Central, Perryville now district football foes

~ Jackson no longer is in the same district as heated rival Eureka

A move up in class and a move down in class has aligned Perryville and Central as district football opponents for the next two years.

While Central is nearly twice the size of its neighbor to the north, both schools find themselves in Class 4 District 1 after the new class and district alignments recently were unveiled by the Missouri State High School Activities Association. It was the most dramatic change for the six area high schools, who all were affected by the biennial realignment.

Perryville and Central are at polar opposites of the enrollment range in Class 4, which spans from 725 to 1,246 students. Perryville, with 730 students, will be the second smallest of the 64 schools in Class 4. Central (1,246) will be the largest.

"Our enrollment has grown, so when they divide it into 64, that's where we fell," Perryville coach Keith Winkler said. "It's a shame we didn't fall a little lower, but I'm sure a lot of other schools feel the same way.

Jackson coach Van Hitt talks to his players during the third quarter Friday at Farmington. (Fred Lynch)

"We can look at it one of two ways. We can look at it and complain, say 'Poor me,' but at the end of the day that will get us nowhere."

Perryville and Central replace Poplar Bluff and West Plains in District 1, but find holdovers in defending champion Sikeston and Farmington.

Perryville and Central resided in the same Class 4 district from 2000 to 2003. The Pirates dropped to Class 3 in 2004, where they spent six seasons. Central remained in Class 4 until 2008, when it was bumped up to Class 5 and joined rival Jackson in District 1.

In the second year of a new format that allows two of the four district teams to advance to the playoffs, neither Central nor Perryville reached the playoffs in 2009. Central went 0-3 as part of a 0-10 season, while Perryville was 1-2 in the district and 1-9 overall. A win against Kennett in the opening week of district play provided the Pirates' lone win.

Central was 0-6 in its two seasons in Class 5 District 1, where Eureka and Rockwood Summit also resided in addition to Jackson. Perryville had qualified for the playoffs in 2008 as it was the Class 3 District 1 runner-up to New Madrid County Central with a 2-1 mark as part of a 3-8 season.

"It's nice to be the largest school in the Class 4 level across the state, but at the same time it will be a competitive district," Central coach Rich Payne said.

The Pirates and Tigers will find tough competition in Class 4 District 1. Sikeston breezed through the district in 2009, capping an undefeated regular season and reaching the Class 4 semifinals. Farmington was 0-3 in the district but 5-5 overall.

"We know Sikeston made a good run in the playoffs last year, and Farmington's got a good ballclub," Winkler said. "And we know Cape Central is going to be happy about dropping. Traditionally, they've had a good program and they're working real hard. We know it's going to be a challenge."

Shorter trips will serve as some consolation for the Pirates, who previously had to travel to New Madrid, Kennett and Dexter. Their longest district trip now will be about 60 miles to Sikeston.

Jackson remains in Class 5 District 1, where it will welcome fellow SEMO North Conference member Poplar Bluff and Seckman, while saying farewell to Central and Eureka.

Seckman was bumped up to Class 6 in 2008, but had been a district opponent of Jackson in Class 5 the four previous seasons.

"Geographically speaking, it's real favorable," Jackson coach Van Hitt said. "And everybody in our district matches up pretty even. To me, it's wide open for any one of the four teams to come out at No. 1 or No. 2."

Class 5 District 1 was uncharacteristically weak in 2009 as the four teams combined for just three wins entering district play -- Eureka (2-4), Rockwood Summit (1-6), Jackson (0-7) and Central (0-7). By comparison, Poplar Bluff (5-2) and Seckman (4-3) had nine wins combined entering their district schedules.

Eureka won the last two Class 5 District 1 titles and, along with Jackson, was a perennial contender for the crown over the past six seasons. In 2008, both teams qualified for the playoffs, and Jackson avenged a tough district loss to the Wildcats with a last-second field goal in the quarterfinals.

"That's really developed into one of our strongest rivalries here the last few years," Hitt said. "The last two or three years it seemed like whoever was home won."

Hitt was hopeful the Indians' schedule could retain Eureka, which moved up to Class 6, but the teams were unable to work out an early season date for next season.

In Class 1, Chaffee and St. Vincent move out of District 1 and will join defending champion and perennial-power Valle Catholic in District 2. Cleveland NJROTC rounds out the district after a drop from Class 2. Valle, which went undefeated until the state championship game in 2009, and St. Vincent have a long history as district rivals. The two former Class 1 state champions most recently were district rivals from 2000 to 2005, and they have a lengthy district background before that.

Chaffee, which has not made the playoffs since 1983, and St. Vincent had shared District 1 with Hayti and Portageville.

Class 2 District 2, which has been weak in recent years, saw one dramatic change as Herculaneum dropped from Class 3 to join Scott City, St. Pius and defending champion Crystal City. Herculaneum, which replaces Grandview, has a tradition of winning football in Class 3. The Blackcats won their district and compiled a 7-4 record in 2009.