Jefferson City clashes with Camdenton in district quarterfinals

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Central Missouri Activities Conference (CMAC) foes are going head-to-head with their seasons at stake.

Jefferson City (4-5) is preparing to host Camdenton (2-7) to kick off the Class 5 District 5 Tournament in Week 10 of SportsZone Football Friday.

Ahead of Friday's postseason showdown, the Jays rebounded from their midseason slump. After suffering five straight losses, Jefferson City won back-to-back games to close out the regular season, including a 42-point shutout win over Lutheran St. Charles in its most recent outing.

Offensively, the Jays enjoyed their two highest scoring performances of the season over the last two weeks, registering 90 combined points in those contests to help rebuild the team's confidence before the playoffs arrived.

"We had hit a five-game stretch there that was pretty rough, so to have those two games there to kind of get those good feelings back in our team and in our program for a couple of weeks, heading into Week 10, a playoff matchup, I think is really important," head coach Eric Thomas said. "I think our offense has really come to life and has played really well, especially in the rushing attack... I think our offense, going into Week 10, is really leading us, and then, on the defensive side of the ball, just kind of refining some personnel, some schemes, those types of things, as we get down the stretch."

The Lakers also regained their footing, following a rough eight-game stretch. Despite losing seven of its first eight games, Camdenton bounced back in its regular season finale, holding Southeast High School scoreless in a 63-point victory on the road. Week 9's win represented the team's highest-scoring effort of the year.

The Lakers have been emphasizing their passing game in the second half of the season, helping them find more success on the offensive side of the football.

"We've been able to get into the shotgun. Our guys are comfortable there. They've been able to thrive. Michael Maschino has been playing very well at quarterback, both in our passing game and our running game, so spreading it out and letting our guys go with some pace. We've gone no huddle. All those things have been beneficial to our offense, for sure," head coach Par Pitts said.

Jefferson City and Camdenton are both members of Class 5 District 5, a tournament that'll be anyone's to win this postseason. The top-five teams in this seven-school district were all separated by just three wins or less during the regular season, and none of the programs surpassed the five-win mark.

However, regular season records become an afterthought come playoff time. The postseason represents an opportunity for every team in the state to start fresh.

"I've always been a big believer in selling to the kids that this is a reset. Nothing matters that happened prior to this. That's the great thing about it in the state of Missouri. It is a true reset, and everyone can reinvent themselves. You can basically start over. Now, the key to that is taking all the lessons that you've learned throughout the first nine games and expanding on those lessons and getting better from those lessons and learning from those lessons, so as you get into Week 10, you're just kind of firing on all cylinders," Thomas said. "That's what we've talked about all year is how good can we be by Week 10, being the best team that we can be and playing our best football. I think, over the last two weeks, we've kind of shown that we are trending in the correct direction."

"You got to bring your very best on Friday night because everything's back to 0-0," Pitts said. "The thing that we've approached it with is we didn't have the regular season that we wanted, and so, we have the opportunity to start new and make a run, if we can go out there and play well."

Friday's Class 5 District 5 quarterfinals matchup is also a Week 1 rematch. Jefferson City earned a 10-point win over Camdenton in its season opener on Aug. 29, limiting the Lakers to just seven points on their home turf. However, both teams have changed over the course of the campaign.

Ultimately, applying the lessons both teams learned from that game and the regular season will be pivotal to make a postseason run.

"It really is going to come down to blocking and tackling. Can we tackle their guys in space? Now, their quarterback in the pocket breaks a lot of tackles, so can we tackle them, and then, can we block them at the line of scrimmage? I think that's going to be really, really crucial for us," Thomas said. "Offensively, we need to be able to dictate tempo, be able to play fast like we've been able to do in the last couple of weeks, but then, be able to slow it down and keep their offense off the field."

"We're going to have to execute on offense. We're going to have to throw the ball, catch the ball and protect our passer. That's going to be vital. If we can do that, I think we're going to set ourselves up to make some plays," Pitts said. "Defensively, we got to play assignment football and be able to limit the big plays from their offense in terms of the running game, not trying to do somebody else's job, but just do ours."

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Adkins Stadium.