RAMS, BLUE JAYS TUNE UP FOR LOOMING 2A SHOWDOWN

Scott City High School's rampaging football team is still one game away from the showdown that everybody in town has been talking about.

But Rams' coach Terry Flannigan knows his team can afford no slips at this stage of the season.

"We've got to remain focused and continue to take things one game at a time," Flannigan said.

For the Rams, that means all eyes will be on Crystal City when the Hornets come to Scott City for tonight's 7:30 Class 2A, District 2 contest.

The Rams, ranked fifth in the state in Class 2A, are 7-1 overall and 1-0 in district play. Crystal City is 3-5 overall, 0-1 in the district.

Scott City followers have been pointing for some time to next week's final regular-season game at Charleston that will almost certainly decide the district title. But Flannigan is proud of the way the Rams have been able to -- pardon the cliche -- take things one game at a time.

"Crystal City will be looking to upset somebody and we have to make sure it's not us," he said. "People talk about Charleston, but we've stressed every ounce and every inch not to look ahead and we've done a good job of that."

Speedy junior tailback Matt Underwood rushed for 291 yards and scored five touchdowns during last week's 74-0 mauling of Grandview. And it's not as if the Rams ran up the score. They led 62-0 at halftime.

Underwood, having an impressive season, has gained about 1,200 yards so far. But of course, most of the Rams are having impressive seasons to date.

"Things have been going well and we just need to keep it going that way," Flannigan said.

And if things continue to go well tonight -- then the Rams can start looking toward Charleston.

Perryville at Hillsboro

Talk about showdowns. This certainly falls into that category.

When Perryville's Pirates and Hillsboro's Hawks square off at 7:30 tonight, the Class 4A, District 2 championship will almost certainly be at stake.

Hillsboro, featuring a punishing running attack, is 8-0 and ranked second in the 4A state poll. The Hawks won their district opener last week by rolling past De Soto 39-0.

Perryville, bolstered by an equally punishing wishbone attack, is 7-1. The Pirates downed Windsor 27-14 last week in their district opener.

Both Hillsboro and Perryville will be heavily favored over their opponents in next week's regular-season finales. So the winner tonight will have all but wrapped up a playoff berth.

"It's a very big game," said Perryville coach Jerry Tucker. "I guess people have been talking about this one from St. Louis to the Bootheel."

Kevin Wiegert is Hillsboro's top threat with 20 touchdowns and more than 1,000 yards rushing.

Matt Jenkins of Perryville has gained 1,005 yards, including 208 during the win over Windsor.

"Hillsboro has a very good football team. They're 8-0 and ranked second in the state. What more could you want," Tucker said. "But we've been playing very well the last couple of weeks and the win over Windsor was a big one because Windsor has a very good team."

Charleston at Grandview

Like Scott City's Flannigan, Charleston coach Dan Kesselring has emphasized to his team how important it is not to look ahead.

The Blue Jays (3-4) did a good job of that last week in a 33-7 rout of Crystal City in the 2A, District 2 opener. And the Jays will be heavily favored in tonight's 7:30 kickoff against the Eagles (2-6).

"We're taking this district one game at a time," said Kesselring. "We want to just go up there and come away a winner.

"The kids have had a real good week of practice. They know how important this game is. We want to polish up, tune up and get ready for that last game, but by no means are we overlooking anybody."

Against a team that lost by 74 points to Scott City last week, it probably wouldn't even matter if the Blue Jays were looking toward Scott City.

Charleston, ravaged by injuries during the middle of the season, has been getting healthy recently and quarterback Jason Ward and fullback Kevin Brown are now just about 100 percent.

St. Vincent at Mo. Military

St. Vincent (8-0), the state's fourth-ranked Class 1A team, figures to have little trouble remaining undefeated when the Indians travel to Mexico for Saturday's 1 p.m. game.

Missouri Military Academy is winless. The Indians needed a game for this date because Class 1A, District 1 includes only three teams and St. Vincent had no district contest scheduled.

The Indians, who beat Chaffee 41-12 in last week's district opener, close out the regular season next week against Hayti.

"We're just looking to stay sharp," said St. Vincent coach Paul Sauer. "We want to work on our execution and hopefully keep everybody healthy."

Tailback Bryan Meyer leads the Indians' offense with about 850 yards rushing.

Fredericktown at New Madrid

For the first time in five years, Fredericktown is playing a second district game after winning the first.

Fredericktown (3-5) beat Dexter 20-12 last week in Class 3A District 1 play. New Madrid County Central lost to Kennett 41-40.

But New Madrid (5-3) may be the most talented team in the district.

"When you look at them and look at us, we're similar in our ability to run the football," Fredericktown coach Kent Gibbs said. "Our linemen match up well, but they've got juice. If they break the line of scrimmage, we don't have anybody to catch those guys."

Quarterback Byron Minner and running backs Ricky Smith and Vest Baker are the main offensive threats for New Madrid.

Jeremy Penwell, who rushed for 220 yards last week, is the primary weapon for Fredericktown.

"Our guys have a little more getup in their step for this one," Gibbs said. "This is probably the biggest game any of them have ever played."

The kickoff tonight is at 7:30.

Hayti at Chaffee

Chaffee, which is winless in eight contest this season, is a favorite coming into tonight's 7:30 game against 0-7 Hayti.

Chaffee has fared better against common opponents than Hayti this season, and is coming off one of its better games of the season in a closer-than-the-score 41-12 loss to St. Vincent.

But when a team hasn't won, it can't hardly take a game for granted.

"I thought we played extremely well against St. Vincent," Chaffee coach Brian Horrell said. "We kind of gambled in the second half and got burnt.

"If our kids play like they're capable of playing, we should win. But then again, we let games against East Prairie (27-14) and Grandview (14-13) get away."

Hayti runs the option offensively, and has experienced trouble with turnovers.

Chaffee will start Nick Cook at tailback this week. He has split time with Tom Stidham this season.