Jefferson City knows it's not tabbed as the favorite going into tonight's district title game against Francis Howell.
And that's OK with the second-seeded Jays as they prepared for the 7 p.m. matchup against the top-seeded Vikings on their home turf in St. Charles.
"They're ranked third in the state for a reason," Jefferson City head coach Ted LePage said. "We don't mind being called underdogs. Heck, we've been called underdogs most of our season."
While they might be coming into the contest as underdogs, the Jays (8-3) are not lacking confidence. And they're not settling for just making it to the quarterfinal round for the first time since 2009.
"In the years that I've spent as the head coach at Jefferson City, I don't know if we have had better practices than we had this week, and the reason is the energy and excitement," LePage said. "I don't think there's any indication to me or to the coaches that our players are even remotely satisfied.
"They want to go play football and they want to do the best they can. Their preparation and their excitement is at an all-time high and it has me really enthused also."
By no means will Francis Howell (11-0) be an easy opponent to get past.
The Vikings are coming off a 41-7 win against fifth-seeded Blue Springs South (5-6), one week after cruising to a 62-0 victory against eighth-seeded Troy (0-10) in the first round of districts.
"This is a great, quality football team," LePage said. "We're going to have to go in and we're going to have to play solid football for four complete quarters. The nice thing is, I think our players are up to that challenge."
Francis Howell averages 43.5 points per game while allowing a little more than seven this season. The Vikings have scored 40 or more points 10 times this season - their lowest-scoring total coming in a 21-13 win in Week 5 against Fort Zumwalt West.
Jefferson City, which averages 29.8 points and is allowing 18.1 per game, is coming off a 42-28 win against third-seeded Fort Zumwalt West in a game the Jays led 42-7 midway through the third quarter.
"You're always going into the game with the mindset that this is a game you're going to win," LePage said. "I think our players have prepared to play football at their best - and there's a difference between the two.
"Winning and losing takes care of itself if you take care of the things you need to take care of throughout the week."
Francis Howell is led by Sutton Smith, a 6-foot, 198-pound senior running back committed to Northern Illinois. Smith has run for 1,711 yards on 186 caries and has scored 29 touchdowns this season.
Also taking handoffs in the backfield is Desmond Niboh, who had two touchdowns last week against Blue Springs South.
Jefferson City at Francis Howell
[Follow https://twitter.com…">@jhall04 on Twitter for updates during the game. Listen live online at http://kwos.com">kwos.com or http://klik1240.com">klik1240.com, https://twitter.com…">@jhall04 on Twitter, http://kwos.com">kwos.com, http://klik1240.com">klik1240.com]"First, you've got to take away their running game, and that's going to be a huge challenge for us," LePage said. "Their offensive line is probably as big as we've seen all year. I think all three guys are teetering around 300 pounds. They really like to grab ahold of people and run them."
The Vikings have also been able to gain yardage through the air when they've needed. Sam Hefner has gone 61-of-98 for 837 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions.
"They're not just a one-headed monster," LePage said. "They can spread it around."
Defensively, Francis Howell operates out of a 3-4 formation, the same as Jefferson City. The Vikings have recorded two shutouts and haven't allowed an opponent to score more than 14 points this season.
LePage said their defense would be similar to the one the Jays saw from Fort Zumwalt West.
"They're wanting to get you before you get going," he said. "I think we have to go in with the mindset that we may have some plays that aren't going to get much yardage, but if we do break something, it has potential for a big play."
This won't be the first time Jefferson City and Francis Howell have met in a playoff setting. The Jays and Vikings have ended the other team's season twice, dating back to 2008.
Francis Howell won the last meeting in 2012, a 7-0 victory in a district semifinal. The Vikings went on to win their next two games, before falling to Blue Springs in the state championship game.
A handful of Jays were on the field during the most recent meeting.
"They know that they ended our season," LePage said. "But this is a new team and they're a new team. We've just got to take care of Jefferson City.
"Is it in the memory bank? Yeah, we understand when we went over there that we had an opportunity to win that football game. I think our players are realistic that that memory is there, but at the same standpoint, we've got to play today."
Jefferson City at Francis Howell - Updates on Twitter: @jhall04. Listen live online: kwos.com or klik1240.com.
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