Prep Football: Jays set to renew storied series against Hickman


Remy Hanrahan (70) of the Jays makes a block for Denzel Wilson, who caught a screen pass which he took for a touchdown during last Friday's game against C.B.C. in St. Louis.
Remy Hanrahan (70) of the Jays makes a block for Denzel Wilson, who caught a screen pass which he took for a touchdown during last Friday's game against C.B.C. in St. Louis.

It's not just any other week for the Jefferson City Jays.

The Jays (1-1) prepped for the 112th installment of Jefferson City vs. Hickman this week following a Week 2 loss to Christian Brothers.

Jefferson City coach Ted LePage called the upcoming matchup "the biggest game of the year for us right now." The Jays, who fell one spot to No. 6 in the Missouri Media Rankings released Tuesday, travel to Columbia today to take on a Hickman team in search of its first win of the season.

LePage dismissed any notion the longtime rivals would be taken lightly, despite the Kewpies winless record.

"I don't think there's any reason to overlook these guys. We're 1-1. It's a district opponent," LePage said. "One of our season goals for our players was to try to be the No. 1 seed in districts and get a high enough seed, so you can try and be districts champs. This (game) goes a long way in district seedings."

Jefferson City has won eight of its last 10 meetings with the Kewpies, dating back to 2006. The Jays also defeated their rivals twice last season - a 25-7 regular-season win and a 39-0 romp in districts, which gave them a leg up in the 54-53-4 overall matchup standings.

The Jays come off a 49-14 loss to C.B.C. It wasn't a defeat that was buried, though.

"A very good learning week," LePage said. "You hate to lose, but one of the things you can go back, you're a little bit humbled. You can go back, review some things, and are like "OK, I can do that better and I don't want to feel like that again.'

In fact, the game will be used as a measuring stick to gauge the Jays progress.

"We know where the bar is set," LePage said. "C.B.C. has won 16 games in a row for a reason; it's not because they're not scheduling people. They're playing the best and they're the state champs. So, we know where we have to go now. If you kid yourself and go around playing a soft schedule and run through everybody, you run into a team like that you don't know how to react. Now, we know what we have to do to get there and get better."

The Jays played C.B.C. for a second-straight season. Prior to the recent hook-ups, the two schools hadn't played the Cadets since 2003. LePage said they will continue to schedule the Missouri powerhouse.

This week in practice there was an emphasis on defense, after the unit has allowed a combined 83 points in the first two weeks of the season.

LePage and the coaching staff are in search of players to step up on that side of the ball. He said they're still trying to find the best 11 defensive players.

"We're just going to look at some different guys, move them around," he said. "We've watched some JV games and looked at guys that have had some success. We have a bunch of guys out here who want to play football.

"It puts a lot of pressure on the starters, but again competition creates a good enviornment. This week has been very competitive on the practice field."

The Jays kickoff at 7 p.m. today at Alumni Stadium at Robert M. Lemone Field.

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