Here are previews of this weekend's high school football games for California, South Callaway, Tipton, Southern Boone, Eldon, Osage and Camdenton.
Warsaw at California
The California Pintos are in the driver's seat in the Class 3 District 6 standings. They look to stay at the top as they face the Warsaw Wildcats at 7 p.m. Friday.
California (6-1) is tied for fifth in the Class 3 state rankings with Oak Grove after a 49-14 victory against School of the Osage last Friday in Tri-County Conference action.
Warsaw (4-3) looks to bounce back after a 56-35 loss to the Blair Oaks Falcons last Friday. Wildcats quarterback Jeremy Eierman accounted for 396 of Warsaw's 447 total yards in that contest, and had a hand in five touchdowns - three through the air and two on his feet.
California's lone loss is to those same Falcons, a 29-28 last-minute thriller. The Pintos own additional wins against Boonville, Mexico, Eldon, Hallsville, Southern Boone.
Warsaw boasts victories against Clinton, Cole Camp, Versailles and Southern Boone. The Wildcats' other losses are to Eldon and Hallsville.
South Callaway at Father Tolton
The South Callaway Bulldogs are back to their winning ways.
South Callaway (6-1), ranked sixth in the Class 2 state poll, romped past Cuba 51-14 last Friday to avoid a losing streak. The Bulldogs look to build a winning streak as they travel to Columbia to take on Father Tolton at 7 p.m. Friday.
South Callaway thrives on the ground, averaging 298.7 rushing yards per game. Cory Hanger leads the attack with 423 rushing yards and five touchdowns. He leads six Bulldogs with at least 100 yards rushing.
The Bulldogs also own wins against North Callaway, Crystal City, Scotland County, Hermann and Tipton. Their lone loss came to Class 4 Battle, a narrow 38-33 defeat.
Father Tolton has struggled to a 2-5 record in their second season as a varsity football program.
The two wins have come the past two weeks against Harrisburg and Missouri Military Academy. The five losses to open the season were against Valle Catholic, Southern Boone, Westran, Tipton and Marionville.
Tipton at Archie
The Tipton Cardinals had their hearts broken last Friday, as Cole Camp stole a 9-8 victory with a score with five seconds remaining in the contest.
Tipton looks to rebound when it travels to Archie for a 7 p.m. Friday tilt.
The Cardinals (3-4) own victories against Windsor, Father Tolton and Butler, while having additional losses to Sedalia Sacred Heart, North Callaway and South Callaway.
Tipton looks ripe to pick up a win, as Archie remains winless at 0-7 on the season. The Whirlwinds' losses have come to Rich Hill, Midway, Drexel, Greenfield, Adrian, Osceola and Appleton City, the closest of which was a 15-point defeat.
The player to watch for Archie is senior running back Calvin Romi who leads the Whirlwinds with 314 rushing yards on 53 carries and three touchdowns.
Southern Boone at Eldon
The Eldon Mustangs appear to be hitting their stride at just the right time.
Eldon (5-2) currently owns a four-game winning streak with two regular-season games left to play. The Mustangs look to make it five straight when they host the Southern Boone Eagles at 7 p.m. Friday.
Eldon is coming off a 14-7 victory against Hallsville, a contest that saw quarterback Wyatt Greenwalt combine for 230 yards of total offense.
The other three wins during the streak have come against Tri-County Conference foes School of the Osage, Versailles and Warsaw. Eldon's fifth win came against Buffalo in Week 2 of the season. The Mustangs have losses to California and Miller Career Academy.
Southern Boone (2-5) is coming off a 48-6 win against Versailles that broke a four-game losing streak. Those four losses came to Warsaw, California, Blair Oaks and School of the Osage. The fifth defeat was against Kirksville. The Eagles' other win came against Father Tolton.
Hallsville at School of the Osage
School of the Osage finally gets a little room to breathe.
The Indians just finished a daunting three-game stretch that resulted in a trio of losses against Blair Oaks, Eldon and California. Now Osage hosts Hallsville at 7 p.m. Friday.
Hallsville is no pushover, as the other Indians own a 4-3 record. Hallsville owns victories against Fayette, Paris, Warsaw and Versailles, with losses to Blair Oaks, California and Eldon.
With both teams having the same three Tri-County Conference losses, this makes for a potentially interesting tilt.
Osage's two victories are against Southern Boone and Versailles, while the other two losses have come against Fulton and Moberly.
Austin Riley and Jake Ulmer connected on a pair of touchdown passes during Osage's 49-14 loss to California last weekend.
Camdenton at Joplin
The Camdenton Lakers are in the midst of another fine season.
Camdenton (6-1) is ranked ninth in the Class 5 state poll and has won three straight games by double digits.
The Lakers are coming off a 30-6 victory against the Waynesville Tigers, a contest that saw quarterback Bo Dean throw for 185 yards while completing 17-of-25 passes and two touchdowns.
Camdenton owns other wins against Hillcrest, West Plains, Lebanon, Parkview and Rolla. The Lakers' lone loss was against Kickapoo.
Joplin (4-3) is coming off a 42-35 loss to a Lebanon squad that Camdenton edged by three.
The Eagles have also lost to West Plains and Hillcrest.
Joplin's wins have come against Glendale, Parkview, Rolla and Waynesville.