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WEEK 4 SEMOBALL TOP 10: New No. 1 crowned after wild football weekend
What a wacky weekend of football it was for Semoball area teams in Week 3, led by a handful of upsets, blowout wins and games that were a lot more interesting than you may have thought.
In the rivalry brawl between St. Vincent and Perryville, the Indians lived up to their billing as they pulled off a late rally to sneak by the up-and-coming Pirates.
Cape Central blew out one of its biggest rivals in Sikeston, led by a 46-point halftime lead that gave way to its best-ever ranking on this list.
Lastly, Hayti sneaks in at No. 10 following a big win over Scott City on the road, marking the end to a tough stretch for the Indians that saw them never crack the list last year.
Here are your Semoball Area Football Top 10 Rankings entering Week 4 play.
No. 1: Cape Central (3-0, LW No. 2)
The first time any team other than Jackson has taken this spot, and for good reason. The Tigers have won 11 of their past 12 games, and are an unblemished 3-0 this season with blowouts in all three of their games. For once, this spot goes to the “most deserving” team, largely behind Cape’s blowout of Sikeston this past weekend in which the Tigers led 49-3 at the halftime intermission. While the Tigers’ stance against Jackson is still up in the air, with the uncertainty of Jackson and the lack of rhythm for the Indians, it became obvious that it was time for a change, and the Tigers are the perfect fit.
No. 2: Jackson (1-2, LW No. 1)
Jackson narrowly beats out Dexter for this spot, hinging on the results of yesteryear as to why it still maintains such a high reputation. After a disastrous loss at Edwardsville, falling 41-7 and leaving most Indians fans speechless. The Indians could very well still be the most talented team in the area, the strongest and many would say the best. But with the results of late, with two blowout losses to start the year including a hefty loss against Edwardsville that Jackson could have won outright, this is a point in time in which Jackson has to find itself to retain that sterling reputation, and it’s quickly slipping away.
No. 3: Dexter (3-0, LW No. 4)
Back to the No. 3 spot, here come the Bearcats. After a blowout victory of New Madrid County Central over the weekend, leading 40-0 at halftime and maintaining that same score en route to the victory, Dexter has shown that it’s serious more than once. Now with two opponents in common with top-ranked Cape Central, Dexter has looked up to snuff if not better than the Tigers on multiple occasions. With the two-way excellence nearly unparalleled in local play, the Bearcats won’t be tested outside of a few select occasions this season.
No. 4: St. Vincent (3-0, LW No. 3)
In an unfriendly weather environment to the high-flying offense that the Indians typically like to play in, Perryville exposed St. Vincent early. A 19-point halftime deficit had the Indians on serious upset watch, but a big second-half rally helped St. Vincent out to a 29-25 win to take home the rivalry and keeping the undefeated record intact. Moving forward, though, the Indians looked a little less perfect and will undoubtedly raise a few eyebrows until they can straighten out that offense and keep a consistent rhythm, still looking to prove they’re Class 1 contenders.
No. 5: Caruthersville (3-0, LW No. 6)
Here come the Caruthersville Tigers, fresh off a big win over a Carlyle team from the other side of the Mississippi River and still a perfect 3-0 entering Week 4. The phenomenal talent of Caruthersville on both sides of the ball has it poised to make a big run this season, and that undefeated record is telling of that although the Tigers have still yet to take on a big fish this season. Against a Charleston team that’s squeaking into the rankings this week after an impressive run, it could be one of the Tigers’ first true tests as they look to prove they’re the team to beat in the SEMO South.
No. 6: Portageville (3-0, LW No. 9)
Here’s Caruthersville’s biggest challenger for that SEMO South title right now, and it’s an obvious one: The reigning champions in Portageville have shown no sign of slowing down in 2024. Despite some major losses, the Bulldogs continue to roll, most recently blowing out a Confluence Prep side at home. The Bulldogs start their season with four consecutive home games, and will complete that home stand this Friday with a home duel with Scott City. If Portageville wants to prove that it’ll continue to climb, this is the time to do it. After blowing out the Rams last year, Portageville will look to pull off a conference win at home in Week 4.
No. 7: Poplar Bluff (1-2, LW No. 5)
Poplar Bluff slips a little more this week, dropping under .500 once again after a disappointing showing to a middle-of-the-road Farmington squad. Bouncing back and forth with Farmington has been a common theme of the past two years, with Poplar Bluff winning in the regular season last year while the Knights knocked off the top-seeded Mules in district play later on. A 3-point conference loss isn’t the most gut-wrenching one for Poplar Bluff, but it’s certainly a setback that’ll put an early pin in the conference title hopes for this season.
No. 8: Perryville (2-1, LW No. 8)
There isn’t any way that you could dock the Perryville Pirates for their performance in last Friday’s loss to St. Vincent. In fact, the Pirates nearly rose on this week’s rankings after taking a 19-point lead on the Indians, but a 29-25 loss still bodes well moving forward. This was a loss we expected the Pirates to take, but the fight they showed gives us room to believe that this Perryville squad should continues to rise up this ladder with few if any teams up to the same caliber as the team Perryville just faced. If anything, there’s plenty of reason to think that these Pirates could run the table the rest of the way.
No. 9: Charleston (2-1, LW NR)
A season-opening loss to Kelly didn’t say too much for the Charleston Blue Jays. A lot of preseason hype circled them, but the results didn’t start reeling in until a 38-0 victory over Chaffee in Week 2 followed by a monstrous win over Malden in Week 3. These Jays have an offense that only the elites in this area can match up to, and they’ve shown continuous improvement over the past few weeks en route to a record above .500 entering Week 4. Facing off with Class 2-ranked Caruthersville this weekend, Charleston has an opportunity better than most to make a big statement against a tough Bootheel opponent.
No. 10: Hayti (1-2, LW NR)
A questionable call, but one that I’ll put confidence in. Going into Scott City and winning isn’t easy, and after discrediting the Indians last week, it’s time to give Hayti its flowers. The Rams got hounded from the jump, and Hayti ran away with this one en route to a 32-20 victory after starting out 0-2. The catch, in this circumstance, is that both of the Indians’ losses came to powers out of Class 2, with Thayer and Portageville both taking sizeable wins both not without a fight. With a Friday duel with Veritas Christian, Hayti will look to make it two wins in a row on the road.