Column: Scott City, Chaffee set to meet for 58th time
Editor's note: This column has been edited to include the all-time record between Chaffee and Scott City, and also has the correct number of games and years in the series.
This Friday, the Scott City Rams and Chaffee Red Devils will meet on the gridiron for the 58th time.
Having played in — or at least dressed out for — four of the 57 matchups, the rivalry holds a special place in my heart.
Scott City holds a lopsided all-time record against the Red Devils, leading the series 40-17 dating back to 1966 when Illmo-Fornfelt became Illmo-Scott City.
The Rams held a 21-game winning streak over the Red Devils which came to an end in 2007, but Scott City has since won 11 of the last 15, including the last four straight.
Most of the Rams’ victories have come in blowout fashion, with Scott City outscoring Chaffee 452-210 since 2010 and 1,388-708 all-time.
Chaffee’s last win against Scott City came in 2017 when the Red Devils eked out a 35-34 victory over their arch-rival. The Devils haven’t won back-to-back games over the Rams since breaking the streak in 2007 and winning again in 2008.
This year — on paper at least — it appears it will be more of the same.
Scott City is 5-1, ranked seventh in the most recent Class 1 media poll and has blown out teams Chaffee has lost to.
The Red Devils, on the other hand, are mostly young, learning a new system and trying to get the program back on track.
While I expect Chaffee to come out ready to play, I’m not sure the Red Devils will be able to keep up with Scott City this year. But it seems first-year coach Jack Altermatt has the program headed in the right direction.
While this week appears to be out of reach, Chaffee has a good chance to pick up its second win next week against Doniphan. If the Devils beat the Dons — or in the more unlikely scenario they beat the Rams — it will mark the first time since 2018 they’ve had multiple wins.
The Jackson Indians picked up their fifth-straight SEMO North Conference title on Friday and coach Brent Eckley earned his 100th win with the program in the process.
Eckley is now 100-25 at Jackson and 201-57 in his career. He’ll be looking to make it 101 and 202 this week against Confluence Prep Academy at home before traveling to Wentzville for a showdown with last year’s Class 5 runner-up Holt next week.
Holt is currently ranked sixth in Class 5 according to the most-recent media poll and could give Jackson some trouble.
Cape Central topped its 2021 win total with a 35-32 comeback victory over SEMO North foe Farmington.
The Tigers are back at .500 (3-3) on the season and look to take one step closer toward a winning season in their home matchup with Sikeston.
Including its game against the Bulldogs, Central appears to have three very winnable games to close out the regular season. Don’t be surprised if the Tigers enter the Class 5 District 1 tournament with a 6-3 record and a decent seed.
St. Vincent continues to pile up the wins, blowing out a struggling Bayless team on Saturday for the Indians’ homecoming.
The Indians will travel to Festus, Missouri, on Friday to take on 5-1 St. Pius X to (likely) decide the I-55 Conference champion.
The Lancers beat St. Vincent by a touchdown in 2021 and have a 7-5 record against the Indians since 2010.
While the game could go either way, I’m incredibly interested to see the outcome. Indians coach Tim Schumer said at the beginning of the year that one of the team’s biggest goals is to win the conference title, and now it’s within their grasp.
Perryville dropped a close game last week to I-55 Conference foe, Jefferson.
The Pirates had the upper hand in the first half but doomed themselves when Jefferson was able to capitalize on a fumble before halftime.
The next three weeks won’t get any easier for Perryville either, as the Pirates host New Madrid County Central and Herculaneum before traveling to St. Pius X to close the regular season.
Standard Democrat co-editor David Jenkins contributed to this article