The Hazelwood Central Hawks have achieved the No. 1 ranking in the latest Missouri Class 6 statewide poll.
The Hawks moved to 6-0 with a victory over McCluer North last Saturday at North. Hazelwood Central is the first team from St. Louis to earn the No. 1 ranking in the state polls in any class this season. Joining Hazelwood Central in the top five state rankings are No. 3 Francis Howell and No. 4 CBC, who are also 6-0 for the season.
Senior quarterback Mike Glass leads the way for Central. Glass threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns against McCluer North, including a 74-yarder to 6’5” junior receiver Xavier Sneed in the second quarter. Sneed is a two-sport standout who has received collegiate recruiting interest in football and basketball.
The Hawks have been without standout running back Kevin Batt, who broke his foot earlier this season. In his place has been Jordan Moody, who has rushed for 419 yards and three touchdowns. One of the leaders on defense is sophomore linebacker Jordan Carey, who leads the team with four quarterback sacks. He was a starter at linebacker as a freshman in 2013.
Hazelwood Central advanced to the Class 6 state semifinals a year ago before losing to Columbia Rock Bridge.
Shout outs
Quarterback Jaylen James of Miller Career Academy passed for 301 yards and three touchdowns in the Phoenix’ 56-12 victory over Carnahan.
Tyrone Eastern of Pattonville rushed for 211 yards on 31 carries and a touchdown in the Pirates’ 22-7 victory over Parkway North
Deon Lewis of Fort Zumwalt North rushed for 171 yards on 20 carries and three touchdowns in the Panthers’ 42-21 victory over Fort Zumwalt South.
Cam Hilton of Webster Groves had six receptions for 119 yards and three touchdowns in the Statesmen’s 37-21 victory over Ritenour.
Jaden Reddick of Festus rushed for 210 yards on nine carries and four touchdowns in the Tigers’ 57-21 victory over North County.
Special college shout out
Former John Burroughs star Ezekiel Elliott rushed for a career high 182 yards and a touchdown to lead The Ohio State University to a 50-28 victory over Cincinnati last weekend. Elliott’s 182 yards were the most by an OSU player in a nonconference game since 2002 when Maurice Clarett rushed for 230 yards against Washington State. Elliott also had 51 yards receiving, giving him 232 total yards for the game.
Top games of the week
SLUH will visit powerful CBC on Friday night in the renewal of one of the area’s top rivalries. SLUH is currently 4-1 while the Cadets are rolling along at 6-0 and No. 4 in the state in Class 6. CBC has outscored its opponents 329-35 this season with four shutout victories.
The Metro League title will be decided on Thursday night. First-place Westminster will take on John Burroughs on Thursday at 4 p.m. Lutheran North will take on MICDS at 8 p.m. at SLUH. A Westminster victory will give the Wildcats the outright league championship. If John Burroughs and Lutheran North both win, there will be a three-way tie for the league title.
St. Charles West will visit Fort Zumwalt South on Saturday afternoon. West is on a four-game winning streak after dropping its first two games while South is 5-1 after dropping its first game of the season against rival Fort Zumwalt North.
Other games of note
Parkway North at Webster Groves, Thursday, 6 p.m.
Parkway Central at Clayton, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Pattonville at Summit, Friday, 8 p.m.
St. Mary’s at Borgia, Friday, 7 p.m.
Alton at Belleville East, Friday, 7 p.m.
Hazelwood Central at Hazelwood East, Saturday, 1 p.m.
