Of the St. Louis American
Looking Ahead: The weekend is highlighted by some key conference openers.
McCluer North (2-0) at Hazelwood Central (2-0), Sat. 1 p.m. – These two Suburban North powers will get it on after beginning the season with two impressive victories. The host Hawks have defeated O’Fallon and Ritenour while North has victories over Mehlville and Riverview Gardens. Both teams are averaging more than 40 points a game, but they also have been getting stellar play from their defenses. The Hawks have already scored three defensive touchdowns in two games. Both teams have good speed with big and experienced offensive lines. The Hawks are trying to break a two-game losing streak against McCluer North.
DeSmet (2-0) at CBC (1-1), Fri., 7 p.m. – An early-season Metro Catholic Conference showdown under the bright lights and in the beautiful stadium at CBC on the field turf. DeSmet’s remarkable 10-2 season in 2004 started with a big victory over CBC in the conference opener. The Spartans have flashed many big-play weapons in quarterback Tommy Corwin, tailback Munir Prince, receiver Wesley Kemp and tight end Paddy Mullen. CBC will try to slow the Spartans down with a stingy defense and the running of back Clay Wolf, who scored four touchdowns in the Cadets victory at Mehlville last week.
Affton (2-0) at Ladue (1-1), Sat. 1 p.m. – Affton gets its first opportunity to see if they can run with the big boys in the Suburban East Conference. The Cougars are 2-0 with lopsided victories over St. Clair and Union, but they will step up in class to face the Rams. Senior D.J. Ford and DuJuan Jones will have to continue their stellar play for the Cougars to have a chance. Ladue rebounded from an opening-season loss to Cahokia by defeating Hillsboro 42-0 in a nonconference game.
John Burroughs (2-0) at Lutheran North (2-0), Sat. 1 p.m. – A battle between perennial ABC League powers who return several key members from last year. Lutheran North is ranked No. 3 in the Missouri Class 3 state poll while Burroughs is right behind at No. 3. Lutheran North played shut-down defense in its 27-7 victory over Lutheran (St. Charles) last week. The Crusaders had two defensive touchdowns in the victory. More good defense will be needed to control talented John Burroughs quarterback Jared Van Slyke and tailback Barrington Packnett, who has rushed for 304 yards and three touchdowns in the Bombers’ two vitories.
Pattonville (2-0) at Hazelwood West (2-0), Sat. 1 p.m. – These two Suburban North teams are off to quick starts and hope to elbow their way into the league’s elite. A victory on Saturday will help one of these teams get closer to that goal. Visiting Pattonville has a excellent 1-2 punch in quarterback Dennis Bowen (391 yards rushing and five touchdowns), and tailback Nate Orlando (323 yards rushing and five touchdowns). Hazelwood West, which has scored 96 points in two games, has an experienced offensive line and a talented stable of backs with LaMark Brown (five touchdowns), Kendall Davis (four TDs) and Jamar Williams (three TDs).
SLUH-Althoff burner
The SLUH-Belleville Althoff showdown lived up to the hype from start to finish as the Junior Billikens pulled out a dramatic 40-35 victory in the game’s closing seconds. A huge crowd and a playoff-like atmosphere brought out the best in both teams. Althoff appeared to have the game won when it marched 88 yards in just over a minute to take a 35-34 lead on Jason Ford’s touchdown with 25 seconds left. The celebration was short-lived as SLUH responded with a double-pass from quarterback Paul Chaney to receiver Eric Hunt, who then hit Chaney down the middle. Chaney streaked past a host of Althoff defenders for the winning score as the capacity crowd went wild.
ESL on fire
The East St. Louis Flyers continued its torrid scoring pace with a 74-0 victory over Belleville West last Friday night. The Flyers led 66-0 at halftime before easing on the pedal in the second half. The Flyers have scored 176 points in three games, for an average of 58 points a game. Junior quarterback Derrick Johnson continued his hot passing with six touchdown passes, giving him 15 for the season. Junior receiver Jerrell McDaniel has been on the receiving end of nine of those touchdown passes.
Weekend highlights
Carlos Bisch of St. Pius rushed for 316 yards and five touchdowns in his team’s 35-17 victory over DuBourg. Bisch has rushed for 607 yards in two games….Duane Bennett of O’Fallon rushed for 295 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Panthers past Collinsville 35-0….Hazelwood East senior Gerald Fulton caught six passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns in the Spartans’ 44-6 victory over Vashon…Sophomore Darryl Grady scored two touchdowns to lead Jennings past Orchard Farm 50-8. Grady has scored four touchdowns for the Warriors, who are 2-0 under new coach Ryan Wallace.
W for Career Academy
Congratulations to Career Academy on getting its first victory in the history of its football program. The Phoenix defeated Soldan 19-6 last weekend. Career Academy started its football program four years ago. They were a junior varsity program for two years before going 0-10 in their first varsity campaign last season.
