Week 1 Review
I personally do not think we could’ve asked for a better slate of games to start off the Missouri high school football season. We got to witness premier matchup after premier matchup.
Parkway North @ Parkway West
Starting off our weekend of football was an absolute dogfight. Parkway West hosted Parkway North this past Thursday night. Parkway West was able to defend their home turf in a sloppy but entertaining game with a final score of 24-21. The Parkway West defense had more touchdowns than their offense, with a pick 6 from LB Alex Lovewell and a blocked punt recovery TD from TE Max Jones. RB Josh Miller led the Parkway West offense with 92 rushing yards, while QB Jeremiah Burns led the Parkway North offense with 271 passing yards and 3 TDs, despite throwing 4 interceptions. These two teams will surely be fun to watch the rest of the season.
Lift for Life @ De Smet
Leading off our Friday night slate was the highly anticipated matchup of De Smet vs Lift for Life. Started off with a lap around the track by all the De Smet freshman, this game got off to a slow offensive start. Both defenses came out to play, which resulted in a halftime score of 3-0. Eventually, De Smet was able to assert their dominance, putting up 17 points in the 3rd quarter and finishing out the game with a 20-0 win over LFL. RB Cam Sharp led the De Smet offense with 124 rushing yards and 2 TDs. QB Brandon Rigmaden led Lift for Life with 113 passing yards.
East St. Louis @ American Heritage (FL)
Following up this game were multiple games that we will be sure not to gloss over. East St. Louis traveled all the way down to Miami Florida to face one of the nation's best teams, American Heritage. After falling to a 28-7 deficit in the 4th quarter, East. St. Louis clawed their way all the way back with 3 touchdowns of their own, led by QB Reece Shanklin. After bringing the game to overtime, East St. Louis unfortunately could not seal the deal and fell to Patriots 35-28 in an absolute thriller.
Louisville Trinity @ CBC
At the same time, we had another nationally ranked matchup here in our own city. CBC hosted the nationally renowned Louisville Trinity Shamrocks. CBC was able to hold their own for the first 2 quarters, but the powerful Shamrock offense continued to roll over the CBC defense, finishing with an absolute demanding win on 52-21. CBC quarterback Daylen Austin-Harvey led the team with 126 passing yards, 1 TD and 1 interception.
Speaking of absolute powerhouse matchups, we were utterly gifted to watch Cardinal Ritter take on Lutheran North in Week 1. This matchup has proved to be one of the best in the St. Louis area over the past decade, and did not fail to bring another one this year. The Ritter Lions started off firing in 2 quick touchdowns to jump to an early 14-0 lead. The Crusaders, however, were not that quick to lay down. They came right back with 2 quick touchdowns of their own, making the game 14-12. However, Ritter continued to show their dominance, finishing with a 30-18 win over Lutheran North. Cardinal Ritter was led by QB Rhylan Moore with 208 passing yards and 3 TDs. RB Kai Robinson led the Lutheran North Crusaders with 146 rushing yards, 31 receiving yards, and 2 total touchdowns.
Now it would be an absolute shame of me not to mention potentially one of the best games we might see all year. The city of Troy, MO is not a very big town. They do not have much up there, and in fact, do not even have a Chick-fil-a, but only Slim Chickens. However, does Troy know how to play football. Troy has been one of the most dominant programs in the last decade, with a record of 44-14 since the 2021 season. But you know who also has gone exactly 44-14 since the 2021 season? Yup, that’s correct. The Eureka Wildcats. These programs have the same exact record in the past 5 years. If this wasn’t setting up for one of, if not, the best matchup we have seen in a long time, I don’t know what would. This was an absolute war from the beginning. This game went absolutely back and forth until the very final whistle. Eureka got out to a 21-13 lead, but not soon after Troy would punch back. These 2 teams traded blows up until Eureka had a chance to end the game with a 35 yard field goal. However, Troy had other plans. They bull-rushed the line and were able to block the field goal, sending the game into OT. At the end of regulation, the score was 42-42. Eureka started off with the ball, converting on a crucial 4th down run, capped off by a 6 yard touchdown run from AJ White. Now it was Troy’s turn to return the punch, which is what they did the entire game, and they wouldn’t stop now. After converting their own 4th down, QB Carter Shafer found WR Kyle Eisenbath for a TD. Troy, however, did not want to keep this game going. They wanted it all. But so did Eureka’s defense. With an absolute gutsy call, Troy ran a read option play, which the Eureka defense was not fooled by. Shafer was tackled well short of the end zone, resulting in a 49-48 OT win for the Eureka Wildcats in a matchup that we for sure will be talking about for a long time. QB Carter Shafer led the Troy Trojans offense with 332 passing yards and 5 TDs. QB Zac Kem led the Eureka Wildcats with 217 passing yards and 2 TDs.
Other games to note:
In a game that saw 51 total points scored in the 4th quarter, these southwest St. Louis rivals absolutely went at it for 4 quarters. Led by QB McCoy Brown, the Summit Falcons were just a little too much for the Festus Tigers.
Ladue showed their dominance over MICDS in the Battle of Warson Road. Ladue got off to an early lead and continued to barrel right over the MICDS defense.
St. Mary’s 14 - Elmhurst IC Catholic 42
St. Mary’s traveled up to Chicago to play highly rated IC Catholic. However, the IC Catholic offense was too much for the Dragon defense, resulting in an unfortunate 42-14 loss.
Jackson continued to show their dominance over St. Louis opponents with a demanding win of 55-7 of the Edwardsville Tigers. I am sure The Pit had an absolute blast this past Friday night.
Francis Howell 26 - O’Fallon 27
In a game where Howell led for most of the time, O’Fallon managed to put up 20 points in the final quarter, leading to a thrilling 27-26 victory over the Howell Vikings. O’Fallon was led by QB Gunner Hoffman with 262 passing yards.
Top 5 Games of Week 1
Top Stats Performers of Week 1
Robert Eatherton - RB (Vianney) - 272 rushing yds & 5 TDS
Jett Black - RB (Windsor) - 306 rushing yds & 3 TDs
Carter Shafer - QB (Troy) - 20/32 332 passing yds & 5 TDs
Nathan Radka - WR (Triad) - 6 rec 214 yds & 3 TDs
Aeran Collins - RB (Pattonville) - 232 Rushing yds & 2 TDs