Kirkwood wins state championship

The Kirkwood Pioneers have enjoyed a great tradition of high school football that goes back more than a century.

The program has produced great teams, great athletes and great coaches. The only thing missing at Kirkwood in 114 years of competition in football was a state championship.

That is no longer the case.

Thanks to a very talented and equally resilient group of young men, the 2012-13 Pioneers brought home the school’s first state championship in emphatic fashion.

Kirkwood defeated Fort Osage 31-7 to win the Class 5 state title last Friday night at the Edward Jones Dome. The Pioneers jumped on Fort Osage with two quick touchdowns in the first quarter, then leaned on a stout defense the rest of the way. A sea of red packed one side of the lower bowl of the Edward Jones Dome as the Kirkwood community celebrated its historic first state title.

Senior quarterback Jordan Bishop was tremendous in orchestrating an offensive unit that included multiple weapons such as tailback Ramon Alton, receivers Andre Harris, Clyde Benson and Antonio Weston. The defense was led by linebackers Jarrod Bishop, Blake Goddard and lineman Matt Berry.

Kirkwood’s state championship was huge on a number of levels. Not only did the Pioneers achieve their first state title, but they also restored the honor of St. Louis football a little bit. The Pioneers broke a three-year state-championship drought for St. Louis area teams.

*The Class 3 state-championship game turned into a showdown between a great team against a great player. Maryville survived a mammoth effort by John Burroughs senior Ezekiel Elliott to defeat the Bombers 35-22 for the state championship last Friday. Elliott set a new state record with 419 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. He rushed for 218 yards on 18 carries, had five receptions for 72 yards and added 104 yards in returns. He scored on an 81-yard touchdown run and an 84-yard kickoff return. It was an electrifying performance by the Ohio State-bound tailback.

However, Elliott’s heroics were not enough to get the Bombers that elusive state title because they ran up against a ground-and-pound machine from the Northwest part of the state. The Spoofhounds (yes, that is their nickname) rushed for 446 yards and averaged nearly seven yards per carry. Their offensive line was huge and they dominated the game. Maryville ran 78 offensive plays and 69 of them were running plays.

*Francis Howell completed a historic season by finishing as state runners-up in Class 6. The Vikings were defeated by Blue Springs 42-3 for the state title last Saturday night. Despite the defeat, it has been a tremendous run for the Vikings in recent years. Only five years ago, the Vikings were 1-9, but coach Bryan Koch directed his alma mater into becoming one of the state’s top programs. Francis Howell became the first team from St. Charles County to make it to the Show-Me Bowl in 30 years. Seniors Calvin Munson and Jarrett Franklin were the leaders of a tremendous defense that sparked the Vikings to their tremendous season.

*One college note: Former John Burroughs standout Grant Wallace was named the Ivy League Player of the Week. A sophomore at Yale, Wallace enjoyed his best performance as a collegian in the annual Harvard-Yale game. Wallace had 11 receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns in Yale’s 34-24 loss to their big rivals. Wallace was the St. Louis American Small Schools Player of the Year in 2011.