Special to the American
Throughout the prep football season, I’ve had many fans ask me why I referred to certain teams as the city champs. They would say to me, “I don’t remember any city championship game. Since when does St. Louis have a city championship game. I’ve never heard about that. Ceddie, what are you talking about?”
Well, what I’m talking about is something about the area prep sports scene I’ve never understood. Which is, why don’t we have any city championship games?
In other cities like St. Louis, at the end of the season (especially in the big three sports of football, basketball, & baseball) they play a city championship game. Usually, the game is somehow worked into the state tournament bracket. That way, each team can pursue its ultimate goal of winning the state championship, but along the way, they can also play for the right to be officially called the best team from its own city.
That’s how they do it in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas, Phoenix, Denver, and any number of other large cities throughout the country. And in some of these areas, becoming the city champs is a more coveted title than being the state champs.
But here in the StL, we don’t do it that way. And I’m asking why not?
The state tournament brackets will almost always play out where the last two area teams still alive will somehow play each other. So I say we should call that the city championship game.
In other cities they do it up real big for the city championship game. In Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, & Denver last year the city championship games were televised live. Almost everywhere else, the game could be seen on tape-delay. The best we could hope for here was a tape-delayed broadcast on a cable access channel.
That’s it. I’ve just decided, I’m on a crusade to make this happen someday. And with the way folks around here love high school sports, I bet it won’t take long to make it happen.
Now, let’s get to this weekend’s games. The winner’s of this weekend’s games will advance to next week’s Show-Me Bowl State Football Championships at the Edward Jones Dome. There are five games of the slate featuring area teams. Four of those contests will be played locally. Here’s an inside look at each one of those games.
Class 6 City Championship Fri., Nov. 16 Mehlville (9-2) at Pattonville (7-4) 7 p.m.
What a remarkable turnaround season its been for the Pattonville Pirates. Early on this season, the Pirates were the talk of the town as they stormed out to a 4-0 record, which included wins over McCluer North & Hazelwood East.. But the season almost got shipwrecked when it was discovered that Pattonville had used an ineligible player. That mistake cost them two wins & lead to the Pirates losing two other games they were expected to win.
But since then, coach Doug Newton has pulled Pattonville together. And after five straight wins, the Pirates are just a win away from their first Show-Me Bowl appearance since 2000.
The captain of the Pattonville ship is senior QB Colin Hanna. A fiery leader with great feet & a live arm, Hanna is the Suburban North Conference’s top passser with 1,161 yards & 12 TDs. He also ranks third in the conference with 956 rushing yards & 11 TDs. Teammate Percy Calicutt actually leads the league in rushing with 1,161 yards & 14 TDs. On defense, the Pirates are led by senior DL Evan Knight. A disruptive pass rusher, whose also sensational against the run, Knight leads all Missouri-side players in tackles with 147.
This is Mehlville’s second straight trip to the Class 6 city title game. Last year, the Panthers couldn’t hold an early lead against CBC and eventally lost 38-28. Most of the players from that squad are back for Mehlvlle, including dynamic QB Alexus Reedus (749 yards) & RBs Philip Blair (837 yards) Tyrone Clark (666 yards), & Joel Fieseler (711 yards). Those four each rank in the top nine slots among Suburban West Conference top rushers & have combined for 48 TDs. Senior LB Brandon Clark remains one of my favorite players in the area to watch. The 5’10, 215-pounder is a blur on the field. His game is all about get to the ballcarrier and it seems he always does. Brandon Clark is also a fantastic pass rusher and leads the entire area with 15 sacks.
Ceddie’s pick: Mehlville 34 Pattonville 24.
Class 6 Semifinal Fri., Nov. 16 Rockhurst (11-0) at DeSmet (8-2) 7 p.m.
Before anyone says it, yes I am aware that DeSmet High School is here in town,
which should make the Spartans eligible for the city championship I claim is being played between Mehlville & Pattonville. But DeSmet getting through to the semis, even though its happened twice in the last three years, is an anamoly. It won’t continue to happen. And if DeSmet loses to the No. 1 team in the state, Kansas City Rockhurst, the winner of the Mehlville/Pattonville would rightfully own our city championship crown. If DeSmet wins, then the Spartans would get their shot at whoever the city champ was in the state title game down at the Dome next week.
The Rockhurst Hawklets are real good. They’ve been ranked No. 1 in the Kansas City area since the preseason and look every bit like what a state championship team should. Junior QB Nate Scheelhaase is a big-time player, whose already on the major recruit list for every team in both the Big 12 & the Big 10. He’s got a stud WR in fellow junior Keith Langtry. They are a dynamic duo, that might be better than any pass tandem we’ve seen around here since Matt Krapfl (now starring at Missouri State) & Mizzou star Jeremy Maclin led Kirkwood to the city championship game two years in a row. But what Rockhurst really likes to do, is run the ball. And they’ve got a dynamic duo for that too, in I-back Drew Temple (Mizzou RB Tony Temple’s little bro) & fierce FB Demetrious Baylis. Temple & Baylis do what they do behind a huge offensive line that opens wide holes & lets few rushers get anywhere near Scheelhaase.
DeSmet’s best strategy Friday night, might be to try to match points with Rockhurst. It worked two years ago, when DeSmet upset the then state No. 1 Hawklets 59-39 on the way to their first football state title ever. QB Chris Nisbet will have to play near perfect for the Spartans. And senior wideouts Wes Kemp (Wisconsin) & Robert Steeples (Mizzou) will need to show why they are considered big-time gets by the colleges that signed them. Junior RB Devin King could have a big game, if the DeSmet passing game can make enough plays to make Rockhurst’s “D” back off the line of scrimmage just a little bit.
Ceddie’s pick: Rockhurst 31 DeSmet 20.
Class 4 City Championship Sat., Nov. 17 Parkway Central (11-1) v. Vashon (10-1) at Gateway Tech 1:30 p.m.
This might be the best game of the entire weekend. It certainly looks that way on paper. First, we’ve got two quality teams that both play exciting styles on display. Parkway’s got RB Jordan Myles, the Suburban South Player of the Year-to-be on one side of the ball, while the “V” has PHL Player of the Year-to-be in QB DeJuan Bolden on the other. As a former WR back in my day, I love watching the young guys develop into solid players now. And both teams have great receivers as well. Central senior Easton Knott, son of Channel 5 sports director Rene Knott, is a sensational player, who leads the Colts in catches & yards this season. While Vashon’s Patrick Davis (48 catches, 939 yards & six TDs) is doing things een the great William Franklin never did at Vashon. Then factor in big-time defensive studs like Central’s DE Broderick Sargent (team-leading 10 QB sacks) & LB Chris Howard (conference-best 141 tackles), along with the “V’s” Anthony Rome (team-leading 61 tackles) & Rico Banks (team-leading 12 sacks). Add in the side stories of Parkway trying to get back to the Show-Me Bowl for the first time since 1997, and Vashon trying to be the first PHL team to get there since Sumner won it all in 1991, and what we’ve got is at least the game of the day on Saturday and possible the game of the year.
Ceddie’s pick: Parkway Central 35 Vashon 32.
Class 2 Semifinal Sat., Nov. 17 Blair Oaks (10-2) vs. Maplewood (12-0) at Lindenwood U. 1:30 p.m.
This has already been the greatest football season ever for the Maplewood Blue Devils. They were the Mississippi Area Conference Blue Division champs. They were ranked in the area’s top 10 small schools poll all season. And they won the Class 2 city championship with their defeat of rival Crystal City on Monday. The only thing left for Maplewood to accomplish is to see it all the way through and bring home the state crown. But there’s a huge obstacle in the way, and that obstacle is defending Class 2 state champ Blair Oaks.
The Falcons came into this season with some doubting whether they were capable of defending last year’s championship. But Blair Oaks has looked every bit as good as last year, especially in its sectional round win over previously unbeatean Centralia. The Falcons feature a talented threesome of ballcarriers. RBs Kyle Henke & Derek Shikles are a difficult one-two punch to match up against. But its QB Justin Eiken that’s the real threat this season. He’s already passed & run for over 1,000 yards in both categories this season. A win over Maplewood would set up Blair Oaks’ third Show-Me Bowl appearance in the last four years.
Junior QB Les Williams is the catalyst behind Maplewood’s record-setting offense. His 1,460 passing yards & 21 TD passes rank among the area’s best. Williams’ favorite target, the brilliant Kevin King, was a 2006 St. Louis All-American selection, and is on that kind of pace again, with 22 catches for 594 yards, eight TDs, & an astonishing 27.0 yds/catch average. But in these playoffs, it’s been junior RB Bryant Allen whose been the star. A 6’0, 155-pound speedster, Allen pulled off one of the area plays of the year, with a dazzling 52-yard catch & run for a score that jumpstarted Maplewood in the sectionals against Hermann. Then, on Monday night, he had 157 total yards & four TDs in the Blue Devils’ 27-14 win over Crystal City. Defensively, Maplewood is led by a couple of standout underclassmen LBs. Junior Devin Lindsey, a 6’2, 185-pounder, ranks among the area’s best with 84 tackles & 14 QB sacks, while sophomore Cedric Thompson, a 5’10, 240-pound hit machine, leads the team with 119 tackles to go along with eight sacks of his own.
Ceddie’s pick: Maplewood 26 Blair Oaks 21.
Other games of note:
Sat., Nov. 17
IHSA Class 7A E. St. Louis (11-1) at Wheaton Warrenville S. (12-0) 1 p.m.
IHSA Class 3A Greenville (11-1) at Columbia (11-1) 1 p.m.
MSHSAA Class 3 MICDS (12-0) at Borgia (10-2) 1:30 p.m.