The 2007 MSHSAA Show-Me Bowl State Football Championships took over the Edward Jones Dome last weekend. And once again, the six-games-in-two-days event (three games on both Friday and Saturday) proved to be one of the best prep sports extravaganzas of the year.
Unfortunately, none of the three STL participants, Mehlville, MICDS nor Parkway Central, could bring home a title. Nonetheless, the Show-Me Bowl is still my favorite local event to cover every year.
It pains me to say this, but the story of this year’s event was the utter dominance of the Kansas City area teams. There was a KC-area team in all six state championship games, and those teams won five titles. Even the one KC team that lost held the lead until there were three minutes left in the game. It’s just remarkable how much better the KC teams were than everybody else in the state.
For those of you who weren’t able to get down to the Dome last weekend, here’s a quick recap:
Meet the Champs: Class 1 Orrick (14-0) 20-8 winners over Thayer, Class 2 Lawson (14-0) 38-17 winners over Blair Oaks, Class 3 Harrisonville (14-0) 49-14 winners over MICDS , Class 4 Lee’s Summit West (14-0) 35-0 winners over Parkway Central, Class 5 Waynesville (12-1) 17-7 winners over Belton, and Class 6 Rockhurst (13-0) 28-9 winners over Mehlville.
Best Game: The best game of the Show-Me Bowl was the Class 5 game on Saturday night. But it might also have been the least watched Show-Me Bowl game ever. Not because of the teams involved, or the lack of local ties. But because the game started only minutes before the big MU/KU game, and almost everyone in the Dome, who didn’t have a son or grandson playing in the Class 5 title game, was huddled around a TV somewhere watching the Tigers and Jayhawks battle for the Big 12 North title.
Those who did stick around for the Waynesville-Belton game were treated to an absolute nailbiter. Belton led 7-3 until late in the 4th quarter, when Waynesville star RB L.J. Fort scored with three minutes left to give Waynesville the lead. Belton fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Fort scored again a few plays later to seal Waynesville’s first state football title ever.
Best Player: Sean Ransburg, Sr. – QB, Harrisonville. I love watching this kid play. In my mind, he’s the best player in the state. And I really wish he would have chosen Mizzou over Kansas to play his college ball next season. I know people nationwide are ga-ga over Blaine Gabbert, and several recruiting services have Gabbert rated as a five-star player, but I’ve seen Ransburg do the job on the field. Not in some seven-on-seven drill, not playing against his less talented teammates in practice. But on the field, and in the biggest games & the biggest moments. Ransburg is the real deal, evidenced by his undefeated record and three straight state titles as Harrisonville’s QB. Mizzou is going to regret not getting him, especially since he signed to play for rival Kansas.
In the Class 3 title game, Ransburg wasn’t asked to do a whole lot, yet he still put up 166 rushing yards & two TDs on the ground, and added 123 passing yards and two more scores through the air to lead his team to its third straight, undefeated state title season.
Best Local Player: Brandon Clark, Sr. – LB, Mehlville. Clark’s brilliant play and leadership was the one bright spot for Mehlville during its 28-9 loss to Rockhurst in the Class 6 title game. The Suburban West Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year was all over the field for Mehlville. He had nine tackles, registered his area-best 17th QB sack, and forced a fumble. He was the main reason why Mehlville led 9-7 at halftime, and brought back the memories of Mehlville’s epic upset of then top-ranked and undefeated Rockhurst in the 1999 title game. Clark is still mulling over his college options. But make no mistake, when he does decide, some coach somewhere is going to be very happy to have Brandon Clark on his squad.
Best moment: Came during the trophy ceremony after the Class 5 title game. There wasn’t a dry eye on the Belton sideline or stands when the Pirates were awarded the second place trophy. Making it to the state title game, and playing in the Dome in St. Louis, is the biggest thing that ever happened in Belton. So you can imagine how much it meant to the young men on that team to get here and play well. And boy, did the Belton kids play their hearts out, only to have their hearts broken after the loss.
But when Belton was announced as the state runner-ups, every person in the building stood and applauded loudly to honor the effort and heart the Pirates showed in what would have been one of the biggest Show-Me Bowl upsets of all time. I’ve written this before, but it always chokes me up when this happens.
I know what losing a big game is like. My teams never won a thing when I played. So I feel for that. And to see the fans of both schools rise as one to congratulate the Belton kids touched my heart.
Worst moment: Occurred on the first play of the second half of the Class 6 game between Mehlville and Rockhurst. Mehlville had played a brilliant first half, and led 9-7 at halftime. But when Rockhurst sophomore Sal Belfonte, who had already run back a punt for a TD, received the second half kickoff you knew something bad was going to happen. Belfonte raced 77 yards up the left sideline to give Rockhurst great field position. Mizzou recruit Drew Temple (Tony Temple’s little bro) scored on the next play to give Rockhurst a 14-9 lead, and you just knew that was going to be it for Mehlville and what likely was our area’s best shot at winning one of those title games.
What it all means: Once again, what it means is the best high school football in the state of Missouri is being played in the KC area. And it doesn’t seem like that’s likely to change any time soon. It still seems our area is producing more top individual talent and more college-ready players. But there’s no doubt the best teams are being built in KC. And a number of the top players in KC are juniors and will be back next season. I fully expect Lee’s Summit West, Harrisonville, and either Rockhurst or one of the Blue Springs schools to be back next year. Other KC area schools, like Hogan Prep and St. Pius X are expected to be top teams in the state as well.
We’ve got our own top teams coming back next year. Hazelwood East, McCluer North, Fort Zumwalt West, Maplewood, and MICDS are all teams I could see making it to the Dome next year. But something about the way the KC teams play and the way our teams play is not working for us. And unless somebody from around here figures it out, we’re going to be looking at more KC dominance next season.
That said, Maplewood in Class 2 and MICDS in Class 3 might be the preseason favorites in their respective classes. I can’t wait for next August to get here so we can all see how its going to play out.