NMCC set to take on Perryville in district action

NEW MADRID - The New Madrid County Central Eagles football team rolls into Week 2 of district play as the Perryville Pirates invade on Friday night at 7 p.m.

In the first week of district action, NMCC (6-2, 1-0) pounded Kennett 42-0 while the Pirates lost at home to the Dexter Bearcats 31-0.

The Eagles lead the overall series 6-4 over Perryville and won last year's meeting 34-14 on the road.

NMCC and Perryville met for the first time in 1981 as the Pirates won at home 42-0. The Pirates won the next meeting in 1982 and the two schools didn't meet again until 1988 when the Eagles won their first game of the series.

The two teams didn't play from 1994 through 2003. Perryville was assigned to the current district format in 2004 and has played the Eagles for three straight seasons.

Perryville (4-4, 0-1) has lost three of its last four games. The combined record of the teams the Pirates have beaten are 6-24.

The Pirates have overcome the loss of their All-District quarterback from a season ago in senior Ryan Schilling (5-11, 170), who had a season-ending injury halfway through the 2006 season.

Junior Ryan Lorenz (5-10, 160) has performed admirably in place of Schilling completing 58 percent of his passes for over 350 yards on the season.

"It was a big loss for us to lose our All-Conference quarterback," said Perryville head coach Rick Chastain. "The guys have responded well and we have to keep moving forward."

Perryville's offense is jump-started by junior running back Kris Cottner (5-10, 180) who has gained over 900 yards on the season and runs behind an offensive line that averages 6-foot, 228 pounds, led by senior tackle Duane Ruch (6-5, 270). Senior tight end Tyler Bauwens (6-2, 230) leads the Pirates with 19 receptions for over 300 yards.

"Perryville does a good job of mixing up their offense with the run and pass," said NMCC head coach Arlen Pixley. "Cottner is a good running back and everything seems to run through him. No. 5 (Bauwens) is a big kid and is a good player."

On the defensive side of the football, the Pirates are led by a solid group of linebackers led by Bauwens who has recorded 91 tackles in eight games. Junior Waylon Sparkman (5-8, 200) is second on the team with 80 tackles.

Senior Mark Webb (6-0, 205) anchors the defensive line with 60 tackles.

"They (Perryville) are good up front and have a solid group of linebackers," said Pixley. "They do a nice job of being strong at the point of attack. Against Dexter, they did a decent job in the first half holding them to only three points. In the second half, Perryville had some problems in coverage and had a couple of break downs."

The Eagles are led on offense by junior quarterback Leslie Williams (6-0, 190) who has thrown for 474 yards and eight touchdowns on the year. Last week, Williams passed for over 90 yards against Kennett.

On the ground, Marquese Gates (5-11, 175) is the team leader on the season with 700 yards and scored 10 touchdowns. Fellow senior DeAnton Brown (5

-11, 175) is second on the team with 450 yards and three touchdowns. The two combined to rush for close to 200 yards against the Indians last week.

NMCC can run the option and Williams is third on the team with 376 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

The Eagles have three receivers with over 130 receiving yards apiece in Tommy Rowe (5-11, 175), Justin Beasley (5-11, 165) and Woody Smelser (6

-2, 210).

"Our No. 1 concern about New Madrid is their speed and quickness," said Chastain. "They are extremely hard to handle on offense. They run a lot of formations and we basically have to be ready for everything."

NMCC is coming off a good defensive effort against Kennett and is looking for another shutout. Linebacker Corey Rowe (5-8, 190) leads the Eagles in tackles with over 70. Smelser has also had a good year at linebacker and L.T. Sutton (5-11, 220) has been used effective either on the D-line or at an outside linebacker position this year.

"Their speed on defense is tough to prepare for," said Chastain. "They have a good coach over there who gets them ready to attack. We have to be able to handle their pressure on defense or it is going to be a long night."