The Lutheran North Crusaders are annually one of the top programs in the St. Louis area and Missouri.
Lutheran North defeated Festus 46-7 last November to win the Class 4 state championship, which was the seventh in the school’s storied history.
Since winning the state title, the Lutheran North program has had to do a lot of retooling. The first change came at the top when Kyle Wagner stepped down as head coach to become an assistant coach at Sacramento State. The new coach is Lorenzo Brinkley, who is a veteran on the sidelines in the area as a head coach and offensive coordinator.
The Crusaders also had to replace many talented players from last year’s championship team, but Brinkley has things moving in the right direction with a 3-1 record.
One top returning player is junior quarterback Jonothan Moore, who has passed for 790 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has also scored four rushing touchdowns.
Lutheran North also has an abundance of talented skilled players who are big-play performers. Senior running back Martez Stephenson has rushed for nearly 300 yards and scored six touchdowns.
There are several excellent wide receivers that Moore can throw the ball to. Senior speedster Mike Clark has 10 receptions for 238 yards and two touchdowns. He is also a state champion sprinter in track and field. Junior Kyren Evans has 12 receptions for 268 yards and three touchdowns. Seniors Osar Tate and Que Whitfield are also talented receivers. Tate has three touchdown receptions on the season.
Lutheran North will host MICDS on Friday night in a big Homecoming game which will also decide the championship of the Metro League. The Crusaders also have dates with always-tough Maryville and a showdown with Cardinal Ritter on the last night of the regular season.
The Undefeated
After five weeks of high school football, we still have five teams in the St. Louis area who have undefeated records. The area teams with 5-0 records are CBC, SLUH, Lafayette, Jennings, Orchard Farm, Gateway STEM, St. Dominic, Summit and Festus.
Xavier Jackson commits to Wyoming
Standout lineman Xavier Jackson of Fort Zumwalt North has given a commitment to Wyoming. The 6’3” 270-pound Jackson is one of the top defensive lineman in the area. Through five games, he has 19 total tackles with two quarterback sacks and two tackles for losses for the 4-1 Panthers. As a junior, Jackson had 61 tackles, with seven quarterback sacks and nine tackles for losses.
Highlight Performers from Week 5
- Junior running back Cam Sharp of DeSmet rushed for 225 yards on 33 carries and scored a touchdown in the Spartans’ 56-42 victory over Vianney.
- Senior wide receiver Tim Washington of Lafayette had seven receptions for 120 touchdowns and two touchdowns in the Lancers’ 35-0 victory over Pattonville. He also had two interceptions on defense.
- Junior Jonathan Moore of Lutheran North passed for 201 yards and three touchdowns in the Crusaders’ 57-7 victory over Lutheran North.
- Senior quarterback Nick McClellan of CBC passed for 271 yards and touchdowns and rushed for 133 yards and two TDs in the Cadets’ 65-33 victory over Lipscomb.
- Senior quarterback Sam Deen of Vianney completed 31 of 47 passes for 532 yards and six touchdowns in the Golden Griffins’ loss to DeSmet.
- Junior quarterback Ta’Vren Williams of North Point completed nine of 14 passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns in the Grizzlies’ 22-0 victory over Fort Zumwalt East.
- Senior running back Vic Williams of CBC rushed for 169 yards, caught two passes for 69 yards and scored three touchdowns in the Cadets’ 65-33 victory over Lipscomb.
- Senior wide receiver Mike Clark of Lutheran North had four receptions for 120 yards and scored a touchdown on a 43-yard punt return in the Crusaders’ 57-7 victory over Lutheran South.
- Junior wide receiver Royce Searcy of DeSmet had nine receptions for 135 yards and two touchdowns in the Spartans’ 56-42 victory over Vianney.