Even though it's a week early, high school football fields all over Missouri will be lit up tonight with exciting gridiron action. Prep teams will be decked out in their game uniforms for battle against other opponents, but the games won't count against their 1997 records.

Why?

Because for the first time in the history of the state, the Missouri High School Athletic Association is allowing prep football teams to scrimmage each other before the beginning of the season. These scrimmages, called Jamborees, will be held all over the state and several local teams will be taking advantage of the new rule.

Cape Central, Jackson and St. Vincent of Perryville will all travel to Sikeston for a four-team Jamboree tonight at 6:30. Scott City and Chaffee will also be in action tonight in four-team Jamborees. The Rams will scrimmage in Dexter at 7 p.m., along with Portageville and Fredericktown, and the Red Devils will be at Caruthersville with Hayti and Kennett starting at 7 p.m.

The Jamboree format allows for each team to run 12 offensive and 12 defensive plays starting from the 30 yard-line against each of the three or four teams participating. No clock will be used, no downs kept and if a team should score before its twelfth play, the ball will be placed at the 30 yard-line with the scoring team retaining possession until their 12 plays have been reached. At the conclusion of 12 plays, the offensive team switches to defense and another 12 plays are executed.

In all, each team will have 36 offensive and 36 defensive plays in a four-team field. No score will be kept and there will be no kicking or punting.

Area coaches appear to like the new rule and have been looking forward to the Jamborees for some time. Several other states in the region -- such as Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky -- have had scrimmage games like this for some time.

"It should make Missouri football better early in the season," said Cape Central coach Jerry Dement. "Particularly a team like us that plays people from other states that already have this kind of stuff in place. It puts us on more of an equal footing."

The Tigers play Blytheville (Ark.) and Marshall County (Ky.) early this season, and in the past, both of those squads had the advantage of an extra scrimmage game under their belts.

For smaller schools, the Jamborees give them a chance to scrimmage their starters against another team's starters, rather than their own junior varsity players.

"With our numbers, it's kind of difficult to see what we have in a soap game," said coach Paul Sauer of Class 1A St. Vincent. "Here's an opportunity for us to run 36 plays with the people we think will have starting jobs against much stronger competition."

Terry Flannigan, coach of Class 2A Scott City, agrees with Sauer.

"It gives me a chance to put quality varsity kids verses other quality varsity kids," Flannigan said. "It gives you a better look at your team and it keeps the younger players from getting discouraged, because they're always getting beat up by the older kids (in practice)."

All the coaches agree, the Jamborees are a great way to evaluate their squads and get them game experience before the start of the season.

"All of us are still searching for that starting lineup," said Dement. "This gives us a chance to find out, in a tougher situation, who can get the job done and who can't."

1997 Football Jamboree

Where: Sikeston Public School Stadium

Teams: Cape Central Tigers, Jackson Indians, St. Vincent (Perryville) Indians, Sikeston Bulldogs

When: 6:30 tonight

Admission: $2

Seating: Cape Central-Southern half of East bleachers; Jackson-Northern half of bleachers; St. Vincent-Northern half of West bleachers; Sikeston-Southern half of West bleachers

Scrimmage schedule:

1. Sikeston-Jackson

2. St. Vincent-Cape Central

3. Cape Central-Sikeston

4. Jackson-St. Vincent

5. Cape Central-Jackson

6. Sikeston-St. Vincent