Power and strength are important ingredients in athletics and a few high schools in the area have been literally raising the bar in that area.

While almost every area school has a weightlifting program for football, some schools attend competitions where their strength is put to the test.

Perryville, Scott City and Fredericktown are among schools in Southeast Missouri that attend these meets. Fredericktown coach Kent Gibbs said his team usually attends three a year, typically held in the months after football and prior to spring sports. The competitions are not sanctioned by the Missouri State High School Athletic Association.

The Black Cats were scheduled to attend their final competition this weekend at Ste. Genevieve High School, but the meet was canceled due to the death of Ste. Genevieve assistant superintendent Dan Clark.

Events at meets include power-clean, bench press, squat, push press and dead lift. Competitors are divided by weight class and into junior (freshmen and sophomores) and senior (juniors and seniors) divisions. Champions are crowned in individual events as well as overall team champions.

"It's more geared toward football players and something to keep them motivated," Gibbs said.

As an overall team, Fredericktown won both meets it attended this year.

"The kids really enjoy it and the coaches can gauge if the program is working or not," Gibbs said.

Tiger signees

The Cape Girardeau Central football team is infiltrating the college ranks.

Four Tigers recently signed letters of intent to play college football next season, bringing this year's total of players signed to five.

Chris Smith, the Tigers' most prized recruit by major colleges, will play next season at Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Ill. Smith, a 6-foot-3, 315-pound defensive lineman was an all-state selection as a senior.

Despite drawing double teams, Smith had 75 tackles -- 16 behind the line of scrimmage -- one interception and three blocked kicks.

Smith, who drew interest from schools like Missouri, Michigan St., and Illinois, will try to establish himself both academically and athletically at Joliet, with hopes of progressing to a major program. Central coach Lawrence Brookins said Joliet is known for feeding players to the Big 10 Conference.

Receiver Andrew Eaton has signed with William Jewell College, a NAIA school located near Kansas City, Mo., while kicker Chris Jones and offensive/defensive lineman Justin Wells have opted for Lindenwood University, a NAIA school in St. Charles, Mo.

Jones and Wells will join former Tigers Casey Dwyre and Frank McGinty at Lindenwood. McGinty was the starting quarterback at Lindenwood this season after transferring.

The Tigers' only previous signee this year, Marcus Klund, also opted for Lindenwood. That school also is among Tiger defensive back Marland Heard's final options.

Jeff Breer is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.