VERSAILLES, Mo. - Teams want to go into the district playoffs on a roll.
The Versailles Tigers have one last chance to do so tonight.
Versailles will attempt to snap a three-game losing streak when it hosts the Southern Boone Eagles in Tri-County Conference play tonight. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
It is the final non-district challenge of the regular season, and a win tonight would be a big boost for the Tigers, 3-5 overall and 2-4 in the league, as they head into Class 2 District 4 competition next week. High-scoring, Class 3 Southern Boone comes in 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the Tri-County.
"That's kind of our approach, clean up some things we can control," said Versailles coach Broc Silvers. "Southern Boone has good kids in every spot. They are as solid as Osage or Blair Oaks."
Versailles is fifth in the Class 2 District 4 standings going into tonight's game with 29.89 points, well behind district-leading, unbeaten Lamar, which has 58.92 points.
"It looks like we'll play Stockton or Cole Camp," Silvers said of the Tigers' first-round opponent. "We've got a chance. We show the kids who Cole Camp and Stockton have played. No one in the district have played teams like we have. Hopefully we play well and stay healthy (tonight)."
Southern Boone is currently third in the rugged Class 3 District 6 standings with 38.79 points. Unbeaten Blair Oaks leads the district with 49.52 points while 6-2 Mexico is second with 46.93 points.
Eagle coach Trent Tracy said his squad can't afford to coast in its final non-district contest - it needs as many wins as possible.
"Especially in our situation," Tracy said. "We're sitting at the three-seed, and a couple of our district teams are in Class 4 conferences and get extra points. To secure that three-seed we've got to control what we can control.
"If we take care of our end, the two teams we may possibly play (next week) could flip-flop - Christian out of the St. Louis area or Wright City, who we played (and defeated) earlier this year."
A year ago, Southern Boone blitzed Versailles 56-6.
However, Tracy sees the Tigers as much-improved, and have been very close at having a much better record this fall. Versailles is trying to bounce back from last week's 6-0 setback to Hallsville.
"When you look at Versailles, they do some nice things on offense," he said. "Some of the formations they do things out of are pretty impressive. They have some guys who run north to south pretty good. On defense they give you different looks."
Versailles senior quarterback David Connor has completed 40-of-90 passes for 310 yards, seven interceptions and two touchdowns and has rushed for 297 yards on 73 carries for five TDs.
Tigers' sophomore running back Grant Hutchison has rushed for 385 yards on 87 carries while senior fullback Shane Randall has 279 yards on 69 carries and junior Taylor Dobbins has run for 124 yards.
Dobbins is also the team's top receiver with 15 catches for 143 yards, while Hutchison has nine receptions.
Sophomore linebacker Michael Trotter leads the Tigers in tackles with 64, including eight for losses, while senior linebacker Devin Radcliff has 59 tackles, senior linebacker Gage Smith 57 tackles, including eight for losses, and Randall, a lineman, has a team-high 10 tackles for losses.
"Hutchison is a heck of a player," Tracy said. "Offensively they like to run to Radcliff's side. And Randall hits the hole hard."
Southern Boone whipped Warsaw 49-21 last week and comes in averaging 33.1 points per game while allowing 19.1.
"We have a couple of guys banged up but mostly we're full-go," Tracy said. "We're fighting some illness; the flu, bronchitisthings like that."
"They've got a lot of seniors starting," Silvers said of Southern Boone. "They have good players who work hard. Coach Tracy does a really good job. They have a little bit of everything on offense.
"They offensive linemen, quarterback, running backs and receivers are all good. (Senior running back/linebacker) Tanner Smith has been impressive to watch growing up through the years. There is just not a weakness."
Senior quarterback Spencer Taggert has completed 98-of-197 passes for 1,374 yards, seven interceptions and 18 touchdowns for the Eagles.
His top targets include wideouts sophomore Sam Stichnote with 30 receptions for 461 yards and four touchdowns; senior Clay Jeffrey 24 receptions for 411 yards and nine touchdowns, and senior Kolton Schupp 28 catches for 313 yards and three TDs.
The Eagles have four players with more than 40 rushing attempts.
Junior Cooper Mange leads with way with 317 yards on 47 carries and three touchdowns; junior Jackson Sartain has 301 yards on 56 carries and three touchdowns, and Smith has 286 yards on 59 attempts and four TDs.
Senior inside linebacker Cole Morris paces the team in tackles with 68 while Smith has 44 tackles, including 12 for losses, and Stichnote has 39 tackles and seven interceptions.
Versailles hosts Southern Boone
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