Media Pick 'Em, district football style

An interesting slate of games is afoot to start the first round of districts and I'm busting out with a win or go home upset that might possibly floor a few folks.

In Class 3, District 1, I've got No. 6 Kennett taking down No. 3 Ste. Genevieve on the road. That's right. You read it right. Kennett over Ste. Gen.

It all rests with Kennett running back turned QB Edward Wilson, who just completed his fourth week at the position. A position that has been a nightmare for the Indians following the season-ending injury to their original starter Akeem Nelson.

Wilson finished his night against East Prairie with 149 yards and five touchdowns -- four in the first half -- on the ground. What's more impressive about his night to me is going 6 of 11 for 141 yards through the air.

In his four weeks at quarterback, Wilson has ran for 722 yards and 14 touchdowns. He's thrown for 329 yards and four scores too.

Now I know Wilson hasn't seen a team like Ste. Genevieve while at QB, but this Ste. Genevieve team isn't as potent as Ste. Genevieve teams in the past. Kennett nearly pulled off the upset over Caruthersville -- who were edged by the Dragons 21-17 last Friday -- in Week 3 and have only improved from there.

I think this game will be closer than most with Kennett just ever so slighty coming out on top. Wilson will be the difference-maker in a game that just has the feel of a possible upset. This is the perfect spot for a historically struggling Kennett football program to finally get a signature win.

In another possible upset, I have No. 5 Hayti beating No. 4 Portageville in Class 2, District 1.

I received information Tuesday night that Portageville quarterback Jon Garrett Kellams AND starting linebacker Derrick Priggel will not play due to injuries. Priggel is a huge loss on the defensive side. He's one of the better linebackers I've seen all year. Obviously, losing your starting QB hurts and the Bulldogs will need to rely on freshman Ian Torrey, who is one of the better froshes I've seen this year as well. The combination of Torrey and running back Daniel McCray, who is Portageville's leading rusher, could be enough to give the Bulldogs a win but at this stage in the season you need all hands on deck.

Even though I think Hayti pulls out this win and East Prairie returns the favor to Scott City in another 3 v. 6 matchup, I think we can all agree that Class 2, District 1 runs through Malden.

The Green Wave have spouted off an impressive run so far this season completely obliterating each one of its foes in a possible state-record kind of way. They're scoring at a 62 points per game clip which is on pace to break the state's scoring record. But something caught the eye of The Last Word duo this week.

Malden head coach Joel Wyatt was quoted saying, "We feel like we still don't get any respect, any credit." following his team's 76-8 drubbing over Class 3 Dexter last week. I know coaches can sometimes use the platform us media folk give them by lighting fires and keeping their teams humbled with words like this and I know we (media) can sometimes go overboard with things that are said and blow them out of proportion. But, I'm perplexed by this statement.

I don't think anyone disrespects Malden and what they've accomplished. Me included. In fact, I'd say most are in awe of what they've been able to do and how they've done it. Maybe it was directed towards their No. 8 place on the Class 2 media poll or that some may see their schedule as "weak", or it may be a way to keep the chip on his team's shoulder which can be a great motivator.

I voted for Malden as my No. 6 team in Class 2 this week because I know they are a great team but their schedule holds them back. That's not a knock on them at all it's just how it happened to be this season.

So my question would be, what do you guys think? Is Malden disrespected? Honestly, none of that stuff matters much to me. Who cares if this team or that team isn't given enough credit? Malden has made the most of a very impressive season and is loaded with talent throughout its roster (We dig a little deeper into this topic on this week's episode of The Last Word if you care to watch). I have them pegged to meet Lamar in the semifinals and no matter what happens in that game the Green Wave has had a remarkable season and no one, even us media folk, can take that away from them.

To wrap up: Kennett over Ste. Genevieve, Hayti over Portageville -- who is having great success with it's softball and volleyball teams I might add -- and East Prairie over Scott City. I also have No. 5 Dexter in a minor upset over No. 4 St. Pius X (this is one of the very few times the district seeding formula got it wrong), and Sikeston edging out Farmington at home (Preview story here). I went chalk in the remaining games.

As always, if you have questions, comments, etc., just drop a line. Thanks for reading and good luck to all teams.