With two weeks left in the regular season, there are still eight teams in the St. Louis metro area with undefeated records. On the Missouri side, there are Hazelwood Central (7-0), Brentwood (7-0), Christian-O’Fallon (7-0), Kirkwood (6-0) and John Burroughs (6-0). On the Illinois side, you have Edwardsville, Highland and Columbia, who are all 7-0.
Big games on tapÂ
Parkway Central (6-1) will visit Kirkwood (6-0) in a battle of two of the area’s top teams. Both teams are also in a battle for the Suburban South Conference title along with Webster Groves. Kirkwood graduated 27 seniors from last year’s Class 5 state championship team, but the Pioneers have reloaded quite well to race to its undefeated season. Quarterback Will Hadler is enjoying an excellent year and the Pioneers feature a stable of talented receivers and running backs. Parkway Central finished 11-2 a season ago with both of those loses coming to Kirkwood. The Pioneers defeated Parkway Central in the state semifinals en route to winning the state title.
St. Charles County will be the site of another big showdown when Francis Howell Central (5-2) visits Francis Howell (6-1) for the Gateway Athletic Conference South Division title. Howell is enjoying another dominant year after last year’s first ever Show-Me Bowl appearance. The Vikings have been rolling over the competition with their only loss coming to Ohio-state powerhouse Cincinnati Elder. Howell Central has emerged as a strong team this season. The Spartans scored a big 56-31 victory over Fort Zumwalt West last Friday to set up the showdown. Senior tailback Kendall Morris has rushed for 1,376 yards and 18 touchdowns for Howell Central.
There are also some very interesting non-conference games on the schedule this weekend.
Class 6 power CBC (6-1) will head to Mid-Missouri to face Class 4 power Jefferson City Helias (5-2) on Saturday afternoon. The Cadets are coming off a thrilling 14-11 victory over rival DeSmet to win the Metro Catholic Conference championship. Helias fields a strong unit that played for the Class 4 state championship last season. Two weeks, the Crusaders defeated a strong Class 6 team from Columbia Rock Bridge 59-21.
St. Charles West will visit Festus on Friday night in a battle of 6-1 teams in Jefferson County. Another non-conference game involving two 6-1 teams will be on Saturday when Fort Zumwalt North visits Ladue.
Three of last fourÂ
The Cahokia Comanches started the season off at 0-3, but they have been playing some good football in the last month. Cahokia has won three of their last four games to grab a share of first place in the South Seven Conference. Cahokia defeated Mount Vernon last weekend 45-32 in a high-scoring affair. Keenan Hogan rushed for 235 yards on 14 carries and four touchdowns. Keveion Adams rushed for 113 yards and added two scores on an 80 yard run and an 80-yard kickoff return. The Comanches will host South Seven rival Belleville Althoff on Friday night.
848 yardsÂ
Cleveland Naval Jr. ROTC has struggled through a 0-7 season, but the Commanders have a bright spot in senior Michael Wells, who has rushed for 848 yards and 14 touchdowns. Wells is one of the fastest kids in the state of Missouri. He was a four-time state champion at last year’s Class 2A track and field championships in Jefferson City. As a sophomore, Wells led Cleveland to the Class 2 state championship.
 (You can catch Earl Austin Jr. talking high school football every Friday night on the Fox 2 Prep Zone at 10:20 p.m.)
