CARUTHERSVILLE - The East Prairie Eagles football team will invade Hopke Field in Caruthersville on Thursday night to take on the Tigers. The winner of the contest will become Class 2, District 1 champions and will be granted the right to host Crystal City in sectional play.
To get to this crucial game, East Prairie (5-3, 2-0 in district play) defeated Malden 26-6 and Portageville 42-20. Caruthersville (4-5, 2-0) handled Portageville 60-6 and squeezed by Malden 27-26.
The Tigers have had better success in recent playoff memory as last year, Caruthersville lost to Blair Oaks 36-22 in the semifinals of Class 2. In 2003, the Tigers lost to Centralia 44-3 also in the semifinals.
In the '90's, Caruthersville lost to Knob Noster 28-7 in the semifinals of the 1994 season and in 1991, lost to Herculaneum 28-14 in quarterfinal play.
East Prairie does not have the playoff experience that the Tigers have had in recent memory. In fact, since the Eagles football program was instituted in 1923, East Prairie has had three trips to the football playoffs.
The first trip was in 1975 when the Eagles lost in the sectionals to John Burroughs, 41-14. East Prairie then had back-to-back seasons in which they made the playoffs in 1993 and 1994. In '93, the Eagles lost to Scott City in sectionals 26-22. In '94, East Prairie was one game away from the final game when they lost to Monroe City 37-0 in the semifinals.
Caruthersville owns the head-to-head matchup against East Prairie holding a 44-7-1 series lead. The first contest between the two schools was played in 1930. That year, the Eagles and the Tigers played to a tie score of 0-0. In more recent action, the Tigers have won six straight contest against the Eagles dating back to 1998.
Last season, the Tigers rolled 54-8. East Prairie's last win in 1998, was by a score of 31-12 against a Caruthersville team that went winless.
For the Eagles to win on Thursday night, coach Corey Adkisson of East Prairie has a simple answer; just execute.
"We are going to have to play extremely well to win the game," said Adkisson. "The defense is going to have to step up and play an entire football game. Can't afford to take plays off at this stage. On offense, we are going to do what we have done all year and that is run the ball. No secret about what we do and we are not about to change now."
Coach Brad Gerling of the Tigers believes it will come down to the team that makes the least number of errors.
"The team that doesn't turn the football over will win the game," said Gerling. "We are going to have to battle for this victory. Our team must execute on the fundamentals. Of course we must find a way to slow down their running game."
East Prairie is led by junior running back Paris Tipler (5-9, 190) who has gained 1,616 rushing yards in eight games. Tipler has rushed for 23 touchdowns. Senior Dez Johnson (5-7, 144) compliments Tipler well showing speed to the outside combined with the power of Tipler.
Johnson was slowed by an injury early in the season but has come back to full strength at the right time. Johnson has rushed for 804 yards on only 100 carries. Johnson has scored eight rushing touchdowns.
Despite his injury which kept Johnson out of some early season games, he is only 196 rushing yards away from 1,000 yards on the season. If he does accomplish this feat on Thursday night, he and Tipler will be the first East Prairie running backs since 1994 to both rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Jason Aycock and Chris Johnson were the running backs for the Eagles who accomplished the feat.
"They have a good running game and we have spent some extra time in practice working on some defensive techniques," said Gerling. "Taken more defensive reps this week on proper angles to take and worked on trying to defense their sweep plays."
Senior quarterback Mitchell Winchester (6-0, 157) is a solid signal-caller for the Eagles. Winchester has completed 17 passes for 349 yards and five touchdowns. Winchester is prone to throwing interceptions as of his 39 attempts, five have been picked off.
Winchester does have some speed at quarterback and is a threat to run out of the pocket. On the season, Winchester has 34 rushes for 97 yards and a touchdown.
In addition to his rushing duties, Tipler is the leading receiver for East Prairie with six catches good for 145 yards and a touchdown.
Sophomore Tony Jones (6-1, 172) has four receptions for 94 yards and two touchdowns from his tight end position.
The Eagles' offensive line is getting better and better each week led by senior R.C. Strand (6-2, 194) and junior David Stalker (5-8, 218).
Adkisson has mentioned on several occasions that his O-line drives his team and they will be counted on to open holes against the Tigers.
On defense, Caruthersville is led in tackles by linebacker Mikey Lack (6-1, 185) who has well over 100 tackles for the season.
At the other linebacking position, junior Aaron Borders (6-1, 195) runs from sideline to sideline and is extremely fast.
"Lack and Borders are our defensive leaders," said Gerling. "They have stepped up at crucial times and won games for us."
Senior Evan Gibson (6-1, 230) and junior Ted VanAusdall (6-2, 280) lead the Tigers on the defensive line. Gerling has identified that defending the run, inside and out, as the biggest concern for his team and will count on the linebackers and his interior D-line to have a big game.
Another concern for the Tigers is pass defense, but considering that East Prairie rarely throws the football, that won't be much of a factor on Thursday night.
"Caruthersville has good defensive speed and runs well to the football," said Adkisson. "I know that they will turn their intensity up a notch and we will have to respond."
The Tigers feature the rushing leader in the area with junior Kendrickus Reed (6-0, 195). Reed has rushed for 1,768 yards in nine games and has scored 22 touchdowns.
"He (Reed) is working hard every day," said Gerling. "No doubt he is our go-
to-guy and we have the confidence in him that he will get some big yards for us."
Wideout Rashad Fields (6-3, 200) is second on the team in rushing with 177 yards and scored a touchdown.
Junior Aaron Borders (6-1, 195) has rushed the football only eight times but of those eight, three have been scored for rushing touchdowns.
Senior quarterback Keith Creekmore (6-3, 175) has had an up-and-down year for the Tigers. Creekmore has 37 completions through eight games for 494 yards and six touchdowns. On the downside, Creekmore has thrown 15 interceptions.
Adkisson does not lay all the blame at the feet of Creekmore.
"He has thrown to new guys all season," said Adkisson. "They are just getting use to each other and he brings a load of experience."
Gerling has full confidence in his senior quarterback and the most important thing, according to Gerling, is that Creekmore knows the offense inside and out.
Creekmore has a full stable of receivers to throw to led by sophomore Fields. Through eight games, Fields has 17 receptions for 272 yards and three touchdowns. Second on the Tigers in receiving yards is Jason Tate (6-3, 165) who has nine catches for 118 yards and three touchdowns through eight games.
Seniors Zach Ayers (6-1, 180) and Chima Nwora (6-2, 180) are also primary targets for the Tigers as both have combined for 11 catches 151 yards and a touchdown.
Caruthersville will count on Gibson and VanAusdall for leadership on the offensive line.
Gibson will have the task to block East Prairie defensive end Strand, who has been a monster throughout the year for the Eagles.
VanAusdall is the nerve center for the Tigers as he makes all the line calls for the O-line.
"Caruthersville runs a spread offense and does not utilize a tight end," said Adkisson. "They keep their linemen in a two-point stance so we have to be prepared for either run or pass at any time.
"Their tackles and guards pull and Reed runs in behind them. Favorite play is what I call a cut-back dive in which the running back follows the lead blockers and just cuts right behind them. Offense line is fast and athletic but not the biggest."
East Prairie is led on defense by Strand who has been dominant from his defensive end position. Strand is among the leading tacklers for the Eagles. Freshman linebacker Riley Hadenfelt (5-9, 189) is also among the leaders in tackles for East Prairie.
Johnson and Tipler are two of the linebackers for the Eagles and are very quick to the football and can run down running backs.
Johnson has picked up his play at linebacker and, despite his size, has made sure tackles at every opportunity.
Zach Secoy (5-9, 143) has picked up his play at cornerback throughout the season. Last week against Portageville, Secoy had a career game as he led the Eagles in tackles with 11 and picked off two passes.
While Gerling respects the defense for East Prairie, his main concern is to find Strand on the defensive Eagle defensive line.
"Strand is an excellent player," said Gerling. "He shuts down his side of the field at defensive end. We're not going to do anything elaborate, think our O-
line can match up with his strength and speed."
The contest between East Prairie and Caruthersville does not get any bigger than on Thursday night. The game will feature some of the best running backs in the area and it should be an exciting contest.
"Caruthersville has a potent offense," said Adkisson. "Reed is a threat no matter where he is on the football field. We have got to stop the run if we have any chance of winning. Can't forget their receivers, they have tremendous speed on the edges and we have to contain that option."
It is going to be a monster contest for the Class 2, District 1 title.