The Jackson football team enters the playoffs riding high on a three-game winning streak, with its last loss over a month ago.
Now the Indians will look to knock off the last team to beat them when they take on Poplar Bluff at 7 p.m. today in a Class 5 District 1 semifinal in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.
When third-seeded Jackson traveled to face the second-seeded Mules earlier this season, it didn't turn out well for the Indians. They suffered a 29-28 defeat to the Mules on Sept. 22, and that win, combined with a Sikeston loss, clinched the SEMO Conference North crown for Poplar Bluff.
"We looked back at it right away after the game and kind of evaluated with our players and thought, at times, we got lost in the big picture instead of focusing on the smaller details of things," Jackson coach Brent Eckley said. "We went back and looked a little bit more at fundamentals and making sure that we were playing snap to whistle, and I think we've improved a little bit in that area.
"Other than that, we, for the most part, have the same players as do they, so we're going to have to see which team is improved."
Poplar Bluff (9-0) will be missing one crucial piece, though. Quarterback Logan Bell is out with an ACL injury he suffered in a 21-20 win over Hillsboro on Oct. 6. In the regular-season finale, Mason Libla started under center, as Poplar Bluff beat Festus 34-10.
Both the Mules and Jackson (7-2) had an extra week to prepare for their rematch, with fifth-seeded Rockwood Summit defeating fourth-seeded Oakville 35-21 in last week's district quarterfinal. The winner of tonight's game will take on the winner between Rockwood Summit and top-seeded Vianney in next week's district championship game.
Libla, the starting catcher for the Mules' baseball team, hadn't play quarterback before this summer but has completed 28 of 33 passes for 360 yards and four touchdowns with one interception.
Bell was 75-of-127 passing for 1,389 yards with 15 TDs and two interceptions.
"In a way, the advantage kind of goes to them because we have to guess on who's going to play, if it's going to be the kid that played the last two games or if they're going to do something different with a couple weeks off," Eckley said. "That kid has different strengths than the previous quarterback, so we kind of had to guess a little bit on that. So there's a little bit of an advantage toward them.
"Although, from their perspective, the advantage is to us because they don't have their starter, a kid who earned the job and played really well for them for the first six or seven games of the year."
Libla will be surrounded with weapons. In the backfield, Isaiah Johnson has 115 carries for 718 yards and six TDs.
Tyson Cox, who went down injured in the first half of the last meeting between the two teams, has 637 yards and eight TDs on 30 receptions. Myanza McCain has 40 receptions for 546 yards and 4 TDs, and Brett Barousse has 27 catches for 519 yards and seven TDs.
Barousse had a game-winning, 80-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first meeting.
That loss was one of two times all season Jackson scored less than 30 points, and both times, the Indians lost. In the last three games, Jackson has scored 60 or more points in each contest.
Cooper Callis has thrown for 3,065 yards on 231-of-342 passing with 45 TDs and just 10 interceptions. Jordan Kent, who wasn't at 100 percent in the regular-season meeting against the Mules, has 64 catches for 1,077 yards and 19 TDs. Terrico Johnson is right behind him with 927 yards and 16 TDs on 77 receptions.
Ethan Laster leads the Indians' rushing attack with 989 yards and seven TDs on 134 carries.
Callis has already etched his name into the record books with the eighth-best single-season touchdown mark in state history. He needs only 19 completions and 276 yards to crack the top 10 in each of those categories.
"They play fast with multiple formations," Poplar Bluff coach Mark Barousse said in an interview with the Daily American Republic. "Being able to lineup correctly and give different looks is important. I'm sure they're doing the same thing we're doing.
"Good teams usually don't scrap everything they're doing, just to try to trick somebody for one week. I expect we'll see pretty much what we did last time."
Nathan Brown leads the Jackson defense with 155 tackles, including seven for a loss. Bailey Beggs has a team-high 10 tackles for loss to go along with four sacks and 72 tackles.
Ethan Laster and Luke Starzinger each have six sacks, while Cole Welker has nine interceptions and 11 pass breakups.