Staff photo by Mike Buhler Kennett's Blake Parr (10) tries to escape from Malden's Ryan Cain during last week's high school football game at Malden. Parr and the Indians will be trying to move to 7-0 on Friday when they host Sikeston. [Click to enlarge]

The Sikeston Bulldogs have been a thorn in the side of the Kennett Indians over the last several years.

While the Tribe beat Sikeston last season, the Bulldogs had not lost to Kennett since 2000 before then, including earning their first win of the season with a 21-13 victory at Kennett in 2006.

Now, Sikeston is hoping to hand the Indians their first loss of the season Friday night.

Staff photo by Mike Buhler Kennett's Davontee Childress (left) tries to bring down Malden's Andy Matthews during last week's high school football game at Malden. The Indians host Sikeston on Friday night. [Click to enlarge]

"They're multi-dimensional," Kennett coach Kirk Welch said. "It's going to be a very tough opponent for us -- very tough to prepare for."

The Bulldogs (3-3) enter Friday's game with one of southeast Missouri's top running backs in Eli Jackson, who enters the contest with 869 yards on 103 carries, second in the area.

"He's definitely one of their key playmakers," said Welch. "We've got to have our crosshairs on him and keep him contained."

Kennett will also be on the lookout for left-handed quarterback Charlie Bohannon, who has passed for 816 yards and seven touchdowns in 79 attempts this season, good for a 95.8 passer rating.

"He's the one that makes their offense go," Welch said. "He's a triple threat -- he can run it, throw it or hand it off to a few other guys that can hurt you as well."

Bohannon's favorite targets have been Niquavious Dixon (14 catches, 214 yards, one TD) and Jordan Williams (seven catches, 274 yards, four TDs).

Meanwhile, the Tribe (6-0) will be looking to bounce back from a subpar performance in a 27-16 win at 1-5 Malden last week.

In that contest, quarterback Blake Parr was held to just 119 yards passing, going 9-for-29 with one TD and one interception.

"We definitely took a few steps back offensively," said Welch. "When you run a risky offense like we're doing, you run that risk."

Despite the off night, Parr still leads the area in passing with 1,650 yards, over 500 yards better than his nearest competition, and has thrown for 17 TDs on the year.

Sikeston coach Kent Gibbs respects the Tribe.

"If you've played six football games and won them all, you have to be a pretty good team," Gibbs said. "Blake Parr is one of the better quarterbacks in this area. He has a nice group of receivers. They run out of the shotgun and that puts him about eight yards behind the line so he has plenty of time to throw."

"So far, no one has really found the key to stop him. We will try to mix our coverages to keep them off balance. We will really look to limit the big plays and make them throw some underneath stuff. Sometimes though, a good offense is the best defense, so ball control will be pivotal. We have to find a way to grind out drives instead of just big plays."

Look for the Bulldogs to try to pass rush and blitz Parr on Friday night.

"We haven't seen many people try and rush him (Parr)," said Gibbs. "He does a good job getting outside and can make some plays after he makes people miss him. Another thing you don't hear many people talk about with him is his speed, he's got pretty good speed. I think you have to get pressure on any quarterback who throws the ball. ... We will see what we can do to pressure him, that definitely plays a role in the game.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Metz Cherry Stadium.

"It's going to be a slugfest for four quarters," Welch said. "We're going to have to be ready for four quarters and stay in there to get those things done."

Opponents: The Tribe's opponents were 4-5 last week and are 20-39 this season. Here's how they did against their opponents:

Charleston (1-4) lost to Dexter, 49-42
Caruthersville (1-5) def. Portageville, 14-12
Hayti (4-1) was idle.
East Prairie (3-3) def. Chaffee, 53-8
Portageville (0-6) lost to Caruthersville, 14-12
Malden (1-5) lost to Kennett, 27-16
Sikeston (3-3) lost to NMCC, 40-29
Perryville (1-5) lost to Fredericktown, 41-20
NMCC (4-2) def. Charleston, 39-0
Dexter (2-4) def. Charleston, 49-42

Weather: The National Weather Service is calling for mostly clear skies, becoming partly cloudy by game's end, and a kickoff temperature in the mid-70s, dropping down to around 70 by the end of the game. Winds are expected to be from the north-northeast at 2-3 miles per hour, switching to the east by the end of the game.