WEEK 7 TOP 10: Portageville creeps up, Scott City vaults higher again

No statement rang louder in Week 6 than the dominant performance of the Scott City Rams, who routed the No. 10 Kelly Hawks on the road to improve to 4-2. With a number of big wins on the week, the rankings saw a few teams shaken up.

Now that the final three games of the regular season have arrived, the conference standings are beginning to shake out and the best teams in the area have revealed themselves. Here are the Week 7 Semoball Area Football Top 10 Rankings.

__No. 1: Jackson (5-1, LW No. 1)__

Wrapping up another perfect SEMO North Conference slate with a 56-0 win against the Sikeston Bulldogs at home, Jackson remains the best team in the area by a large margin. Climbing into the upper echelon of Class 6 in just their first season, the Indians are poised to make a postseason run. Now done in local play, the last three games of the season come against St. Louis-area schools, this week against a Confluence Prep team that lost 76-0 after playing just one half at “The Pit” last year. It’ll likely be a week where Jackson will get to test its depth before taking on Holt in Week 8.

__No. 2: New Madrid County Central (6-0, LW No. 2)__

New Madrid County Central is a steamroller in the SEMO Central Conference. This week, the Eagles defeated the Kennett Indians in a runaway 54-6 game, leaving little doubt as to who the favorite for the conference crown is in 2023. With the next two matchups coming against Perryville and Sikeston, both at home, it should be smooth sailing for this dominant Eagles team up until Week 9 against the No. 3 team in southeast Missouri.

__No. 3: Portageville (5-1, LW No. 4)__

It’s now five straight wins for Portageville. Defeating Chaffee in show-stopping fashion, scoring big in a 74-13 win on Friday, Portageville has put its foot down and solidified itself as the team to beat in the SEMO South Conference, especially after the performance of Kelly against Scott City. The Bulldogs’ next two matchups come against Malden and Kelly. All of this sets up to the Week 9 showdown with New Madrid County Central on the road, where the No. 2 Eagles will duel against Portageville in a battle of bootheel powers.

__No. 4: Poplar Bluff (3-3, LW No. 3)__

The Mules continue to slide after defeating Cape Central in Week 3. Taking a lopsided loss at home against Jackson, the Mules have won twice since but a 24-19 victory against the 1-5 Fox Warriors comes off flat for a team headed in the right direction. However, the Mules stand solely in second place in the SEMO North Conference entering their Week 7 matchup at Farmington. With a win, Poplar Bluff could officially claim rights to a second-place conference finish in a year that started 0-2.

__No. 5: Cape Central (3-3, LW No. 6)__

No team has moved more on this board than the Cape Central Tigers. After tripping over its feet against the Indians, Cape Central shut down the Farmington Knights on Friday with a dominant 35-0 victory to draw itself into contention for second place in the conference. A Farmington win could see Cape Central finish in a good spot. However, in the ranking, Cape Central has fallen three spots since the start of the year as inconsistent play has doomed the Tigers. On odd weeks, the Tigers have been highly disappointing. But on even weeks, they’re the team to beat. Traveling to Sikeston for Week 7 action, the Tigers are looking to break this trend with a big win.

__No. 6: Dexter (5-1, LW No. 5)__

The Bearcats slid after a dominant showing from Cape Central, which eliminated the gap between the two, but Dexter still showed out in a big win against Caruthersville. While at home, Dexter’s 46-28 win against the Tigers solidified the Bearcats’ claim to being one of the top teams in the area. Dexter will look to finish second in the SEMO Central Conference after a loss to New Madrid County Central, and it’ll face Kennett on the road in Week 7 as the Indians look to rebound from their own loss to the Eagles last time out.

__No. 7: Scott City (4-2, LW No. 9)__

Just two weeks after falling all the way out of the ranking, Scott City jumps all the way to No. 7 after its rout win against Kelly in Week 6. Winning away isn’t always easy, but the Rams made it look that way as they slid right on by the Hawks to pull further north of the .500 mark. With any luck, Scott City is eyeing a 7-2 record to end the regular season with Chaffee, Charleston and Doniphan left on the back end of its schedule.

__No. 8: Caruthersville (3-3, LW No. 7)__

Typically, losing will drop a team a spot, or two, or three. This week, Caruthersville drops to the No. 8 spot after an 18-point loss to Dexter, but there’s little shame in this. The Bearcats have proved to be one of the toughest teams in the area, and the Tigers hung around on the road. Now sitting at .500, the Tigers have a chance to go on a run and potentially win out with Charleston, East Prairie and Hayti left on the docket to end the regular season.

__No. 9: St. Vincent (3-3, LW NR)__

After a couple of big losses from local teams, St. Vincent slides in at No. 9 after briefly exiting the rankings. A big win against Bayless sees the Indians sitting at .500 after six games, but the grind continues for the Indians moving forward. St. Pius X is next up at 4-2. While at home, the work is cut out for St. Vincent as it’ll look to pick up its fourth win in five weeks against the Lancers.

__No. 10: Kennett (4-2, LW No. 8)__

No team in the SEMO Central Conference is favored to beat New Madrid County Central this year. Kennett, while a strong team in the area, couldn’t keep pace with the Eagles and fell by a big margin. Dropping two spots ahead of Week 7, the Indians’ schedule won’t get any easier from here. Kennett’s Week 7 matchup with the Dexter Bearcats gives it the opportunity to grab a big win against a great team. Both teams are thirsty for a big conference win, and either team grabbing this one would be a big momentum-builder as the regular season’s end approaches.