The Great American Football Classic will return to the Edward Jones Dome for the second consecutive season. The four-game event will be held on Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m.
The featured game of this year’s Classic will be the Suburban South Conference clash between Kirkwood and Rockwood Summit. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. Both teams enter the contest with a 3-0 record and have serious aspirations for the 2012 season.
Kirkwood advanced to the Class 5 state-championship game in the Edward Jones Dome last season where it finished second to Staley. The Pioneers are again one of the top teams in the state of Missouri. They are led by senior quarterback Jordan Bishop, senior tailback Ramon Alton and senior receiver Andre Harris, who has committed to Iowa.
Rockwood Summit is looking to become one of the area’s big breakthrough teams of the season. After making the playoffs last season, the Falcons also have high expectations for the season. Summit is led by 6’4” 235-pound senior linebacker Eric Beisel, who has already committed to the University of Missouri. The Falcons also feature a talented running back in senior Ian McIntosh.
The rest of schedule for Saturday night is as follow: Waterloo vs. Triad at 11 a.m.; Sikeston vs. Farmington at 1:30 p.m. and Oakville vs. Eureka at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are on sale in advance for $11. The price is $15 at the door and $8 for youth football players.
Other top games of the week
Hazelwood East at Jefferson City, Friday, 7 p.m;
CBC at Lindbergh, Friday, 7 p.m.
East St. Louis at Belleville East, Friday, 7 p.m.
Miller Career Academy at Gateway Tech, Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Vashon at Soldan, Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
DeSmet at Chaminade, Friday, 7 p.m.
Football on the radio
High school football will be making its debut on KATZ-AM Hallelujah 1600 with Play by Play Friday Night this week with Riverview Gardens at Pattonville in a Suburban North Conference game at 7 p.m. Veteran broadcaster Kevin Pulley will be providing play-by-play. I will be part of the pre-game show, which airs 30 minutes before kickoff. The broadcasts are being presented by Rare Gem Productions. Several Public High League football games will also be featured throughout the season.
4 #1s
As of this week, the St. Louis area boasts four No. 1 teams in the statewide polls in Missouri. Maplewood is No. 1 in Class 2, John Burroughs is No. 1 in Class 3, Kirkwood is No. 1 in Class 5 while CBC has the top ranking in Class 6. That is quite impressive. But as well all know, it’s not where you start, but where you finish. In recent years, the West side of the state can boast to having all of those state championship trophies. There are some opportunities for our schools, but we’ll have to see how it all plays out.
On the college front
I want to give a shout-out to my collegiate alma-mater Lindenwood University on their 2-0 start in their inaugural season as a NCAA Division II program. The Lions defeated Lincoln U. and Southwest Baptist in their first two games. LU has a big challenge on Saturday when it host Central Missouri State in St. Charles. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. Go Lions!
(You can catch Earl Austin Jr. talking high school football on Friday nights on The Prep Zone on KTVI-Fox 2 with Maurice Drummond at 10:20 a.m.).
