What we learned from Week 3

Here's a quick recap of what went down during Week 3.

We learned nobody may ever score on Sikeston's defense.

Ok, ok. Obviously I don't think that will remain. But they've went three games without allowing an offensive touchdown and I thought that feat deserved a bold headline. The big thing about Sikeston's dominance so far is how they've handled their schedule so far. They were expected to win their first three games, but I don't think anyone expected them to keep Charleston, NMCC and Dexter from reaching the end zone (offensively). They're one and only let-up was during the first play from scrimmage of the season against Charleston, which resulted in a takeaway (literally) from Demontrail Clark who sprinted to pay dirt. Since then, not one opponent's drive has sniffed the end zone. Big tests are coming, however, as Sikeston hits the meat of their schedule this week starting with Farmington at home. They'll go to Poplar Bluff after that and then to "The Pit" in Jackson. Follow those games up with rival Cape Central in Week 7 and that my friends is a gauntlet. They round out their season with Jennings at home and on the road at Cardinal Ritter. Injuries have hit the Bulldogs hard so far and their defense will have to keep up a similar pace if they want to run the table.

We learned that New Madrid County Central can score. And score a lot.

They're speed and playmakers finally revealed themselves against Kennett. After being shutout by Malden and Sikeston to start the season, NMCC exploded for 40 points against the 1-2 Indians. They quickly got on the board with a fumble recovery by Harvey Brown, followed that up with a 38-yard touchdown pass to Willie Jimmerson from quarterback Austin Lynn and capped the first half with touchdown runs by TJ Clark and Lynn for 27 points in the first two quarters. It's nice to see the Eagles get going. If you'll remember, the same thing happened last season when NMCC hung up 40 against Portageville. They went on to upset Potosi in the playoffs and then fall to Ste. Genevieve, but momentum certainly swung their way after finally breaking through their offensive struggles. To me, it's always good to have the Eagles be contenders every year. Seems to make things much more interesting. Hopefully this will be a jumping off point for them. We'll see how they deal with the likes of Charleston this week when quickness will be all over the field Friday.

Speaking of Charleston, we learned the Bluejays can hold their own against Class 2, District 1 favorite Caruthersville.

I'll be honest, I was surprised to find on my phone Friday night that Charleston held a late lead against one of last year's semifinalists. I saw Charleston play against Hayti in Week 2 and came away impressed with how much their overall game had improved -- especially defense. Charleston held the Tigers to just seven points until late in the third quarter, but that's when the explosiveness of Caruthersville took over. A few forced turnovers and big plays led to the Tigers scoring 19 unanswered points to come away with the win. The distance between Caruthersville and the rest of District 1 may be shrinking a bit. I think Charleston has solidified themselves as a legitimate threat to the Tigers later this year. It will be very interesting to see how the rest of the year pans out. Hopefully for fans like us, these two teams will enter the playoffs healthy and at their best. It's setting up to be a fantastic rematch come district time.

What we learned: rapid fire.

We learned that Cape Central may have the most depth as any team in southeast Missouri following their 34-13 win over visiting Poplar Bluff.

We learned that Chaffee can rack up yards and points (136) with the best of them. We'll have to see where they truly rank, however, towards the end of the year when their schedule gets a bit more taxing.

We learned that Jackson's defense may not be as behind their offense as we thought after holding Farmington 165 yards. Their offense? Well, they put up 484. Yeah...

And finally, we learned that Scott City and East Prairie can put on a heck of a finish. Scott City pulled off a 33-27 overtime thriller against East Prairie after falling behind by two scores. These two may be the youngest teams in the area as they both feature young players at almost every position. I'd say there's a brighter future for both.

Thanks for reading!