Semoball

MISSOURIAN DISTRICT SEMIFINAL PREVIEWS: Jackson football battles Poplar Bluff for spot in title game

Jackson coach Brent Eckley watches from the sideline during the third quarter against Cape Central on Sept. 29 in Jackson.
Fred Lynch

The Jackson football team enters the playoffs riding high on a three-game winning streak, with its last loss over a month ago.

Now the Indians will look to knock off the last team to beat them when they take on Poplar Bluff at 7 p.m. today in a Class 5 District 1 semifinal in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

When third-seeded Jackson traveled to face the second-seeded Mules earlier this season, it didn't turn out well for the Indians. They suffered a 29-28 defeat to the Mules on Sept. 22, and that win, combined with a Sikeston loss, clinched the SEMO Conference North crown for Poplar Bluff.

"We looked back at it right away after the game and kind of evaluated with our players and thought, at times, we got lost in the big picture instead of focusing on the smaller details of things," Jackson coach Brent Eckley said. "We went back and looked a little bit more at fundamentals and making sure that we were playing snap to whistle, and I think we've improved a little bit in that area.

"Other than that, we, for the most part, have the same players as do they, so we're going to have to see which team is improved."

Poplar Bluff (9-0) will be missing one crucial piece, though. Quarterback Logan Bell is out with an ACL injury he suffered in a 21-20 win over Hillsboro on Oct. 6. In the regular-season finale, Mason Libla started under center, as Poplar Bluff beat Festus 34-10.

Both the Mules and Jackson (7-2) had an extra week to prepare for their rematch, with fifth-seeded Rockwood Summit defeating fourth-seeded Oakville 35-21 in last week's district quarterfinal. The winner of tonight's game will take on the winner between Rockwood Summit and top-seeded Vianney in next week's district championship game.

Libla, the starting catcher for the Mules' baseball team, hadn't play quarterback before this summer but has completed 28 of 33 passes for 360 yards and four touchdowns with one interception.

Bell was 75-of-127 passing for 1,389 yards with 15 TDs and two interceptions.

"In a way, the advantage kind of goes to them because we have to guess on who's going to play, if it's going to be the kid that played the last two games or if they're going to do something different with a couple weeks off," Eckley said. "That kid has different strengths than the previous quarterback, so we kind of had to guess a little bit on that. So there's a little bit of an advantage toward them.

"Although, from their perspective, the advantage is to us because they don't have their starter, a kid who earned the job and played really well for them for the first six or seven games of the year."

Libla will be surrounded with weapons. In the backfield, Isaiah Johnson has 115 carries for 718 yards and six TDs.

Tyson Cox, who went down injured in the first half of the last meeting between the two teams, has 637 yards and eight TDs on 30 receptions. Myanza McCain has 40 receptions for 546 yards and 4 TDs, and Brett Barousse has 27 catches for 519 yards and seven TDs.

Barousse had a game-winning, 80-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first meeting.

That loss was one of two times all season Jackson scored less than 30 points, and both times, the Indians lost. In the last three games, Jackson has scored 60 or more points in each contest.

Cooper Callis has thrown for 3,065 yards on 231-of-342 passing with 45 TDs and just 10 interceptions. Jordan Kent, who wasn't at 100 percent in the regular-season meeting against the Mules, has 64 catches for 1,077 yards and 19 TDs. Terrico Johnson is right behind him with 927 yards and 16 TDs on 77 receptions.

Ethan Laster leads the Indians' rushing attack with 989 yards and seven TDs on 134 carries.

Callis has already etched his name into the record books with the eighth-best single-season touchdown mark in state history. He needs only 19 completions and 276 yards to crack the top 10 in each of those categories.

"They play fast with multiple formations," Poplar Bluff coach Mark Barousse said in an interview with the Daily American Republic. "Being able to lineup correctly and give different looks is important. I'm sure they're doing the same thing we're doing.

"Good teams usually don't scrap everything they're doing, just to try to trick somebody for one week. I expect we'll see pretty much what we did last time."

Nathan Brown leads the Jackson defense with 155 tackles, including seven for a loss. Bailey Beggs has a team-high 10 tackles for loss to go along with four sacks and 72 tackles.

Ethan Laster and Luke Starzinger each have six sacks, while Cole Welker has nine interceptions and 11 pass breakups.

CLASS 4 DISTRICT 1

Cape Central (6-4) at North County (8-2)

Last week: Cape Central 49, Sikeston 14; North County 47, Festus 6

Last meeting: Central 54, North County 29 (2016, district quarterfinal)

Outlook: The Tigers aim to again beat North County on the road in the playoffs, although this year's Raiders team is more seasoned than a year ago.

Central had a losing record when it traveled to face North County last year in its district opener. The Tigers came away with a 54-29 win over the Raiders, their first step toward a fourth straight district title.

The situation is a little different this time. It's a district semifinal game, and North County is a No. 2 seed. But No. 3 Central will still have to go on the road and grab a win over a higher-seeded team.

"They're a much improved ball club," Central coach Arlen Pixley said. "Their record stands where it's at, and it's well-deserved. We're going to have to play really, really well and remain really, really focused this week to extend our season."

North County was a young team last year with several sophomores in key positions, according to Pixley. With a year of experience under their belt, the Raiders aren't the same team that surrendered 42 straight points to Central, turning a 7-6 lead into a 48-7 deficit.

"It was a 7-6 ball game, and then we explode," Pixley said. "I don't know if speed was a difference. I don't know if scheduling was a difference, but I think physicality was a big difference in that ball game last year."

Kolten Poorman is back at quarterback for North County and has completed 65 percent of his passes (132-for-203) with 21 touchdowns and three interceptions, according to stltoday.com. Running back Briley Smith complements him with 1,101 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on 124 carries.

The Raiders and Tigers share one common opponent: Farmington. North County lost to the Knights 13-10 on Aug. 25. A week later, Central defeated Farmington 40-35 on a last-second touchdown catch by running back Aaron Harris.

North County's other loss was a 48-28 loss to top-seeded Hillsboro on Sept. 22.

"We look at those two games right there -- those games where they're getting their mettle tested -- and we see what they're all about," Pixley said. "They're right there with those teams. ... They are very very capable of scoring points in Class 4, and they're greatly improved."

Harris, who broke Central's career-rushing record earlier this season, leads a ground game that's powering Central's offense. Last week against Sikeston, Harris rushed for 218 yards and three TDs on 17 carries, as Central gained 336 yards on the ground. On the season, Harris has 1,457 rushing yards and 19 TDs on 176 carries.

"Any time you can maintain control of your opponent, you have a great opportunity to have the lead when the clock runs off," Pixley said. "Aaron provides that for us with his physical nature of running the football. That, and we've got some linemen up front that are really gelling in front of him, and it's a team effort."

Joe Baker is the second-leading rusher with 470 yards and seven TDs to go along with 26 catches for 407 yards. Austin Parker also has 19 catches for 332 yards.

Matt Nussbaum leads the defense with 95 tackles, including 11 TFLs, and nine sacks. Julian McBride has a team-high 21 TFLs to go along with 77 tackles and seven sacks.

Harris, who has an offer from Southeast Missouri State to play linebacker, has 85 tackles, including 11 1/2 TFLs.

They will be tasked with stopping North County, as the Tigers look to make their sixth straight appearance in the district title game.

"We really like the matchup, No. 1," Pixley said. "No. 2, they do some things really well that kind of counteract what we do, and it should be an interesting ball game."

CLASS 1 DISTRICT 1

Chaffee (7-3) at Hayti (8-2)

Last week: Chaffee 39, St. Vincent 27; Hayti 58, Crystal City 0

Last meeting: Hayti 49, Chaffee 9 (Week 3)

Outlook: The third-seeded Red Devils will be playing a second-round district tournament game for the first time since 2013, but the task at hand will be difficult against the No. 2 Indians.

Hayti, the ninth-ranked team in the Class 1 state media poll, is coming off a 58-0 walloping of Crystal City in the quarterfinals and is looking to return to a district championship game for the second year in a row.

A year ago, the Indians fell to Valle Catholic in the district final. Even after graduating some key players, Hayti hasn't missed a beat in 2017.

"Being around here for a while, it's probably the best Hayti team I've seen," Chaffee coach Terry Flannigan said. "They've got everything together. They've got speed. They've got size. They don't make a lot of mistakes, and when they come to play, they come to play. You've got to be ready, buckle it up and try to get after them. They've got speed galore. And the first team steps off, and the second team's almost as fast as they are."

Hayti quarterback Chrivontae Moore is capable of putting up big numbers through the air or carrying the football, while Ivory Winters, the reigning Semoball Awards Football Defense Player of the Year, is a threat on both sides of the ball.

Flannigan said the key for his team will be to match the Indians' physicality while being fundamentally sound. The Red Devils will also have to take advantage of the opportunities they do have, something they didn't do during a 49-9 loss to Hayti early in the regular season.

"We talked about, No. 1, you've got to be physical," Flannigan said. "We talked about how we've got to control the ball and take care of us. We're down inside the red zone five times last time we played them and didn't score. We've got to finish drives, give ourselves a chance and then turn around and stop their top two or three plays and make them beat us with something they're not used to running."

A week ago, in Chaffee's opening-round win over St. Vincent, quarterback Landon Tenkhoff led the offense with 17 rushes for 222 yards and was 10-of-20 passing for 110 yards. He threw for one score and ran for another two. On the season, the junior has 1,456 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns while completing 47 of 105 passes for 845 yards with eight TDs and seven interceptions.

Running back Dylan Pebble rushed 14 times for 70 yards in his second start of the season following the departure of 1,000-yard rusher Dalton Wilson.

The Red Devils' top wide receiver is Breven Yarbro, with 39 catches for 719 yards and six TDs.

Tenkhoff was the team's top tackler against St. Vincent, making six stops and picking up a defensive touchdown.

Kade Sullivan had five tackles to push his team-leading season total to 80, including 12 for loss.

Senior linebacker Jaxon Van Pelt, who's tied for second on the team with 43 tackles despite missing some time due to injury, will miss the rest of the season. Van Pelt, who was sidelined midseason after suffering a medial collateral ligament injury in his knee during the regular-season matchup with Hayti, appears to have torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his other knee in last week's victory, according to Flannigan.

That leaves Van Pelt sidelined for what will be the first district semifinal anyone in a Red Devils uniform has ever played.

"We talked about this all season. I tell the kids about how if you haven't been there before, how exciting it can be and how much more exciting it is with a win," Flannigan said. "We know we've got our work cut out, but everyone's excited. And we've just got to wait until Friday night and see what the results are."

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