some things up, keep taking care of the football," Eckley said. "We didn't get it ripped at us very much, but we're going to. I'd like to clean up some of the penalty issues."

Eckley blamed himself for a couple of delay of games on offense.

"It's silly to be in a no-huddle offense and get a delay of game," Eckley said. "We had two of them, so we'll try to clean that up."

Norman's team has won the last two meetings against Jackson, helping the Tigers to consecutive SEMO North Conference titles. His Central teams were 3-2 against the Indians and 2-1 at The Pit.

However, this is 2016, and his Flyers, who won the Class 6 state championship in 2002, are looking to establish a new identity after going 14-28 over the past four seasons.

"It looks to me, based on Game 1, Lindbergh's kids played really hard," Eckley said. "Their defense ran well to the ball, and their running backs ran hard. I think they'll come in with a lot of confidence and a lot of determination because last year they also started 1-0, and they only ended winning a couple games. And so I think they're really going to fight hard to maintain their confidence."

St. Charles West (1-0) at Cape Central (0-1)

Last week: Liberty (Mountain View) 39, Cape Central 20

Last year: St. Charles West 20, MICDS 13; Cape Central 33, St. Charles West 12

Outlook: For one half and then some, Central coach Arlen Pixley saw what his team was capable of during his coaching debut with the Tigers, who eventually faded in last week's opener.

"I would have liked to got more points in the first half than what we did, but I was fine with where we were going into halftime and then kind of the mental letdown in the second half," said Pixley, who examined game footage with his team this week. "It really was a tale of two different tapes."

The Tigers, who used a time-consuming 22-play scoring drive, trailed just 7-6 at halftime and led 21-13 in the third quarter before yielding two TDs in the final 2:18 of the third quarter and two more in the fourth.

Pixley said the Tigers were their own worst enemy with mistakes, and he didn't discount conditioning for his team's late fade.

"We went about 16 straight days of cloud cover and 80 degree temperatures or less," Pixley said about a rainy start to the month. "When we went over there, we felt like we were in Baton Rouge."

He likes how his team has responded in the days following Friday's loss.

"We've had really good practices this week and the players are healthy," Pixley said. "Tuesday was a big, physical day, and we responded to it well."

The run-oriented Spartans were 5-5 last season and graduated 1,900 yards of rushing in 1,000-rusher Dre Kelly and No. 2 rusher Austin Coffey. Sophomore Daris Morrison, a 190-pounder, is the top returning rusher with just 139 yards but averaged 12.6 ypc, according to stltoday.com.

Morrison is just one part of a physical running team with which the Tigers will have to contend. The Spartans also have senior running back Alarenz Stanton (6-0, 205) and senior fullback Marcus Paddack (5-10, 260) and they return sophomore QB Natt Frazer (6-0, 200), who completed 48 percent of his 45 passes as a freshman.

"Their backs look like an offensive line," Pixley said.

Morrison got off to a fast start against MICDS, scoring a pair of touchdowns and rushing seven times for 70 yards.

"They're a really good downhill running team and try to stretch you a bit from sideline to sideline, but their forte is to run from tackle to tackle. And if you can't stop it, you're in for a long night," Pixley said. "We have got to win on first down with our defense. We've got to get their offense in second and long and third and long."

Scott City (1-0) at St. Vincent (0-1)

Last week: Scott City 46, Grandview 8; Valle 77, St. Vincent 0

Last year: Scott City 33, St. Vincent 6

Outlook: Scott City will be seeking its second straight 2-0 start, while St. Vincent will be looking to rebound from a Week 1 shellacking at the hands of defending Class 1 state champion Valle Catholic for the second straight year.

The Indians opened their 2015 schedule with a 62-0 loss to the Warriors and lost by an even larger margin last week to the Class 1 juggernaut.

"It's not indicative necessarily of what we're going to see, and we know they've got a pretty good team," Scott City coach Jim May said. "We were at the jamboree with them, and we saw their varsity play against some of the other teams. We know we have a good challenge ahead."

The loss was more painful than just the scoreline for the Indians, who fell into a 35-point hole in the first quarter. The Indians lost senior running back/safety Riley Riehn to an injury on the season's opening kickoff, and his availability for this week is questionable. Despite beginning to sub in players in the second quarter, St. Vincent coach Nathan Rowland saw quarterback Tyler Monier get injured in the second quarter as well as sophomore lineman Nick DeRousse. Both have been unable to practice this week.

Sophomore Tyler Wibbenmeyer or freshman Garrett Dobbelare could get the start in place of Monier, who Rowland termed as "very questionable."

The Indians were forced to throw with the early deficit.

"I know they have a running game," May said. "It's just one of those things that kind of snowballs and gets out of control."

It was a smoother opening for Scott City. Braden Cox kicked off his senior season with a five-TD performance, all coming on the ground on 20 carries that went for 183 yards. Stressing a physical brand of football in the offseason and preseason, the Rams rushed for 297 yards (8.25 ypc). With senior quarterback Ty Wilthong completing 4 of 6 passes for 69 yards, the Rams accumulated 366 yards offense to Grandview's 125 yards. Cody Rhyne led the defensive effort with nine solo tackles and three assists.

May said he was most pleased with the play of his offensive line.

"I was pretty happy with where they were for being Week 1," May said. "Normally you have your most improvement from Week 1 to Week 2, and they were pretty sharp in Week 1. And I'm hoping they'll be a really solid group for us all year."

The Rams' opener made a believer out of Rowland.

"After watching what they did to Grandview, they are a physical, punch-you-in-the-mouth-type team," Rowland said.

Portageville (0-1) at Chaffee (1-0)

Last week: Caruthersville 54, Portageville 7; Chaffee 39, Crystal City 19

Last year: Portageville 49, Chaffee 14

Outlook: This could be a preview of a potential district meeting after Portageville, already a Southern Conference rival of Chaffee, dropping from Class 2 to Class 1 after the 2015 season. The Bulldogs now reside in District 1 with the likes of the Red Devils, Scott City, St. Vincent and defending state champion Valle.

Chaffee will be seeking back-to-back victories for the first time since its memorable 2013 season, when it opened 8-0.

Chaffee displayed the ability to take the pressure off sophomore quarterback Landon Tenkhoff, last season's leading rusher, which Chaffee coach Charlie Vickery said was a goal entering the season. Against Crystal City, sophomore Dalton Wilson rushed for 164 yards on five carries, two of which went for TDs. The first went for 90 yards. Senior Uzziah Beggs added 146 yards on 12 carries, with three more TDs, including scampers of about 60 and 40 yards.

"For a change, we were able to bust some long ones," Chaffee coach Charlie Vickery said. "I think we definitely have more speed than we had last year."

Tenkhoff did stay busy, carrying 14 times for 62 yards and completing 3 of 12 passes for 41 yards, but the combined 300 yards rushing by Wilson and Beggs further signaled an increasingly potent Chaffee offense that averaged just 6 points a game as recently as 2014.

"I think that's going to be a big key for us," Vickery said. "They just can't key on Landon. They'll have to see that we have some other people that can carry the ball as well."

Chaffee finished with 397 yards rushing (11.7 ypc).

On the other hand, Portageville opened the season with a thud after graduating all-conference quarterback Jon Garrett Kellams, who passed for a school-record 2,095 yards, from last year's 6-4 team.

Portageville got steamrolled by perennial power Caruthersville, losing the yardage battle 487 to 99, with the visiting Tigers rolling to 345 yards on the ground. Bulldogs quarterback Ian Torrey threw three picks, completing 11 of 32 passes for 73 yards, and had to scramble much of the game. Caruthersville, which averaged 9 yards per rush attempt and 10.6 yards per play, led 33-0 after one quarter.

"They were trying to throw the ball a lot, and they did the same thing in the jamboree," Vickery said about Portageville. "I think that's their game, but we've got to be ready for anything."

Torrey, who has good size, was a receiver for Kellams last year.

"I think the key is we have to contain him and not let the quarterback outside of us," Vickery said. "He's a good scrambler and has good speed."

Torrey led the offense with 21 yards rushing on nine carries. The Bulldogs managed just 26 yards overall on 20 carries.

Hunter Gates had four catches for 22 yards for Portageville, while Ryan Priggel had a team-high 28 yards on two receptions.

Kelly (0-1) at Crystal City (0-1)

Last week: East Prairie 59, Kelly 0; Chaffee 39, Crystal City 19

Last year: Crystal City 65, Kelly 33

Outlook: It's the third year of varsity football at Kelly, and all three have started with losses to East Prairie -- the last two by shutout. Last week's opener was the most lopsided of the three, as the Hawks yielded six TDs and 39 points in the first quarter and trailed 59-0 by intermission.

The Hawks allowed 281 yards total offense while finishing with minus-28 yards. The Hawks carried 29 times for minus-66 yards. All six Hawks who carried the ball finished with negative yardage. The game was a disaster for an already young Hawks team, which lost junior offensive lineman Dylan Sander and starting sophomore quarterback Christian Worley to injury. Their status for tonight's game was unavailable.

The inability to move the football left the Hawks with poor field position throughout the game. East Prairie's first six scoring drives all started inside the Kelly 31-yard line.

Crystal City rushed for 180 yards in its season-opening loss at Chaffee.

Quarterback Chris Esenbeis, who was 3 of 9 passing for 32 yards, led the rushing attack with six carries for 84 yards. Tyreece Shores accumulated 83 yards on 23 carries.

Perryville (0-1) at St. Pius (0-1)

Last week: De Soto 23, Perryville 15; Windsor 55, St. Pius 33

Last year: Perryville 56, St. Pius 7

Outlook: Perryville was hurt by four turnovers as it lost its season opener for the first time in five years.

Quarterback Ross Hadler was intercepted on three of his 14 attempts. He completed six passes for 60 yards. Meanwhile, yardage was difficult to come by on the ground as 34 rush attempts netted just 126 yards (3.7 ypc). Junior running back Derek Kirn led the way with 12 carries for 58 yards and one TD. Senior Kyle Creason added 52 yards on eight carries with a team-high 6.5 ypc.

Perryville yielded 265 yards total offense to De Soto, which registered 219 yards rushing on 32 carries (6.8 ypc).

St. Pius moved the ball in its opening loss to Windsor, scoring 33 points and collecting 313 yards rushing on 39 attempts. Luke Lampros led the ground attack with 15 carries for 160 yards, according to stltoday.com. Lampros also completed 5 of 10 passes for 65 yards, with two completions to Dustin Burch for 28 yards. Jalen Thornton, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards as a freshman, didn't have a carry against Windsor, while junior Eliot Fischer has moved from quarterback to receiver despite completing better than 50 percent of his passes and throwing for more than 1,100 yards.