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WEEK 2 MISSOURIAN FOOTBALL PREVIEW: St. Vincent and Scott City battle in clash of contrasting styles
The Scott City and St. Vincent football teams share the same colors -- yellow and blue, which adorn their primary jerseys -- but when it comes to offenses, the similarities end.
The Rams of Scott City rely on a ground attack bolstered by a smash-mouth style of play, running the ball 48 times for 308 yards in their season opener last week. The Indians, on the other hand, put their quarterback in the shotgun, spread a defense out and try to pick it apart through the air.
Those two contrasting styles converge at 7 p.m. today, as Scott City hosts St. Vincent in a Class 1 District 1 matchup.
"It's hard to prepare for them just because they run a smash-mouth style of football, and that's not what we're accustomed to," St. Vincent coach Nathan Rowland said. "We run a spread offense, so it's hard for our guys to line up and be able to do what they do because they practice doing it every single day. So it's hard for us to be able to bring that type of intensity and physicality."
The Rams (1-0) are coming off a 41-8 win over Sumner last week as Chance McKinley rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown. He was one of four Rams to have 39 rushing yards or more as coach Jim May tries to replace last year's Carr Trophy finalist Braden Cox, who rushed for 2,432 yards, with multiple players.
St. Vincent (0-1) opened with a 63-7 conference loss to district powerhouse Valle Catholic. With last year's starting quarterback Tyler Monier gone and Garrett Dobbelare unavailable for the first few weeks of the season, Tyler Wibbenmeyer started under center and completed 10 of 19 passes for 100 yards with an interception. He also ran for 71 yards and a touchdown. His favorite target was senior Austin Dauster, who had six catches for 80 yards.
Along with Dobbelare, Owen Light is out with a separated shoulder.
While a loss to Valle is nothing to be ashamed of, Rowland wasn't pleased with the effort his players showed in the second half.
"I know if we play with the same level of intensity as we did in the second half of the Valle game, it's going to be a long game for us," the coach said. "We really need to come out and try to set some sort of tone and really bring the fight to them, otherwise as in the past, Scott City is really going to bring a hard, physical attack to us."
Cape Central (1-0 at St. Charles West (0-1)
Last week: Cape Central 41, Liberty (Mountain View) 27; MICDS 28, St. Charles West 14
Last year: Cape Central 35, St. Charles West 7
Outlook: Central focused inward at practice this week as it prepared for a physical St. Charles West team looking to pound the ball and avenge last season's defeat.
After a couple subpar practices Monday and Tuesday, Central coach Arlen Pixley and his staff addressed the team after practice Tuesday. The Tigers responded Wednesday and will need to maintain that level of physicality tonight.
"We really addressed our investment into our program by our players," Pixley said. "We really focused on ourselves, rather than St. Charles West and about taking care of business because the team last week in Mountain View Liberty really ran the ball downhill pretty well on us."
Darius Morrison led St. Charles West last week with 129 yards on 11 carries, according to stltoday.com. Pixley said the Warriors line up in a three-man backfield and have two backs that can rush for 115 yards each.
The Tigers have their own potent running attack with Aaron Harris and Joe Baker teaming up with quarterback Cameron Cox in the read option, although Harris is a game-time decision this week due to vertigo.
Last week, Harris broke the program career rushing record. He provides a punishing inside presence while Baker adds speed, and Cox is the decision-maker.
"We run a read-game offense, and if you decide to take out Aaron, somebody else is going to bite you," Pixley said. "Aaron happened to benefit on some inside run plays and some outside run plays where that defense decided to jump on our quarterback."
Harris' vertigo arose from an ear infection he picked up earlier this week. He didn't practice Wednesday and got limited touches Thursday.
Along with solid offensive line play and good blocking from wide receivers like Austin Parker, Matt Nussbaum led the defense with two interceptions last week. Chauncey Hughes added a kickoff return TD and an interception. Sophomore Courtney Arnold recorded a team-high 13 tackles, and Harris was second with 10.
Cox played well in his varsity debut and is continuing to get better, Pixley said.
All that bodes well as Central looks to improve to 2-0.
Jackson (1-0) at Lindbergh (1-0)
Last week: Jackson 39, Hickman 24; Lindbergh 41, Oakville 7
Last year: Jackson 49, Lindbergh 19
Outlook: Jackson looks to improve on its execution following a victory as it takes on a Lindbergh team coming off a 30-plus point win and in its second year under former Cape Central coach and Indian alumnus Nathan Norman.
The scoreline doesn't reflect a close contest, but early in the fourth quarter last week, it was a one-possession game. So Jackson coach Brent Eckley sees room for growth.
"I thought we played pretty well last week as far as our effort, I wasn't necessary happy with our execution," Eckley said. "Looking forward at Lindbergh, they look like they are much improved over last year, and I thought they were very explosive on offense and defensively, they were really solid."
After a 3-7 season, Norman brings back quarterback Parker Powell, who was 8 for 23 for 179 with one TD and three interceptions against the Indians last year. The signal caller is now a year older and impressed in the win over Oakville, going 10 for 15 for 192 yards and two TDs with one interception, according to stltoday.com.
"This year, he's just got a little bit more confidence," Eckley said. "He's a big, physical kid, throws the ball really well so it will certainly be a challenge for us."
The Indians will have a new player protecting quarterback Cooper Callis' blindside this week after starting left tackle Cade Lattimer suffered a possible ACL injury in the win against Hickman. Lattimer is still awaiting test results and is out for today's game.
Several players will play left tackle against Lindbergh, Eckley said, as Jackson tries to figure out Lattimer's replacement.
Callis is coming off a 24-for-44 performance in which he racked up 370 passing yards, five TDs and two interceptions. His backfield mate, running back Ethan Laster, shined with 267 offensive yards, including four catches for 145 yards and a TD.
Chaffee (1-0) at Portageville (0-1)
Last week: Chaffee 48, Crystal City 0; Caruthersville 69, Portageville 34
Last year: Portageville 45, Chaffee 27
Outlook: Chaffee begins a tough two-week stretch against SEMO Conference West foes with an away game versus Portageville and its star quarterback Ian Torrey.
While Portageville lost last week, Chaffee coach Terry Flannigan isn't fooled. He's well aware of the Bulldogs' quick-strike offense and knows his team can improve even after winning by 48 points in its season opener.
"This week with Portageville, they're a team that can break your back at any moment," Flannigan said. "They got that real good quarterback, the Torrey kid, and their offensive line isn't too bad even though they're young. And they've got some receivers who are very, very athletic."
Torrey returns as the starter and had 343 yards of offense last week, including 225 yards passing. The Red Devils have their own athletic signal-caller. Landon Tenkhoff, who is also lining up at running back and wide receiver this year, ran for 142 yards and four touchdowns on 13 carries against Crystal City and added 41 passing yards and a TD on 2-for-3 passing.
Flannigan worked with his team on eliminating penalties this week, especially the false starts that plagued them in the opener.
"Last week was a game we felt we should win, and we went up and did what we needed to do," Flannigan said. "We didn't play very well overall. We had a lot of penalties, a lot of little miscues. But we took care of the business and won the ballgame, and I told the boys, 'You deserve a pat on the back, and now we got a lot of work to do.'"
It doesn't get any easier for the Red Devils as they travel to Hayti in Week 3.
St. Pius X (1-0) at Perryville (1-0)
Last week: St. Pius 28, Windsor 0; Perryville 14, De Soto 7
Last year: Perryville 45, St. Pius 0
Outlook: Perryville goes for a 2-0 start under first-year coach Blane Boss against an improved St. Pius team.
The Pirates opened the season, and Boss' tenure at the school, with a win last week, as Bryce Flaherty rushed for 113 yards. As a team, Perryville gained 212 of its 214 yards on the ground. In the defensive battle, Jerome Simpson led the Pirates with eight tackles and Logan Thaxton had an interception.
Last season, Perryville cruised to a win over St. Pius, one of the two Pirates' victories. St. Pius appears better, though. After losing to Windsor 56-33 last year, it won the rematch 28-0 last week. Boss is familiar with Windsor -- he played running back there in the early 2000s and was the offensive coordinator for three years before taking the Perryville job.
Kelly (0-1) at Crystal City (0-1)
Last week: East Prairie 54, Kelly 12; Chaffee 48, Crystal City 0
Last year: Crystal City 7, Kelly 0
Outlook: Kelly looks to snap a 15-game winless streak.
Kelly showed improvement last week, scoring as many touchdowns in the season opener, two, as it did all last season. Against a Hornets team coming off a blowout loss, the Hawks aim for their first win since the 2015 season.
Last year, Kelly lost by just a touchdown to the Hornets and return many of those players, including quarterback Christian Worley. He had 50 passing yards against East Prairie, and freshman Evan Urhahn rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown.