Week 8: High school football preview capsules

Living Word (O'Fallon) Christian School (6-1) at Scott City (4-3)

Last week: Hayti 22, Scott City 14; O'Fallon Christian 48, Trinity 21

Last year: Did not play.

Outlook: The Rams will try to end a two-game losing streak against a third-year varsity program that has been making steady progress.

O'Fallon Christian made its varsity debut in 2010 with a 2-6 season. The school opened its second season last year with a stunning 33-30 victory against Class 5 Jackson. The win was part of a 7-3 campaign. The Eagles are 6-1 this season, with a 15-8 loss to Duchesne in Week 6 its only setback.

Running back Deantrell Prince has been a central figure in the program's short history. Prince led the team in touchdowns and receiving yards his first two years and is the team's leading rusher this season with 552 yards on just 29 carries (19 ypc), according to stltoday.com. Prince, who has a team-high 16 touchdowns, also has 462 yards receiving on 22 catches and has a team-high three interceptions. Prince had a pair of touchdown catches in the win against Jackson last season.

Jordan Norwine directs the offense, having completed 86 of 141 passes for 1,472 yards. He's also the team's second-leading rusher with 223 yards.

Lance Lehmann leads the Eagles with 29 receptions for 480 yards, while Jake Hare (23 catches, 350 yards) and Karsten Henry (12, 253) are also common targets for Norwine.

Scott City senior running back Travis Phillips has rushed for 928 yards this season. He totaled 71 yards against Hayti last week, falling short of the 100-yard mark for the first time this season. Senior Zach Haynes led the Rams in rushing for the first time with 91 yards on 18 carries.

The Rams have been held to 200 yards of total offense in each of their last two games -- Portageville and Hayti -- after mounting more than 300 yards offense in each of its first five games. The Rams have passed for 80 yards total over the last three weeks after throwing for a season-high 193 against Malden in Week 4.

Senior quarterback Jonathan McFall has completed 32 of 91 passes for 527 yards. Ryan Fortner leads the receivers with 13 catches for 239 yards.

The Rams will be without receiver/linebacker Brett Dirnberger (elbow), and offensive linemen Caleb Miles (concussion) and Dalton Goforth (broken arm).

Central (2-5) at Chaminade (2-5)

Last week: Sikeston 25, Central 21; Chaminade 28, Vianney 26

Last year: Did not play.

Outlook: Central looks to end a four-game losing streak and some late-game frustrations.

The Tigers have held fourth-quarter leads the past three weeks but saw them slip away. The latest was to unbeaten district and conference rival Sikeston, ranked No. 4 in Class 4.

Central played the Bulldogs without leading rusher Chris Martin due to a sprained ankle, and he is doubtful for tonight's game. Martin has rushed for 627 yards on 77 carries (8.1 ypc), while senior Jacob Campbell has totaled 606 yards (6.4 ypc). The duo has combined for the bulk of the 1,568 total rushing yards posted by the Tigers, who have passed for 559 yards.

Junior quarterback Dennis Vinson has completed 28 of 70 passes, but completed just 1 of 8 passes under poor playing conditions last week. Senior receiver Garan Evans receiver has team-high totals of 14 catches and 345 yards.

"Their schedule actually has been tougher than ours," Central coach Nathan Norman said about Chaminade. "They're a good football team. Their record doesn't show it."

Chaminade also has a ground-oriented attack.

"They're huge," Norman noted about the Red Devils offensive line, which features two guards at more than 300 pounds. "No doubt they're the biggest team we've faced."

The Red Devils have rushed for 1,113 yards and passed for 384, according to stltoday.com. Chaminade popped for 63 points in a Week 2 win against Roosevelt but totaled 29 points in the four weeks that followed against rugged competition -- Ft. Zumwalt West, DeSmet, SLUH and CBC. Chaminade saw running back Jabril Saleem break loose for a season-high 178 yards on 23 carries against Vianney last week. Saleem entered the game with less than 100 yards on the season. He became the third player to lead the team in rushing this season. Justin Smith leads the team with 391 total yards rushing, including a 148-yard effort against SLUH.

Chaminade utilizes play-action passes effectively. Quarterback Thomas Martin completed 5 of 6 passes against Vianney and is 17 of 34 for the season. His top receivers are Mark Gorman and Sam Relich, but both have less than 10 catches and 120 yards on the season.

Jackson (5-1) at Hickman (6-0)

Last week: Jackson open; Hickman open

Last year: Did not play.

Outlook: Both teams are coming off open dates in Week 7.

Jackson had plenty of time to reflect on its first loss of the season, a 26-17 setback to unbeaten Sikeston, while Hickman got extra time to savor a 14-9 upset victory over Jefferson City, which was unbeaten and ranked No. 2 in Class 6 at the time.

"The off week did us good," Jackson coach Brent Eckley said. "It was kind of invigorating. It was good for the kids. We had some good, tough, physical practices and worked a lot more on the fundamentals."

Jackson was held to season-low offensive numbers in its first loss. The Indians still average 432 yards of total offense and 35.3 points per game.

Hickman, off to its best start in 34 years, has not yielded more than 21 points in a game this season. It's other five wins have come against Lee's Summit North, Holt, Smith-Cotton, Helias Catholic and crosstown Class 6 rival Rock Bridge. A difficult schedule also will include Rockhurst next week.

The Kewpies have won each of their last three games by seven points or less. They nipped Rock Bridge 22-21 and scored in the fourth quarter to overtake Jefferson City.

Hickman has three central figures -- running back Deven Larry, quarterback Mason Murray and receiver Roderick Beasley -- in a diverse offense that goes from power double-tight ends to a spread formation.

"They've got really good speed at receiver, and their tailbacks are really fast," Eckley said. "Their tailback reminds me of the quarterback from Sikeston [Kyland Gross], a kid that can take off and beat you."

Larry has a team-high 577 yards on 103 rush attempts, according to the Columbia Tribune.

"That's not real outlandish until you look at the teams they've been playing," Eckley said. "Jeff City kind of beat them up. Jeff City was pretty physical with them, but they ended up getting them with play-action pass."

Murray has completed 25 of 65 passes for 561 yards. Beasley had three catches -- two for touchdowns -- for 108 yards against Jefferson City.

Eric Wise leads the defense with three interceptions.

Turnovers have been a problem for the Indians most of the year, and particularly the last two games. Jackson had five turnovers in a comeback win against rival Central in Week 5 and three in its Week 6 loss. Five of the eight turnovers have been on interceptions.

"We've been talking about it all week and all season, taking care of the football," Eckley said. "If we're going to turn the ball over a bunch of times, there's no way we can win. If we hang on to it, I think we have chance to be competitive."

Junior quarterback Ty Selsor has completed 59 percent of his passes for 1,118 yards. He has thrown nine touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Junior running back Colten Proffer has 647 yards rushing (7.7 ypc) in Jackson's balanced attack. Selsor is second in rushing with 291 yards.

Senior Brannon Wright continues to lead the receivers with 28 catches for 582 yards but has been coping with a stress fracture in one of his legs. He has just five catches for 85 yards over the last two games. Proffer is second on the team with 17 catches for 228 yards.

Junior defensive lineman Garrett Koch likely will miss the game with a shoulder injury.

Perryville (2-5) at Windsor (0-7)

Last week: Park Hills 35, Perryville 0; North County 52, Windsor 41

Last year: Did not play.

Outlook: The Pirates are looking to end a five-game skid after winning their first two games.

Perryville has scored just 41 points over the last six weeks after scoring 41 points in a season-opening shutout of East Prairie.

The Pirates get a break in a difficult schedule with winless Windsor. Perryville's last four opponents have winning records and three -- Maplewood, Ste. Genevieve and Park Hills -- are state-ranked.

Perryville has been held under 100 yards of offense the last two weeks, including a season-low 69 yards against Park Hills last week.

Junior running back Cody Crawford leads the team with 344 yards rushing. Levi Zook is second with 180.

Senior linebackers Aaron Hadler (86 tackles) and Devin Blandford (77 tackles) are the team's leading tacklers. Blandford has three sacks and 11 tackles for loss.

Perryville offensive tackle/defensive tackle Reece Kurre will miss tonight's game due to a concussion.

Windsor quarterback Tyler Stenger is among the top rushers for the Owls, who run a variety of formations, including the wishbone. Curtis Weldon also figures heavily in the running game.

"They like to lull you asleep with the run and hit you with the play action," Perryville coach Mike Wojtczuk said.

Tim O'Sullivan, a 6-foot-3 tight end, had two touchdown receptions last week against North County when the Owls scored a season-high 41 points. Their previous high was 21 points.

Grandview (3-4) at St. Vincent (4-3)

Last week: Jefferson 53, Grandview 34; St. Vincent 14, St. Pius 0

Last year: St. Vincent 35, Grandview 20

Outlook: St. Vincent is on a three-game winning streak, while Grandview has lost its last three.

Both team own wins over St. Pius and lost to Valle Catholic and Herculaneum. Grandview's three wins have come against teams -- East Prairie, St. Pius and Missouri Military Academy -- that have a combined 2-19 record.

Senior running back Christian Murphy and senior quarterback Curtis Keller both have more than 500 yards rushing this season for Grandview. Sophomore Kyle Ramsey also has topped the 500-yard mark in receiving.

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.

Chaffee (2-5) at Jefferson (3-3)

Last week: Malden 46, Chaffee 22; Jefferson 53, Grandview 34

Last year: Did not play.

Outlook: Chaffee looks to get back on track after suffering a sound defeat to Malden in cold, windy, rainy conditions that weren't conducive to the Red Devils' pass-oriented attack.

"We couldn't get anything going," Chaffee coach Charlie Vickery said. "It was a worst-case scenario for us with the offense that we do."

A bright spot for Chaffee was the late-game running of sophomore Thomas Robbins, who rushed for a season-high 125 yards on 14 carries. Robbins had just 14 carries for 36 yards entering the game.

Robbins is now the team's second-leading rusher, second only to sophomore quarterback Peyton Montgomery, who has 170 yards on 79 carries.

Montgomery has completed 64 of 155 passes for 926 yards. His top target has been senior Layton Tenkhoff, who has 23 catches for 341 yards. Junior Devon Yahn is second with 19 catches for 227 yards.

Jefferson is in its first year of varsity football and has won three of its last four games. Wins have come against St. Pius, Crystal City and Grandview. Their only loss of more than seven points came against Class 1 power Valle Catholic.

"I'm really impressed with Jefferson," Vickery said. "They don't run a fancy offense, but they run it really well. They don't throw the ball a whole lot, but when they do, they're effective."

Chaffee junior linebacker/offensive lineman D.J. White will sit out after being ejected from last week's game.

-- Jeff Breer