GSV Oct 28, 2026

Week 9 Review

We can now officially say that the regular season is over. It is incredible how fast that went by. Every team has had plenty of chances to show who they are at this point. Capping off the season, we had numerous thrilling matchups, here of which were a few of them:

#1 (SS) Cardinal Ritter @ Jackson 12-38

There is a reason they call it The Pit. Because it swallows and spits out anyone who is brave enough to enter it. And that is exactly what happened this weekend for the mighty Cardinal Ritter Lions. The Lions came into this game with 3 very impressive consecutive wins and were looking like one of the best teams in the area. Jackson did not care. After starting the game off with a touchdown, Ritter looked like they were going to be the first St. Louis team to enter the pit and leave with a win since the 2024 Kirkwood squad. However, after that TD, Jackson would absolutely shut down the Ritter offense and continue to pummel their way into the endzone, solidifying why they are arguably the best team in the state.

Parkway West @ #2 Ladue 14-20

Trying to complete their first undefeated season since winning state in 2018, the Ladue Rams hosted the Parkway West Longhorns, and this one was quite the scare for the Rams. Both teams exchanged scores in the first quarter, and Ladue added another TD with a Marco Tipton run in the 2nd quarter to take the lead 14-7. Both teams exchanged scores again in the third quarter making it 20-14. But Ladue’s defense stood strong in the 4th quarter to give them the victory and seal an undefeated 9-0 regular season.

Lindbergh @ #6 Eureka 13-14

Speaking of scares, we had another one down in Eureka against the Lindbergh Flyers. Despite their 4-4 record coming into this game, they had multiple recent wins against very good opponents. In the first quarter, both teams scored TDs but missed the extra points, making in 6-6. This would come back to haunt Lindbergh. After scoring another TD in the second quarter, the Flyers went up 13-6. Soon after halftime, the Wildcats stormed back and scored via a 42 yard run from Curtis Harris. Eureka, after already having a missed PAT earlier in the game, decided to go for 2 to take the lead, and that is exactly what they did. After taking the lead, their defense shut down the Flyers, giving them the tight victory and capping off a very impressive 2026 season.

#7 Troy Buchanan @ Fort Zumwalt North 7-14

Over in North O’Fallon, we had arguably 2 of the best teams in the GAC face off each other to finish up the season. Coming into this game, Troy had been absolutely unstoppable all year, decimating almost every opponent they played. Zumwalt North opened up the scoring in the 2nd quarter with a rushing TD from Jayden Burleson. After this, we would not see any scoring for awhile. Both defenses held the door shut. That was until Carter Shafer connected on a deep pass for a 49-yard TD to finally get on the board with under 3 minutes to play. However, North marched right back down the field and punched in a game winning TD with 30 seconds to go. The Trojans finish the year with a very strong 7-2 record, and the Zumwalt North Panthers finish the year with 5 consecutive wins and a strong 6-3 record.

#7 (SS) Lutheran North @ #4 De Smet 28-58

Rounding off our top matchups, we saw the Lutheran North Crusaders battle the De Smet Spartans. If you had any questions about De Smet before this game, I think they answered them all. The 2 halves of this game were so incredibly different, it almost doesn’t even make sense. Lutheran North entered halftime with a 14-7 lead after 2 TD passes from Kaiden Johnson to Kyren Evans. But then, the De Smet Spartans would absolutely explode for the next 2 quarters. In the second half, the Spartans managed to put up 51 points! Starting the scoring off with a kickoff return TD, the Spartans put up 7 touchdowns in the second half alone. Leading the charge for the Spartans was RB Cam Sharp with 149 rushing yards and 2 TDs. The Spartans finish off the year with a valiant 7-2 record and have solidified themselves as a favorite in Class 6 going into the playoffs.

Other Notable Games:

#9 Chaminade 55 - Francis Howell 42

Francis Howell Central 21 - Timberland 14

Civic Memorial 28 - Quincy Notre Dame 24

Parkway North 14 - Seckman 21

Althoff Catholic 13 - Harrisburg, Illinois 12

Top 10 Stat Performers of Week 9:

1. Jordan Rasmussen (Fort Zumwalt West) QB - 25/39, 471 Passing Yards, 2 TDs, 1 Int

2. Mo Smith (Chaminade) QB - 16/21, 365 Passing Yards, 5 TDs

3. Braxton Breen (Sullivan) RB - 16 Rushes, 262 Rushing Yards, 1 TD

4. Damarion Williams (Normandy) RB - 20 Rushes, 237 Rushing Yards, 3 TDs

5. Tristin Coon (Principia) QB - 34/51, 388 Passing Yards, 4 TDs, 2 Ints