Cape Girardeau Central's defense will try to get well this weekend against a team that scored 53 points last week.

Central travels south to play New Madrid County Central tonight at 7:30. Last week, the Eagles piled up yardage in a 53-0 victory over Rosary. Meanwhile, the Tigers' defense rendered 510 yards of total offense in a 47-39 loss to Columbia-Hickman.

Unlike Rosary, the Tigers are capable of winning the game, but their defense is under scrutiny.

"We've got to tackle better," Central coach Jerry Dement said. "They're upset with themselves, and they want to get better."

New Madrid is primarily a running team, operating out of power running sets. Ricky Smith carries most of the rushing load, and Vest Baker also sees time in the backfield, along with his linebacking duties.

The Tigers' defense was unable to stop the run last week, especially in stopping fullback Jake Whitesides. Hickman ran for 433 yards on 46 carries as Whitesides accumulated 211 yards on 25 carries.

But Central has not made knee-jerk changes defensively. Some of the defensive problems were attributable to a poor scouting report Central had on Hickman. During Hickman's Jamboree, the Kewpies operated out of different offensive sets and switched uniform numbers.

"We just did a lot of fundamental work in practice," Dement said. "We want to eliminate the mistakes."

Don't expect the Tigers to throw the ball 41 times like they did last week. Quarterback Frank McGinty's 301-yard night was partly a product of Central's need to chip away at Hickman's 41-19 third quarter lead.

McGinty will get his chances, however, while Emmanuel Harris (106 yards rushing and two touchdowns last week) and Demarco Williams promise to see plenty of action in the backfield.

Kick returner and running back Donnie McClinton (sprained ankle) is expected to play.

"We want to be balanced," Dement said. "But we are fortunate to have a quarterback who can pull the trigger and some good people to throw it to."

New Madrid Central will have to overcome several key graduations to repeat as a Class 3A district champion this year. The Eagles advanced to the second round of the MSHSAA playoffs and lost to the eventual state champion, Mary Institute-Country Day School.

"Generally, they're a team with a lot of speed and good athletes, and they play good defense," Dement said. "We realize we're going to have a challenge with a lot of the teams on our schedule. Our goal is to get better each week and try to peak at the end of the season."