Week 11 Top 10: Poplar Bluff keeps winning; Caruthersville, East Prairie to mark major clash

It’s the second week of the postseason, but the first opportunity for many of our local teams to take the field for the start of the playoffs after a series of byes.

The biggest win of last week might have just belonged to Poplar Bluff, which avenged an earlier loss to Farmington with a blowout victory to move up in both the local rankings and the postseason ladder.

East Prairie similarly avenged a loss to Scott City in a 42-point swing from last time out, and Kelly took a 36-12 victory over New Madrid County Central in similar fashion.

Cape Central, Caruthersville and Perryville all took care of business as 2nd-seeded favorites, making for some interesting semifinal matchups this weekend.

Here are the Week 11 updates to the Semoball Area Football Power Rankings:

No. 1: Jackson (7-2, LW No. 1)

Idle last week, Jackson retains its position as the top team in Southeast Missouri, of course thanks in large part to a couple of big wins on the back half of the schedule. The Indians go into their first playoff game of the new year against Lindbergh after the Flyers’ 35-0 win to open up the postseason. For the second consecutive year, they will host the Flyers in the district semis with a potential district final rematch at Seckman looming. Last year, the Indians had no issue putting away Lindbergh in the true debut of now-starter Drew Parsons. Against Jackson alum Nathan Norman, now coaching Lindbergh, the hosts will look to replicate that effort.

No. 2: St. Vincent (9-0, LW No. 2)

A familiar spot for the Indians of St. Vincent, maintaining their spot as the top small school in the region after making some big strides earlier this season, particularly against teams such as Valle Catholic, Ste. Genevieve and even rival Perryville, with the Pirates now making strides with a mighty reputation of their own. Going into the first playoff game of the year against Louisiana at home, the Indians aren’t anticipated to have too much adversity preventing them from making it into the district semis next week. All things considered, St. Vincent is expected to make a big run this fall, and it starts this week.

No. 3: Cape Central (9-1, LW No. 3)

Cape Central did everything necessary to take a sizeable victory over Webster Groves in the playoff opener, marking the start of another postseason run for a program that’s well-renowned for being great and piecing those together. This week against Poplar Bluff, the Tigers will be matched against one of the Bootheel’s top risers as the Mules seem to have finally found their stride with a Week 10 playoff-opening rout of Farmington to avenge a string of losses to the Knights. Back on home turf, Cape Central will look to defend the roost against a team the Tigers easily put away earlier this season on the road.

No. 4: Dexter (9-0, LW No. 4)

Dexter was the lone team in Class 3 District 1 that was on a bye last week, so going into this week against a Fredericktown team on a winning streak after squeaking by Potosi, the Bearcats will have to make sure that rest takes precedence over rust. The Blackcats have strung together some significant performances this year. Going into the first week of playoff action, they are expected to make a simple push for a district title before jumping into a jam-packed Class 3 field in which it’s well-liked but certainly not favored.

No. 5: Caruthersville (9-1, LW No. 5)

Week 10 made for another big win for the Tigers, rolling over Portageville once again to get one step closer to the district championship game. But awaiting them there is East Prairie, which avenged an earlier loss to Scott City with a fierce victory to claim a spot in the district semis alongside Caruthersville. This should be the game of the week, making for a battle between two of the Bootheel’s top-rising teams. Caruthersville has the better body of work, but the Eagles are among the hottest teams in the region. Home-field advantage will certainly work in the Tigers’ favor in this one.

No. 6: East Prairie (8-2, LW No. 6)

For the first time since the 2009 football season, the East Prairie Eagles have racked up eight wins in a single season. That mark has placed them at the forefront of local discussion, largely thanks to the rushing efforts of Tavion Ware, who’s helped the Eagles become one of the top offenses in the area and pushed them into a district semifinal against the SEMO South champions in Caruthersville. South No. 1 versus Central No. 2 will bring us one of the top postseason matchups we’ll see this year, and though Caruthersville enters as a slight favorite at home, East Prairie has the tools to make this one fun.

No. 7: Perryville (9-1, LW No. 7)

It’s a 9-1 start for the Perryville Pirates, now seven consecutive wins after taking a bruising victory over Windsor to make their first postseason win in the past decade and then some. Perryville’s got oodles of momentum going into a semifinal brawl with Hillsboro, the Hawks coming off an appearance in the Class 4 state title game last season. Though the North Dakota State quarterback-toting Hawks have a lot stacked in favor of them going into this one, the Pirates do have momentum, and sometimes that’s all that matters.

No. 8: Poplar Bluff (5-5, LW No. 9)

Stooping as far down as 2-5 a few weeks ago, the Mules are on a generational run right now that most recently included a magnificent 56-21 victory over the Farmington Knights for a third consecutive win. Going into a rematch with Cape Central, in which the Mules suffered a heavy loss earlier this season, there isn’t much love going toward Poplar Bluff in the district semifinals this week. That being said, the Mules’ most recent win proves they’re nothing short of a totally different team now, and those local football fans should expect a big battle this weekend.

No. 9: Charleston (6-3, LW No. 8)

Charleston drops a spot to No. 9 off the bye this week because of Poplar Bluff’s massive victory over Farmington last week, but the Blue Jays still have plenty of reason to believe in themselves going into the first game of the postseason against 6th-seeded Chaffee. With wins against Chaffee and likely Crystal City thereafter, Charleston could easily find itself in a quarterfinal spot with state rights within reach. Though it’s been a rocky season to this point, Charleston has the momentum, and the tools, to make a splash in Class 1 this fall.

No. 10: Kelly (5-5, LW No. 10)

Spotting Kelly above the likes of New Madrid County Central and Sikeston wasn’t an easy decision, but after how the Hawks performed against the Eagles in a rematch of an earlier NMCC blowout, it appears Kelly was worth the hype. The Hawks have momentum previously unprecedented heading into the district semifinals, but it’ll come against a Valle Catholic team that will be frankly unrelenting. Kelly isn’t well-liked in this game, but it’ll nevertheless take its best to Ste. Genevieve with the season on the line.