Southeast Missourian Gridiron Guide: Area's top teams to be tested in thrilling Week 5

Welcome to the midpoint of the 2024 regular season, headlined by a couple of major matchups between some of the area’s top teams.

At the very top of the bill, we’ve got St. Dominic coming into the City of Roses for Cape Central’s Homecoming game on Friday night.

The Crusaders just knocked off reigning Class 3 champion Park Hills Central last week, walking all over the Rebels 38-7 to improve to 3-1 on the season.

Jackson hosts its archrival in Poplar Bluff, with the Mules fresh off a blowout loss at home against the aforementioned Tigers.

St. Vincent travels down into the belly of the beast, taking on Bootheel powerhouse Hayti in a battle of Class 1 hopefuls down in the heart of Pemiscot County.

All projections are based on computer data via CalPreps and consulting staff opinion.

St. Dominic at Cape Central, 7 p.m. Friday

Projection: Cape Central 31, St. Dominic 21

It’s not often that you host a Class 6 team for Homecoming night, but here we are.

Cape Central did just that, scheduling the 2022 Class 4 runner-up Crusaders to come into Cape Girardeau to face off against the undefeated Tigers under the lights.

As mentioned before, St. Dominic rolled over Park Hills Central, then undefeated, for the Crusaders to get to 3-1 on the season with their only loss coming to a Class 3-ranked St. Francis Borgia squad.

After a fairly light start to the season, Cape Central crushed conference rivals in Sikeston and Poplar Bluff to get the conference title run started hot.

But this is a test unlike any other (outside of Jackson, maybe). St. Dominic is a serious squad with hopes at making a splash in MSHSAA’s top class this season.

Junior quarterback Brennan Czeschin brings a big arm into this one, and he was able to take out the Rebels over the top en route to a big win on the road.

Though Cape Central enters as a 10-point favorite, this one could easily come down to the final drive, with the Tigers looking to get their biggest regular season win in a long time.

Principia at Chaffee, 7 p.m. Friday

Projection: Chaffee 28, Principia 21

Last week was a tough one for Chaffee. A 21-point game for the second consecutive week, but Ballard Memorial picked apart the Red Devil defense in a 60-21 loss.

That 60-point mark is the most points that Chaffee has surrendered in a game against a non-conference team since the 2019 season when it allowed 62 points in a loss to Jefferson.

This week against Principia, however, a matchup between two 0-4 teams, this is the Red Devils’ best chance at a win this season.

Two of Principia’s losses are to 1-3 teams, and Chaffee’s due for a big game on both ends. The Red Devils haven’t played a team this season below the .500 mark.

Looking toward a big game from Logan Horton, one of the area’s top runners, this could very well be the week that Chaffee breaks through and hangs a healthy heaping on offense.

That being said, even with Chaffee as the favorite, this one could easily go down to the wire. We’re expecting an action-packed matchup out of this one.

Poplar Bluff at Jackson, 7 p.m. Friday

Projection: Jackson 45, Poplar Bluff 28

Defeating Farmington last weekend was a big win for Jackson, as any are when you score 49 points against a conference opponent.

Any time you face off with a 1-0 conference foe, fresh off a blowout loss on the road, there’ll be a little bit of a disparity in momentum.

Similar to last year’s battle at Farmington, Jackson opened up Week 4 with a 35-point defensive night, struggling to stop the run but able to claw away for the win late.

Drew Parsons put together a monster night, scoring four touchdowns on a combination of his through-the-air talent and his speed in the ground game.

But against Poplar Bluff, it’s time to reset and recalibrate, because the Mules are going to be coming in with a vengeance.

The last SEMO North to defeat Jackson was Poplar Bluff in 2022, taking the Indians down at “The Pit” in the postseason.

The last team to do it before that? Also Poplar Bluff, in the de facto 2017 SEMO North conference championship game down in the Mule Barn.

It’s safe to say that these two don’t like each other at all. With Jackson back to .500, and Poplar Bluff a game below, it’ll be a tale of two teams looking to make their big statement in the midseason.

Though Jackson enters as a large favorite, hinging on a big Cape Central win last week at Poplar Bluff, the defense will have to play up to snuff to keep Poplar Bluff off the scoreboard in this one.

Kelly at New Madrid County Central, 7 p.m. Friday

Projection: Kelly 28, New Madrid County Central 21

On one side, you have the Kelly Hawks, fresh off a big, big win over the Kennett Indians at home that majorly righted the ship that felt as if it were rapidly veering off course.

The other, New Madrid County Central, maybe the unluckiest 0-4 team in the land at the price of both a brutal schedule and a few tight games.

Though Kelly looks to be favorited entering this one, there’s a lot of interest surrounding this one, with the Eagles of NMCC looking to get back on course themselves after an ugly start.

After starting last season 8-0, New Madrid County Central’s gone 0-6 outside of a forfeit win against Malden since. Friday presents an opportunity to break that curse.

But speaking of rough stretches, here’s the fun part: Kelly’s never defeated NMCC. In four matchups, the two most recently coming in the postseason, the Hawks are 0-for-4.

The closest loss was a 48-18 New Madrid County Central victory in the 2019 district tournament, setting the stage for Friday’s battle in New Madrid.

Led by the prolific offensive talents of quarterback Skyler Still joined by weapons in Ryder Krauss and Grant Burleson, Kelly’s got a chance to break this one wide open.

For New Madrid County Central, it’ll be about stopping those guys and getting back into a rhythm, looking to secure its first on-field win in seven matchups.

Grandview at Perryville, 7 p.m. Friday

Projection: Perryville 42, Grandview 7

Here’s hoping for a happy Homecoming for the Perryville Pirates, hosting the Grandview Eagles in a Quad County Conference clash.

The Pirates enter this one as huge favorites, even with both sides coming into the game with the same 3-1 record on the season.

The difference, perhaps, is that Grandview’s three teams that it’s defeated combine for just two wins on the season, while the Pirates’ victories combine for double that.

Not to mention, Perryville’s already seen the worst of the worst this season, narrowly losing to St. Vincent in its last round at home and looking for revenge this Friday.

Back under its own lights after a tremendous victory at Bayless last week, it’s a chance to get to 2-1 in conference play this week, not controlling its destiny but in a great position to contend for one of the top spots in the league.

If last week is at all telling of how Perryville should perform in conference play this year, we should see the Pirates jump out to a 4-1 start this weekend against Grandview.

Scott City at Malden, 7 p.m. Friday

Projection: Scott City 55, Malden 21

Fresh off an “upset” victory at Portageville last Friday, this is kind of a curveball for the Rams going into the midseason.

Malden hasn’t won a game since Oct. 1, 2021. Just a hair under three years ago from Friday, and this year isn’t off to much a better start.

Under coach Brian Beaubien, the Rams lost in Week 3 against Hayti but have otherwise looked exceptional in what was supposed to be a down year by the commoner’s understanding.

After defeating the Bulldogs 28-24 on the road last week, Scott City looks to be one of the hotter teams in the area, led by running back Rustyn Underwood’s outstanding start to the season.

Malden has shown it has the talent to put some points on the board this year, but the Rams’ defensive talent is what’s kept it in games this year, and that shouldn’t be any different on Friday.

That being said, the last time Scott City entered as a heavy favorite, it certainly wasn’t pretty. But for Week 5, we’ve got the Rams by a lot.

St. Vincent at Hayti, 7 p.m. Friday

Projection: St. Vincent 42, Hayti 14

Sometimes we don’t learn from our mistakes. Déjà vu. Two weeks ago, it was the Rams that Hayti entered as major underdogs against, and that certainly didn’t go according to plan.

Now, the Indians get to play host to district rival St. Vincent down in the Bootheel, and the story looks roughly the same: J.C. Ford and Hayti enter as heavy underdogs once again.

But against St. Vincent, the vibe is a little bit different. The visiting Indians rank No. 2 in Class 1, No. 2 in the Semoball rankings and seem to maintain a reputation of fear among local teams.

That includes a victory against Valle Catholic in Week 2, along with plowing over Ste. Genevieve in Week 1, with the Dragons since marching out to a 3-1 start, totally slipping under the radar.

This one should tell us everything we need to know about that Class 1 District 1 field. Both of these teams look to be better than just about anyone else in that district, but St. Vincent’s reputation precedes it.

Going into the heart of Bootheel football, against one of the most revered programs around, this is undoubtedly one of the best tests of the season for St. Vincent, and easily one of, if not the best for Hayti.

This could be a thriller, but St. Vincent looks to be a clear favorite early.