The top two prep football matchups of Week 5 are the Friday night Southwestern Conference showcase contests at Edwardsville and East St. Louis. And for most of the first month of the season, the best games have
featured the area’s best large school teams. But this weekend, it’ll be time for the talented kids at the small school level to shine. Especially in the Suburban East and Archdiocesan conferences, where the top teams in both leagues face one another.
Here’s an inside look at the best games of Week 5:
#1 Fri., Sept. 29 O’Fallon (4-1) at E. St. Louis (5-0) , 7 p.m. This week’s marquee matchup is truly one of the most anticipated of the season. Not just because the game on the field should be as exciting as any this season. But also because the folks at East Side can’t wait to unveil the field at Clyde Jordan Stadium. Finally, a field and facility worthy of the storied history of East St. Louis Flyer football.
The matchup on the field will feature East Side’s high-octane offense led by QB Derrick Johnson and WR Jerrell McDaniel versus O’Fallon’s power run game led by the RB combo Duane Bennett and Brandon Heard. Bennett is the area leader in TDs with 15, while ranking third in the Southwestern Conference with 535 rushing yards. East Side’s Johnson is the Metro East leader in passing with
989 yards and 12 TDs. The Flyers, who jumped from fourth to second in the area top 10 polls thanks to last week’s 35-14 win at Alton, also feature senior Nick King, who leads the league with 651 rushing yards and 11 TDs.
#2 Fri., Sept. 29 Alton (4-1) at Edwardsville (5-0) 7
p.m.
Both of these teams had a tough time of it last Friday. Third-ranked Edwardsville managed a 14-3 win at Granite City, but didn’t play well and trailed with less than three minutes left in the game. Alton had its moments
against fourth-ranked East St. Louis, but couldn’t do much to stop the high-powered Flyers in a 35-14 loss.
The QBs will be the feature players in this game, as both Alton’s Kavon Lacey and Edwardsville’s Joe Allaria are two of the top dual-threat signal-callers in the area. Alton’s double-wing rushing attack features senior Marcus Clemons and junior Fierra Kelly. While Edwardsville has another star in the making at RB in junior Darryl Hendricks.
#3 Fri., Sept. 29 St. Dominic (5-0) at Cardinal Ritter (2-2)
7 p.m.
St. Dominic’s decision to join the Archdiocesan Athletic Association last year sure has been a fruitful one. Last year, the Crusaders tied with St. Mary’s for the league title. And this year, with a win over St. Mary’s
already in the bag, St. Dom is only a win over Ritter away from clinching at least a share of the conference crown again. Ritter will enter Friday’s contest reeling, after suffering its second straight loss, a 42-21 defeat at St. Mary’s on Monday night. Factor in a short practice week, and the Lions seem to have a true challenge on their
hands. But Ritter proved it can battle through adversity last year, when it advanced to the Class 2 state semifinals despite having head coach Ron Villars unavailable on game days due to illness. Senior leaders RB/LB
Michael Baker and WR/DB DeAndre Gilmore were a big part of last year’s success and it looks like they’re going to have to duplicate it to keep Ritter in the AAA conference race.St. Dom features one of the area’s best power rushing attacks, led by tailback Jimmy Schilkoski and fullback Kyle Huber.
#4 Fri., Sept. 29 Jennings (4-0) at Mater Dei (5-0) 7
p.m.
Few people thought this intrastate matchup would be one of the top ballgames of the season, but it sure looks like it might, with both teams steamrolling through the first month of the season. Jennings has played phenomenal
football in its four wins, but those wins have come againsts opponents who all remain winless. Mater Dei is ranked third in the area small school poll and is coming off a huge win in front of 3,500+ spectators against Breese
Central in the Milk Bowl, one of the area’s least heralded, but most intense rivalry games.
Jennings’ hot start is due in large part to its brilliant defense, which has allowed just 25 points this season (a measly 6.3 pts./game), and boasts one of the area’s best turnover ratio margin at +10. Senior LB Chris Current has
led the charge, posting a Suburban East Conference-best 62 tackles (41 solo). On offense, the Warriors are championship track team waiting to happen led by speedy RBs Frank Williams and Darryl Grady, and playmaking QB Nelson Rainey.
The Knights rely heavily on senior RB Scott Hemann, whose 525 rushing yards and eight TDs, rank among the area’s best. While QB/S Colin Detmer has proven himself a playmaker on both sides of the ball.
#5 Fri., Sept. 29 Eureka (4-0) at Parkway North (4-0) 7 p.m.
Once again the topsy, turvy Suburban South Conference gives us another fantastic matchup. This time, it’s upstart Parkway North hosting perennial power Eureka. Parkway North has quietly been as impressive as any team in
the area in its four wins. The Vikes feature a refreshingly balanced attack on offense, led by QB Tommy Seay and RB Jacob McKinley. Eureka, which has been equally as dominate and moved into the No. 10 spot in the large school poll this week, is still run all the time. Antonio Evans had another stellar effort in last week’s 17-13 nailbiting win over Summit. The sophomore RB carried 27 times for 100 yards and a TD. He leads the league in rushing with
560 yards and nine TDs.
Other games of note:
Fri., Sept. 29
Ladue at Affton, 7 p.m.
Lindbergh at Lafayette, 7 p.m.
Trinity at Kennedy, 7 p.m.
Webster Groves at Francis Howell, 7 p.m.
DeSmet at Chaminade, 7 p.m.
Mehlville at Kirkwood, 7 p.m.
Sat., Sept. 30
Hazelwood E. at Hazelwwod West, 1 p.m.
McCluer at Pattonville, 1 p.m.
