The last time the Poplar Bluff football team was 8-0, the Mules entered the final game of the regular season ranked sixth in the state but lost to an unranked Tigers team.
On Friday -- the 13th, no less --the sixth-ranked Mules get a shot to join two other unbeaten, untied teams in program history when they face the unranked Festus Tigers on the road.
Bad omen?
"I'm not superstitious," said Poplar Bluff coach Mark Barousse, who leaves the No. 13 jersey off the roster each year.
"I guess I am a little superstitious."
After losing starting quarterback Logan Bell to a knee injury in the first half Friday, the Mules could certainly feel as if this was another star-crossed season.
But senior Mason Libla threw a pair of touchdown passes to overcome a 14-point, first-half deficit and Isaiah Johnson's touchdown with 7 1/2 minutes remaining also rallied the team.
Winning by a single point for the third time this season, the Mules kept their chase of history alive heading into the trip to Festus (4-4), where the Tigers have yet to lose a game this season.
"We had two really good practices today," Barousse said of Wednesday's morning and afternoon workouts in cooler temperatures. "I was pleased with the way they flew around."
The sudden change at quarterback was mitigated by the fact that Libla already had a full week of practice leading up to the Sikeston game the previous week with Bell nursing an injured foot. Barousse said all of the quarterbacks get plenty of reps in practice.
Just because the starting quarterback has changed doesn't mean the playbook will as well.
"We gameplan just like we always did," Barousse said. "Try to throw out there things we can take advantage of facing them. We're going to run those things, hopefully, he will handle it well."
Libla, who never played quarterback before this summer, had completed just 1 of 2 passes before throwing for 157 yards on 13 of 16 attempts against Hillsboro. He also ran three times for 13 yards.
Bell threw for 1,389 yards, or just under 200 per game, while throwing 15 touchdowns to just two interceptions this season.
The Mules offense looks to get back receiver Tyson Cox this week after the senior missed the last two games with a leg injury.
"Looks like he's ready to play," Barousse said. "I wouldn't say he's 100 percent but he's pretty close."
Cox is 61 yards shy of 2,500 for his career and needs 42 more for 3,000 all-purpose yards.
Festus has not given up more than 21 points at home this season, beating Vashon, DeSoto, Windsor and Pacific. While those teams are a combined 10-22 with only one holding a winning record, the Tigers led Hillsboro 7-6 at halftime before losing 30-14 in Week 4. They are coming off a 48-0 loss at St. Francis Borgia, 8-0 and ranked No. 7 in Class 4.
Running back Logan Uding leads with 6.1 yards per carry and 13 touchdowns while also on defense in tackles. Sophomore quarterback Austin Coale has thrown for four touchdowns and 583 yards, nearly half to senior Chase Cole.
The Tigers spread the field but mostly run, much like Cape Central and Sikeston did against Poplar Bluff earlier this season, Barousse said.
"We're going to have to stop the run," he said.
Barousse was an assistant coach the last time the Mules ended the regular season unbeaten in 1990. Three of his Poplar Bluff teams he led as head coach opened the season with five straight wins only to lose the following game.
Poplar Bluff's sixth win this season was a 29-28 comeback win over Jackson to secure the SEMO North Conference title.
Four times a Poplar Bluff team entered the last game of the regular season unbeaten but came up short. Twice, 1926 and '29, the Mules didn't allow a single point all season but suffered ties.
The 1966 Mules ended its perfect season with a 13-0 win at state-power Jefferson City, the last of four shutouts that season when they held opponents to 5.8 points per game. Poplar Bluff won 21 straight games from 1965 until three losses to end the 1967 season under coach Jim Lohr, who died earlier this year.
In 1990, the Mules were coming off five straight losing seasons but second-year coach Paul Webber led them to 11 straight wins. Poplar Bluff gave up 12 points in the first four games, edged Jackson 20-19 and ended the regular season 10-0 with a 24-21 win over Cape Central. The Mules lost 32-24 to Parkway Central in the state quarterfinal.
Both unbeaten, untied teams were inducted into the Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame.