Semoball

SD WEEK 1 FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Sikeston looks to start season on the right foot; East Prairie, Charleston face tough road tests to start

Sikeston quarterback Gage Rolwing throws a pass against Vashon in a high school football game Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Sikeston Public Schools Stadium.
David Jenkins/Standard Democrat

Vashon at Sikeston

Records: Vashon 0-0; Sikeston 0-0

Series history: Sikeston leads 1-0

Last meeting: 2018, Sikeston won 64-0

Last week: NA

Sikeston's Daniel Lawrence celebrates while scoring a touchdown against Vashon in a high school football game Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at Sikeston Public Schools Stadium.
David Jenkins/Standard Democrat

Notes: Last year was the first time these two schools met, and Sikeston dominated it. The Bulldogs held Vashon to -19 total yards in the game while scoring 58 points in the first half. The Wolverines ended up finishing the year 1-9 and scored just nine touchdowns all year. Vashon alum William Franklin takes over the program with the hopes of bringing some excitement back to the Public High League school. He has plenty of young talent, including highly touted freshman defensive end Marvin Stidmon (6-1, 204) and freshman lineman T’Darrian Owens (5-10, 260). Sikeston is also under new leadership as Terry Flannigan takes over from longtime head coach Kent Gibbs. Flannigan has worked at Sikeston as an assistant coach five different times dating back to 2000 and has head coaching experience at numerous stops, including Scott City in the late 1990s and early 2000s and most recently at Chaffee the last two seasons. The Bulldogs return speedy senior quarterback Gage Rolwing who rushed for 295 yards with four touchdowns. He also completed 56 of 120 passes for 683 yards and six touchdowns last year before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 8. After losing their top-two running backs, junior Lontas McClinton (6-1, 205), senior Keon Graham (5-7, 153) and senior Brian Jasper (5-8, 195). Senior all-conference returner Seth Copeland (5-9, 190) anchors the offensive line and led the team in tackles last year (92) from his linebacker position.

Charleston at Portageville

Records: Charleston 0-0; Portageville 0-0

Series history: Charleston leads 9-5

Last meeting: 2018, Charleston won 56-13

Last week: NA

Notes: Meeting for the first time in six years, Charleston ran for nearly 500 yards and grounded the pass-happy Bulldogs 56-13 last season. But this season both teams will have a different look with the majority of the playmakers on both sides lost to graduation and new coaches on the sidelines. At Charleston, Justin Hutchings takes over the Brett Blackman and has to replace all-state running back Q’Nairies Anderson. However, the cupboard isn’t bare with wide receiver Blessin Kimble catching passes from the Bluejays’ dual-quarterbacks in Teejay Williams and Suave Fitzpatrick. James Durden will anchor the defense while also getting carries in short-yardage situations on offense. Portageville’s new head coach Mark Jackson has 25 years of experience with five of those as a head coach. He inherits a young team of unknowns with seniors Jared Crafton and Cody Lewis taking over leadership roles. “I’ve heard of their coach before, Mark Jackson,” Hutchings said. “I know he used to coach at Sikeston. I know what kind of offense he wanted to do, and I feel like he wanted to kind of spread it out. Especially at Portageville, just because they have a history of having quarterbacks like that. We went to the jamboree; they’re playing spread-out and a little tighter at some points. All we’re going to do to game plan against him, at least defensively, is we’re just going to do the jobs that we like to do. We like to play fast, we like to be very aggressive, and we like to cause turnovers and cause chaos, and that’s how we like to game plan.”

East Prairie at Kelly

Records: East Prairie 0-0; Kelly 0-0

Series history: East Prairie leads 5-0

Last meeting: 2018, East Prairie won 22-12

Last week: NA

Notes: Since Kelly started varsity football in 2014, they have opened the season against East Prairie and every year they have started with a loss. The Hawks have been outscored 205-31 in those games, but last year Kelly closed the gap, losing just 22-12. However, after the East Prairie game, Evan Urhahn burst onto the scene and rushed for a team-high 1,166 yards and 19 touchdowns. The junior returns this year along with second-leading rusher Christian Williams (302 yards and four touchdowns) while new signal-caller Bryce Morgan will lead the Hawks. Kelly returns four starters from a defense that allowed 16.1 points per game, including junior Keaton Fitzgerald, who had 91 tackles last season. East Prairie coach Chad Jamerson gets tasked with replacing all-state, all-purpose performer Derez Tipler and all-conference quarterback Carson Aycock. At quarterback, Jase Aycock gives the Eagles a dual-threat option with senior Jack Scruggs returning at receiver and Raleigh Archie back at running back. Defensively, East Prairie returns several starters and part-time starters including Scruggs, juniors Mark Bixler, and Lucas Moore on the defensive line and sophomore Hayden Ellis at linebacker. “I think right now when you talk about Kelly; you talk about just the fact that they run the ball extremely well,” Jamerson said. “They’ve got a great running back who’s just a junior this year, in Urhahn, and their second running back, he’s a load too. When you look at those guys, you know that they can run the ball and they run it well.”

Malden at NMCC

Records: Malden 0-0; NMCC 0-0

Series history: Series tied 12-12

Last meeting: 2018, NMCC won 50-40

Last week: NA

Notes: NMCC snapped a six-game losing streak to the Green Wave last year in a 50-40 shootout, going on to win their first four games before dropping their last six. NMCC coach Tyler Fullhart starts his fourth season at the helm of the program and is hoping to see his team finish this year. The Eagles have a good start, returning impact starters in running back Quazavion Jackson and quarterback Christen Phillips. Jackson burst on the scene last year as a sophomore, running for 95 yards on 10 carries against the Green Wave and finished as one of the leading rushers in the area. Phillips rushed for 122 yards and threw for 222 against Malden and now a senior who has started for 2 1/2 seasons is the leader of the offense. Fellow senior Austin Davis returns at wide receiver for NMCC. Brett Gerecke and Jacob Wicker are back to man the offensive line as well. The Eagles offense averaged 51 points per game in their wins last season, opposed to 17 in their six losses. Defensively, the Eagles return just 17 points per game in their six losses. Defensively, the Eagles return only two starters in junior linebacker J’airus Burgess and Davis at cornerback. Justin Peden takes over as the Malden head coach after serving as an assistant the last three seasons with few starters returning. Junior Drew Blankinship will start at quarterback for the Green Wave. Blankinship started last year against NMCC but was injured and later returned, earning all-conference honors at receiver. Shay Amoss, Lamar Smith, and Ken Davis are the leading candidates to rush the ball for the Green Wave. Amoss leads the defense at middle linebacker while junior Marcellus Fleming will anchor the defensive line. “I know they got a new coach, Coach Peden, he’s been a head coach before,” Fullhart said. “I know he’s going to do a good job over there and I think that he’ll have the guys ready. He’ll be excited, and I think those guys will be ready to come to play, and we’ll be ready to match them.”

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