Jackson (2-1) at Central (3-0)

Last week: Jackson 17, North County 0; Central 46, Obion County (Tenn.) 13

Last year: Jackson 20, Central 13

Outlook: Central leads the series, but Jackson has won the last seven meetings in a rivalry that dates back to 1912.

"It's been a while," Central coach Rich Payne said. "They're an established program and they've been in the playoffs multiple years. They have a bunch of hard-nosed kids over there and they play the game hard. It will be a tough ballgame. I just hope our kids will be ready to go."

Last year's meeting was a one-of-a-kind game in the rivalry as both teams entered the final game of the season with 0-9 records. Jackson scored the game's final 20 points for the victory.

This year the teams have combined for just one loss. Central is 3-0 for the first time since 2002. The Tigers are seeking their first 4-0 start since 1977 when they won their first five games in a 9-2 campaign. Jackson's only loss this season was against Class 6 Parkway South in Week 2.

"Most of those young men they have this year played last year, so they had all that experience coming back," Jackson coach Van Hitt said. "They put points on the board last year against a bunch of schools, and this year they've got the defense showing up where they're not giving up a lot of points. So no, it's not a big surprise. They've hung in there as a group, and it's paid off for them."

Central is averaging 38.3 points a game and its rushing attack has been gobbling up yards. Its lowest team rushing total was 278 yards in its season opener against New Madrid. The Tigers rushed for 331 yards against Festus and 358 yards against Obion County. Central is averaging 322 yards rushing per game and 6.8 yards per attempt. Senior running backs Keilon Moore and James Poindexter both are averaging about 10 yards a carry. Moore has rushed for a team-high 315 yards on 34 attempts. Poindexter has run for 298 yards on 29 carries.

"I was very pleased with the way we performed on offense [against Obion]," Payne said. "I think we established the tone early by establishing an 18-play drive and coming up with a score."

The Tigers rushed a season-high 64 times against Obion, but also had their most effective day passing. Junior quarterback Christian Cavaness completed 10 of 12 attempts for 109 yards. The completions and attempts were season-highs. Senior receiver Andrew Williams had five receptions, including a touchdown, while senior tight end Zach Boerboom had three catches.

"You can't be one-dimensional," Payne said. "We've done a good job to this point taking advantage of what defenses give us."

"They've relied heavily on the run for their points, but they've done a good job throwing the football," Hitt said. "They have some excellent receivers, and their quarterback makes great decisions with the football. I haven't seen him make a bad pass, and he's a good runner. That quarterback is as good a runner as any of the running backs. He makes great decisions with the football."

Added Hitt: "We don't want to give up the easy scores, a long run for a touchdown or the long pass. If they score, make them drive the whole field."

After posting 467 yards of offense in its season opener against Class 2 O'Fallon Christian, Jackson has averaged just 214 yards in its last two games.

Senior running back Ethan Ruch led the Indians in rushing for the third straight game, collecting 92 yards on 18 carries against North County. Ruch has 312 yards rushing on the season and averages 5.9 yards a carry.

Jackson's passing attack has struggled the last two weeks. Senior quarterback Bobby Clark has not thrown an interception during the span but has completed 18 of 52 passes (36 percent). Chris Wren is the Indians' top receiver with eight catches for 142 yards.

St. Pius (1-2) at Chaffee (0-3)

Last week: Grandview 14, St. Pius 7; Hayti 42, Chaffee 0

Last year: St. Pius 41, Chaffee 0

Outlook: Both teams have lost to their one common opponent -- Grandview. Chaffee opened its season with a 14-0 loss to the Bulldogs, while St. Pius avoided the same 14-0 shutout with a touchdown in the final two minutes.

St. Pius' lone triumph was a 38-0 season-opening win against winless Barat Academy. The Warriors are run-oriented with a group of seniors -- 5-foot-8, 225-pound senior fullback Charlie Argana, Evan Temperato and Luke Linderer -- sharing the rushing duties. St. Pius rushed for 354 yards in its opening win and 311 yards the following week, a loss to Soldan.

The line features 6-3, 295-pound tackle Hayden Smith.

"They're very, very big up front," Chaffee coach Charlie Vickery said. "Probably one of biggest teams, by far, that we'll see."

The Red Devils have been in striking distance at halftime in two of their three losses. Chaffee trailed Grandview 6-0 at the break and Hayti 8-0. However, Chaffee has been unable to post any points in the second half of either game. Chaffee has scored just six points on the season -- in Week 2 vs. Portageville -- and has an 11-game losing streak.

"We need to find a way to score," Vickery said. "I feel like we're moving the ball. We're just not moving it into the end zone."

Part of the Red Devils' offensive problems have been tied to injuries to junior quarterback Jordan Yahn, who sprained an ankle midway through the season-opening loss to Grandview. Yahn returned last week and pulled a groin muscle. Freshman Cody Payne has been operating the offense and has shown progress. He completed 13 of 26 passes for 161 yards last week. Senior Mike Rutherford had his biggest game with seven catches for 87 yards. However, the running game was throttled to 23 yards on 26 attempts.

Vickery said Yahn has been practicing this week and he expects him to play tonight. Senior linebacker/running back Cody Enderle also will return after missing last week with a shoulder injury.

St. Vincent (1-2) at Herculaneum (2-1)

Last week: St. Vincent 47, Missouri Military Academy 0; Valle 40, Herculaneum 0

Last year: Did not play

Outlook: St. Vincent last played Herculaneum in 1999 and lost 20-14 at home. It was the final year of a six-year stretch for the schools. St. Vincent went 1-5 in the series with its lone win a 14-12 triumph in 1998.

St. Vincent junior quarterback Tim Schumer injured a knee in last week's win and will be lost for the majority, if not the remainder, of the season. Schumer suffered a slight tear to his PCL and a chip fracture on a touchdown run with 2:43 left in the second quarter.

"We got some good news. It's not his ACL so he won't have to have surgery," St. Vincent coach Paul Sauer said. "Hopefully he can get back maybe at the end of the season or for the playoffs. They're looking at six to eight weeks."

Schumer was the only starter to return to the same position on offense this season.

"You hate to lose anybody, much less your quarterback," Sauer said.

Sophomore Trent Elder, who played on the freshman and JV last season, will replace Schumer. Sauer said the Indians will have to scale back their offense, which fluctuates between a wishbone and spread, to accommodate Elder.

"We'd still like to maintain a balance [on offense]," Sauer said. "I guess early on in the game I see us being more run-oriented, but I trust Trent and his being able to throw the ball a little bit. We'll have to throw it a little bit to keep them honest."

Senior running back Bryan Bone leads a run-oriented Herculaneum attack with 257 yards rushing but reportedly suffered a serious knee injury last week.

"They've got two or three more good running backs, so I think they'll be a handful for us to try and stop," Sauer said.

Frank Abate has 197 yards (11.7 ypa) and Tim Shores has 183 yards (7.0 ypa). Abate has scored five touchdowns.

"They're going to try to run the football until we stop it, so our game plan is to do everything we can to stop their run and force them into a passing game," Sauer said.

St. Vincent churned out 289 yards rushing on 35 carries (8.3 ypa) against Missouri Military Academy. Mitchell Presnell led the way with 95 yards on 13 carries.

Scott City (1-2) at Dexter (1-2)

Last week: East Prairie 37, Scott City 23; Sikeston 41, Dexter 0

Last year: Did not play

Outlook: The schools last met in 1997 and it resulted in a 26-6 road win for Dexter. The teams also met in 1996 with Dexter also winning, 14-13, on its home field. Before that, the schools met annually from 1976 to 1985, with the Rams' last win in the series a 28-18 decision in 1983.

Scott City is looking to bounce back from a flat performance against East Prairie, a game the Eagles dominated statistically. Rams senior running back Garett Schaefer was held to 39 yards rushing after topping 200 yards against both Malden and St. Vincent. Scott City was held to 80 yards rushing as a team after running for nearly 700 yards the first two weeks.

"I think we felt pretty good about ourselves and East Prairie came out and just flat took it to us," Scott City coach Jim May said.

Scott City's passing game proved effective against East Prairie. Senior quarterback Jamie Scholz completed 10 of 17 passes for 137 yards. Junior receiver Austin Atchley had six catches for 98 yards.

Dexter is coming off a lopsided loss to unbeaten Sikeston. The Bearcats accumulated just 134 yards and surrendered more than 450 yards. Dexter quarterback Cody Stevens was the team's leading rusher with 44 yards on 13 carries. Stevens also was 6 of 18 passing with three interceptions. Running back Joshua Overall was limited to 16 yards on 11 carries.

"Last week they played Sikeston, which is an exceptional team, and so you kind of take that with a grain of salt," May said. "Sikeston does things just a whole lot different than what we do."

The Bearcats' lone win also came in Week 2, a 14-0 victory against Park Hills. The defense provided five interceptions in the game, but the offense struggled, mounting less than 200 yards.

"Dexter is just a good, fundamental, physical football team," May said. "It's a challenge for us to find out where we stand, if we're a physical team or if we're not. They're going to be, and it's just a matter of if we can match it."

Sophomore defensive back Travis Phillips will be a game-time decision for the Rams.

Perryville (0-3) at Potosi (1-2)

Last week: Park Hills 35, Perryville 14; Maplewood 22, Potosi 6

Last year: Potosi 35, Perryville 7

Outlook: Perryville no longer will have to worry about all-state running back Brandon Bourbon, who has moved on to the University of Kansas.

However, the Pirates will have to contend with quarterback Matt Marler and running back/receiver Garth Rogers.

While Bourbon rushed for 116 yards against Perryville last season, the bulk of the damage was done by the combination of Marler and Rogers. The pair hooked up for four touchdowns that covered 212 yards before halftime. Rogers' touchdowns went for 45, 16, 70 and 81 yards. The victory was part of an undefeated regular season for Potosi, which lost to New Madrid in a Class 3 sectional.

Rogers has 305 yards rushing (8.5 ypa) and 11 receptions for 135 yards this season. Marler, a 6-2, 220-pound senior, is not off to a strong start, completing 28 of 68 passes for 363 yards. He's thrown two touchdowns and been intercepted four times.

Potosi's loss last week came against Maplewood, the top-ranked team in Class 2. Potosi's defense is keyed by all-state defensive tackle Robert King.

-- Jeff Breer