WEEK 7 FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Sikeston looks to slow Farmington rushing attack; Portageville and East Prairie to display two of top passing attacks in area

Sikeston's Gage Rolwing runs for yardage against Charleston in a high school football game Friday, Sept. 28, 2018, at Sikeston Public Schools Stadium. (David Jenkins/Standard Democrat)

Sikeston at Farmington

Records: Sikeston 3-3; Farmington 4-2

Series History: Sikeston leads 23-17-1

Last Meeting: 2017, Farmington won 35-28

Last Week: Sikeston lost to Charleston 20-7; Farmington lost to Jackson 49-0

Notes: Both teams are looking to rebound after disappointing losses last week in a game that will have district seeding implications. Currently, Farmington is seeded second with 42.17 points and Sikeston is fourth with 36 points. To improve on their seeding, Sikeston will rely on their defense that has been stout all season, allowing just under 14 points a contest. Led by senior Tyreke Jamison (39 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 3 sacks) and junior Seth Copeland (36 tackles), the Bulldog defense will have a stop a Farmington rushing attack that attempts to dominant time of possession and averages 27.8 points per game. Junior Royce Harris leads the Knights’ ground attack with 714 yards on 90 carries with 8 touchdowns. Tycen Gray, a senior starting running back that has gained 284 yards on 41 carries and caught a team-high 5 passes for 101 yards and 3 touchdowns, has missed the last two weeks with a foot injury and his status for Friday was not known at press time. Sophomore quarterback Kaden Files has completed 5 of 12 passes on the season for 58 yards. The Farmington defense, led by Harris who has 30 tackles, 10 for loss along with 4 sacks, allows 24.3 points per game and gave up 49 to high-powered Jackson last week. They will have to stop a Sikeston offense that has struggled at times this season. Junior quarterback Gage Rolwing leads the team in rushing with 317 yards on 51 carries with 3 touchdowns while also completing 42 of 88 passes for 514 yards with 5 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Sophomore running back Jackson Kuykendall and senior running back Tra Ranson have gained 310 yards and 256 yards respectively with Ranson scoring 5 touchdowns. Trent Elliott is the team’s leading receiver with 11 catches for 154 yards and one score.

Portageville at East Prairie

Records: Portageville 2-4; East Prairie 2-4

Series History: Portageville leads 52-27-2

Last Meeting: 2017, Portageville won 50-38

Last Week: Portageville lost to Scott City 42-19; East Prairie defeated Chaffee 44-0

Notes: In a matchup of two of the top passing attacks in Southeast Missouri, both teams are looking to inch closer to .500 as district playoffs near. Last week, Portageville saw their vaunted passing attack slowed against Scott City, throwing for just 138 yards after averaging over 260 in their previous five games. The Bulldogs will look to get back on track this week, facing an East Prairie defense that has been scorched for 35.6 points a game but who shut out Chaffee last week. Bulldog quarterback Connor Barham has thrown for 1,432 yards on the season and 15 touchdowns with a plethora of receivers to throw to as Jared Crafton, Terry Kirkwood, Bub Lance and Sam Riggs see the most targets. The Bulldogs adjusted last week and began running the ball more in the second half with Kile Adams gaining 53 yards on 8 carries with a touchdown. The Portageville defense allows 38.5 points per game and will have to stop another pass happy offensive attack in East Prairie. The Eagles, led by quarterback Carson Aycock, average 27.3 points a game. The senior signal caller has completed 72 of 139 passes for 1,511 yards and 13 touchdowns on the season. His top target is Derez Tipler as the senior is always a threat for a big play, catching a 73-yard touchdown pass last week and has 9 catches for 273 yards the last two weeks. Jack Scruggs is another top receiver for the Eagles and had a 61-yard touchdown reception last week. Running back Mason Bryars is the team’s top rushing threat, gaining 71 yards on 4 carries last week with 2 rushing touchdowns and another receiving touchdown.

NMCC at Potosi

Records: NMCC 4-2; Potosi 3-3

Series History: Series tied 3-3

Last Meeting: 2012, NMCC won 28-27

Last Week: NMCC lost to Kennett 43-34; Potosi defeated Park Hills Central 7-6

Notes: Potosi has used a stingy defense this season, earning a landmark 7-6 victory last week over Park Hills Central, who has made the Class 3 state quarterfinals the last six seasons. The Trojans stopped Central four times in the red zone, forced three second-half turnovers, in beating the Rebels for the first time in eight tries. The Trojans, whose defense is led by safety Zach Haynes who has already logged an impressive 71 tackles on the season, is allowing just 15.8 points per game and will have to stop an explosive Eagles offense that has been scorching defenses to the tune of 42.7 points per game. Junior signal caller Christen Phillips guides the offense, completing 57 of 95 passes for 1,110 yards and 12 touchdowns while rushing for 243 yards and 6 scores on 40 carries. His favorite targets are Johnnie Walker who has 16 catches for 494 yards and 7 touchdowns and Austin Davis who has 15 catches for 330 yards and 2 touchdowns. Quazavion Jackson leads the rushing attack with 533 yards on 74 carries. The NMCC defense has allowed 111 points the last two weeks and is giving up 33.8 points a game on the season. They will have to stop a patient Potosi offense that scores 18.3 points per game. The Trojans mainly stick to the rushing attack led by senior running back Ethan Brown, who has gained 444 yards on 58 carries with 3 touchdowns. Junior running back Demond Guthrie has gained 396 yards on 45 carries with 5 touchdowns while Kyle Miller has rushed for 320 yards on 52 carries. Quarterback Andrew Coleman has completed 9 of 39 passes on the season for 84 yards and a touchdown with 4 interceptions.

Metro-East Lutheran, Ill. at Kelly

Records: Metro-East Lutheran 1-3; Kelly 4-2

Series History: First meeting

Last Meeting: NA

Last Week: Metro-East Lutheran lost to Louisiana, Mo. 43-13; Kelly defeated Doniphan 28-0

Notes: Friday’s game will mark the first time Kelly has played a team from Illinois and only the second time in the Hawks’ short existence they have played an out-of-state team. According to maxpreps.com, Metro-East Lutheran, from Edwardsville, Ill., earned their only win of the season on Sept. 14 when they beat Steelville, Mo., 52-14. Kelly is looking for their fifth win in six games after shutting out Doniphan last week. Evan Urhahn leads the team in rushing with 429 yards on 72 carries with 9 touchdowns. Quarterback Christian Worley has completed 35 of 84 passes for 446 yards and 6 touchdowns. His top receiver is Landon Hahs, who caught 6 catches for 90 yards and a score last week. The Hawks also got a big play from special teams as Evan Ebert scored on a 90-yard punt return. Kelly has also been stingy defensively, allowing 20.5 points a game.

Malden at Charleston

Records: Malden 2-4; Charleston 5-1

Series History: Charleston leads 22-17-1

Last Meeting: 2017, Malden won 48-12

Last Week: Malden lost to Hayti 70-0; Charleston defeated Sikeston 20-7

Notes: Malden has won the last five in the series against Charleston, who’s last win in the series was in 2012, but both teams come in seemingly headed in different directions. Charleston knocked off rival Sikeston 20-7 last week for the first time since 2006 while Malden was on the wrong end of a 70-0 score to Hayti. Charleston will look to win their fifth-consecutive game with an offense that features one of the area’s top running backs in Q’nairies Anderson. The senior, who has verbally committed to Southeast Missouri State University, has rushed for 1,198 yards on the season with 16 touchdowns. However, the Bluejays proved they aren’t one-dimensional last week, burning the Sikeston defense with three long touchdown passes from quarterback Kavion Thompson to receiver Blessin Kimble. The two hooked up for a 33-yard touchdown, a 47-yard touchdown and a 67-yard score, taking advantage of Sikeston’s man-to-man coverage. Thompson, who missed the first part of the season due to injury, has thrown for 216 yards the last two weeks with 5 touchdowns. The Bluejays, who are averaging 40 points per game, will be facing a Green Wave defense that is giving up 44.2 points a contest. Last week, state-ranked Hayti blitzed the Malden defense for nearly 500 yards and 70 points while holding the Green Wave offense to a season-low 89 yards. Malden quarterback Tye Miller was under 100 yards rushing for the first time all season, tallying 61 yards on 22 carries. For the season, the senior has gained 997 yards with 13 touchdowns while completing 68 of 148 passes for 846 yards and 7 touchdowns. When throwing the football, Miller looks for receivers Shay Amoss, Drew Blankenship, Chris Castillo and Kristian Holmann.

Kennett at Dexter

Records: Kennett 5-1; Dexter 2-3

Series History: Dexter leads 50-38

Last Meeting: 2017, Kennett won 22-0

Last Week: Kennett defeated NMCC 43-34; Dexter lost to Caruthersville 30-12

Notes: Kennett has already guaranteed their second-straight SEMO South Conference championship and with a fourth-straight win over the Bearcats, will finish their conference season undefeated for the second year in-a-row under coach Joel Wyatt. Dexter, who previously had beaten Kennett 16-consecutive times before losing the last three in-a-row, has failed to score in the last two meetings and comes into this meeting with an offense averaging just 17.6 points per game. The Bearcats’ run-heavy offense is led by seniors Corbin Strong (40 carries for 419 yards) and Caleb Hoggard (81 carries for 375 yards). Hoggard was injured last week and his status for Friday is uncertain. Sophomore quarterback Peyton Driskill stepped in Week 1 for the Bearcats when starter Haden Hillis injured his collarbone. Driskill has completed 20 of 61 passes for 240 yards and 4 touchdowns filling in for Hillis, who could return to action this week. Nate Gargas and Seth Rogers have been Driskill’s primary targets. Rogers has 8 catches for 58 yards and Gargas has 8 catches for 98 yards. The Dexter defense has been strong all season as the Bearcats are allowing just under 20 points per game but will be trying to slow down a Kennett offense that scores 41 points a game. Senior quarterback Andrew Spence has completed 36 of 63 attempts for 317 yards and 6 touchdowns on the season, but left last week’s game with a leg injury. His status for the game wasn’t known at press time. His replacement, Bodey Ellis, has completed 11 of 18 passes for 192 yards on the season with 4 touchdowns. Marsayv’aun Harrell and Elijah Lemons are Kennett’s top threats in the running game. Harrell has 78 carries for 603 yards and 12 scores while Lemons has 49 carries for 249 yards and 7 touchdowns. Carter Maddox leads the Indians in receiving with 14 catches for 251 yards and 6 touchdowns.

SEMO Conference

District Standing

Class 1, District 1

Class 2, District 1

Class 3, District 1

Class 4, District 1

Class 5, District 1