Updates on Ste. Gen injuries, local schedules and a new basketball shootout

Ste. Genevieve quarterback Kory Faulkner said Sunday that his knee injury might not be severe enough to keep him from being back on the field soon.

Faulkner, a junior, left Friday's game with a knee injury in Ste. Genevieve's first possession. He sat out the rest of the game, and Ste. Genevieve lost 21-14 to unbeaten Perryville. The Dragons host Crystal City (3-0) on Friday.

Faulkner is scheduled to have his knee examined Monday. He said he's hopeful that a knee brace is all that stands between him and a return to the Dragons' lineup.

• Faulkner threw for 2,222 yards last season as a junior and already had more than 800 yards of offense after two games this season, making him an early leader as Southeast Missouri's top player of the season. With their teams 3-0, Hayti's Shaun Jones and Perryville's Waylon Sparkman have turned into two of the region's best defensive players and join Faulkner on that list. Ryan Sawyer's 267-yard rushing game Friday for unbeaten Fredericktown quickly pushed him toward the front of the line with a handful of names from Crystal City, Farmington, Festus and Jackson.

• Could Kennett be 5-1 approaching the district playoffs? After losing 34-7 to Hayti on Friday, Kennett's next three opponents are East Prairie, Portageville and Malden — which are each 0-3. At the opposite end is Caruthersville, which is 0-3 and faces Hayti (3-0), Festus (3-0) and New Madrid County Central (2-1) in the next three weeks.

• Looking for a game this week? Fox at Festus promises a classic clash Friday between a high-scoring Fox offense and a Festus defense that has set the standard among Southeast Missouri teams by shutting out its first three opponents (Seckman, Dexter, Hillsboro) 120-0.

Elsewhere Friday, Fredericktown and Scott City meet in a battle of 3-0 teams. Same goes for Perryville and Park Hills Central, both 3-0. At Malden, either the host Green Wave or Portageville will pick up their first win, and at Hillsboro, host Grandview and Valle also will try to improve to 1-3.

• The lineup is set for the inaugural Pepsi Challenge, a one-day high school boys basketball event that will bring teams from three states to the Show Me Center on Dec. 22. The games: Farmington vs. DeSoto at 10 a.m.; Poplar Bluff vs. Fort Zumwalt South at 11:45; Cape Girardeau Central vs. Vienna, Ill., at 1:30 p.m.; Lafayette vs. Pinckneyville, Ill., at 3:15; Notre Dame vs. Gateway Tech at 5; McCluer North vs. Memphis White Station at 6:45; and Jackson vs. Webster Groves at 8:30.

And in case you still don't think basketball is getting closer, winter sports practice begins Oct. 29.