Week 7 high school football capsules: Unbeaten Sikeston visits Central

Sikeston (6-0) at Central (2-4)

Last week: Sikeston 26, Jackson 17; Farmington 39, Central 36

Last year: Sikeston 47, Central 17

Outlook: Sikeston, ranked fourth in Class 4, clinched the SEMO Conference Northern Division with a win against previously unbeaten Jackson last week.

And the Bulldogs may be just the opponent Central needs to face as it attempts to turn around its recent tough-luck streak and ready itself for the district tournament. The Tigers are on a three-game skid and have lost the last two -- Jackson and Farmington -- on late touchdowns.

"They're looking at this as a good opportunity," Central coach Nathan Norman said about his players. "We've been in every game we've played so far. We're most disappointed in this last week, obviously. We felt like we should have won that game, but hats off to Farmington.

"Our kids played hard all year and we feel like we've got a good football team. It doesn't show in our record."

Sikeston defeated Farmington 38-6 in Week 4. Sikeston and Central own wins against Poplar Bluff.

The Tigers may have the overall team speed to deal with Sikeston quarterback Kyland Gross, who had been Sikeston's primary offensive weapon until the Jackson game. The fleet-footed and shifty Gross still added more than 100 yards to his rushing total last week and has a team-high 799 yards and 9.4 yards per carry. But Junior Chris Word gave Sikeston's future opponents another weapon to worry about when he hit Jackson for a career-high 193 yards rushing and averaged 7.7 yards per carry. Word had averaged 52 yards rushing per game and 3.8 yards per carry through Sikeston's first five games.

Sikeston's defense also showed its teeth when it held Jackson's offense well below its season averages for both total yardage and points.

Central mounted more than 400 yards offense last week against Farmington but also gave up more than 450. The Tigers averaged 7.8 yards a carry against the Knights and accumulated 284 yards rushing to push their season average to 227 yards per game. Central averages 309 yards of offense.

The Tigers will be missing leading rusher Chris Martin, who will be out with a sprained ankle. Martin has a team-high 627 yards (8.1 ypc).

"It's a big loss, but some kids have stepped up earlier in the year," Norman said. "We had moved Chris solely to offense, so it's not as big a loss as it could have been. If there is position we have some depth at, it's running back. We'll be OK, but obviously we'll miss Chris' speed. He's a threat. Any time he touches the ball it could be six points for us."

Senior Jacob Campbell is second on the team with 510 yards (7.2 ypc) rushing, while senior Mikey Jones is third with 117 yards (4.3 ypc).

Receiver Garan Evans followed up a two-touchdown game against Jackson with a productive night against Farmington with three catches for 85 yards.

Sikeston and Central are 6-6 against each other since 2000, but the Bulldogs have prevailed as of late. Sikeston has won the last four meetings and five of the last six.

Class 4 District 1 seeding -- 1. Sikeston (6-0) 51, 2. Hillsboro (4-2) 37.67, 3. Festus (4-2) 36, 4. Central (2-4) 34.33, 5. North County (3-3) 31.5, 6. Farmington (2-4) 26.67, 7. De Soto (2-4) 22.67, 8. Perryville (2-4) 21.5

St. Vincent (3-3) at St. Pius (2-4)

Last week: St. Vincent 28, Crystal City 14; St. Pius 24, Cuba 14

Last year: St. Vincent 35, St. Pius 21

Outlook: Both teams are entering on the heels of a win and look to maintain the momentum down the stretch.

St. Vincent is on a two-game winning streak after ending a three-game skid. St. Pius ended a 19-game losing streak with a rain-soaked overtime win in Week 2 against Chaffee, which was missing its starting quarterback at the time. The Lancers broke a relatively short three-game skid last week against Cuba, which had recorded its only victory of 2012 against winless Windsor.

The Indians have won the last four meetings against St. Pius and eight of the last nine.

St. Pius uses multiple formations, including power sets. Warriors junior Chris Filer had more than 100 yards rushing earlier this season against Chaffee, and St. Pius accounted for 244 of its 305 yards on the ground in that game. The running attack also includes senior Talon Cook and freshman Tryson Thornton, who leads the team in touchdowns, according to stltoday.com.

Junior Alex Winkler remains the leading rusher in St. Vincent's offensive attack, which is directed by senior quarterback Trent Elder. Seniors Trenton Gremaud and Jesse Francis lead the receiving corp.

Class 1 District 1 seeding -- 1. Portageville (6-0) 55.33, 2. Valle Catholic (5-1) 49.97, 3. Thayer (3-3) 40.17, 4. St. Vincent (3-3) 39.64, 5. Chaffee (2-4, 31.67), 6. Hayti (2-4) 30.16, 7. Crystal City (1-5) 24.67, 8. Cabool (0-6) 21.16

Hayti (2-4) at Scott City (4-2)

Last week: Malden 40, Hayti 26; Portageville 46, Scott City 13

Last year: Hayti 42, Scott City 35

Outlook: Scott City looks for a better outing after dropping a lopsided affair to unbeaten Portageville.

The Rams haven't fared well against the Indians over the years. Hayti has won the last five meetings by an average score of 42-17. Hayti is 11-1 against Scott City since the turn of the century. The Rams' lone win during that span was a 28-19 win in 2006.

The Rams have lost two of their last three games after opening the season 3-0. Tonight's game looms large for a Scott City team that has a bye next week and only one more regular-season game (NJROTC) after tonight before opening the district tournament Oct. 26.

Travis Phillips continued his string of 100-yard games against Portageville with 118 yards. He has topped 100 yards in all six games this season -- he has a streak of eight overall -- and is among the area leaders with 857 yards. Phillips also surpassed 100 yards in five of his six games last year before he suffered a season-ending knee injury that required surgery.

Class 2 District 1 seeding -- 1. Caruthersville (4-1) 45.3, 2. Charleston (4-2) 39.3, 3. Malden (4-2) 38.36, 4. Scott City (4-2) 34.84, 5. Jefferson (2-3) 29.4, 6. Grandview (3-3) 29, 7. St. Pius (2-4) 28.83, 8. East Prairie (0-6) 14

Chaffee (2-4) at Malden (4-2)

Last week: Chaffee 35, East Prairie 8; Malden 40, Hayti 26

Last year: Malden 49, Chaffee 25

Outlook: The Red Devils broke a four-game losing streak last week against winless East Prairie but will have to pull a big upset to build a winning streak.

Malden's two losses have been to unbeaten Portageville and Caruthersville, which hasn't lost since a season-opening setback to Mountain View. The Green Wave is on a three-game winning streak, having scored at least 36 points in each of its wins over Scott City, East Prairie and Hayti.

Malden also has dominated the series with the Red Devils. The Wave has won the last three meetings and 11 of 12 since 2000 by an average score of 34-9. Chaffee's lone win was a 24-14 triumph in 2008.

Malden senior running back Romello McCoy has been shredding defenses the last few weeks. McCoy, who averages around 10 yards per carry, has reeled off three consecutive 200-yard games after leaving the Caruthersville game early with 159 yards and a leg injury. In the three games since he has hit Scott City for 273 yards, East Prairie for 245 and Hayti for 230. McCoy picked up the yardage against Hayti on 33 carries. The other Malden rushers accumulated just 29 yards on 11 carries. McCoy also rushed for four touchdowns in the game and returned a kick 80 yards for another score.

Freshman Chapen Riley has been starting at quarterback for the Wave.

Chaffee has scored 71 points combined in its two wins (Grandview, East Prairie) but totaled just 34 points in its four losses (St. Pius, Hayti, Portageville, Scott City). The Red Devils were at their healthiest at any point of the season last week, and the numbers reflected. Sophomore quarterback Peyton Montgomery, junior running back Charlie Montgomery and senior receiver Layton Tenkhoff all had missed at least one game this season, and all were in the lineup against East Prairie. Peyton Montgomery completed 10 of 15 passes for 159 yards; Charlie Montgomery, regaining mobility from a high ankle sprain, had season-high totals of 15 carries for 76 yards; and Tenkhoff had an 80-yard touchdown.

Class 1 District 1 seeding -- 1. Portageville (6-0) 55.33, 2. Valle Catholic (5-1) 49.97, 3. Thayer (3-3) 40.17, 4. St. Vincent (3-3) 39.64, 5. Chaffee (2-4, 31.67, 6. Hayti (2-4) 30.16, 7. Crystal City (1-5) 24.67, 8. Cabool (0-6) 21.16

Park Hills (4-2) at Perryville (2-4)

Last week: Park Hills 33, Potosi 6; Ste. Genevieve 48, Perryville 7

Last year: Park Hills 42, Perryville 7

Outlook: The Pirates are in the midst of a four-game losing streak and face another tall task against Park Hills. The Rebels, who sat only two spots out of the top 10 in the latest Class 3 poll, have beaten three teams -- Fredericktown, Maplewood and Potosi -- who own wins against the Pirates. Park Hills narrowly missed out on a win against state-ranked Ste. Genevieve, yielding a late two-point conversion in a 22-21 loss.

Junior Cody Crawford leads the Pirates running game with 326 yards (5.8 ypc). Senior Levi Zook, who missed last week's game with a concussion, is second on the team in rushing with 178 yards. The Pirates have struggled with their passing game, with sophomore Tyler Holligan completing 31 percent of his passes for 326 yards.

Park Hills rumbled for nearly 450 yards of offense against Potosi last week, with junior Dan Marler and senior Cody Harrison leading the rushing attack.

Park Hills has won all five meetings with Perryville since the Pirates prevailed 20-12 in 2006.

Class 4 District 1 seeding -- 1. Sikeston (6-0) 51, 2. Hillsboro (4-2) 37.67, 3. Festus (4-2) 36, 4. Central (2-4) 34.33, 5. North County (3-3) 31.5, 6. Farmington (2-4) 26.67, 7. De Soto (2-4) 22.67, 8. Perryville (2-4) 21.5

Jackson (5-1) open

Next : at Columbia Hickman (6-0)

-- Jeff Breer