Hillsboro 49, Fort Zumwalt West 13

For nearly 3 quarters, the scrum in O’Fallon (played next to a small-but-joyful cheer section across the road at Living Word Christian as usual) went a whole lot like Hillsboro’s tough tilts with large-school contenders in the 2010s. FZW controlled the 1st quarter, HHS dominated the 2nd frame, and an even-handed 3rd period was shadowed only by the specter of Fort Zumwalt’s growing T/O deficit, which would grow worse as the Varsity Hawks gobbled-up the egg and rallied to a fabulous finish. But when the host Jaguars closed-in on the scoreboard early in the 2nd half, it’s not hard to imagine what Gateway City sportswriters were thinking. “Ah ha, now the big urban school squeaks out a victory, and the C4 coach praises his kids for giving it the ol’ college try.”

Ahem – not quite. Hillsboro flipped the “ol'” script in stunning fashion on Friday, rushing for 474 yards and uncorking devilish new wrinkles in the playbook to bamboozle the Jags’ defense, scoring 4 times unanswered in Quarter 4. Hillsboro’s awesome Turbo Clock victory – comparable to the shock blow-out in Bonne Terre last September – would have been the biggest story out of Leon Hall this week were it not for Coach Sucharski’s daring QB gambit.

Griffin Ray appears to be getting phased-out of the offense and moved to defense, in favor of newcomer Preston Brown. Early returns, obviously, are Great with a capital G. Brown tossed 10 pass attempts against Fort Zumwalt West, 8 of which went complete for 87 yards and a TD. That kind of efficiency through the air is what could fulfill Sucharski’s dream that the passing game doesn’t have to be a “surprise bomb”-only weapon for the Blue & White. Furthermore, Brown’s rushing ability still provides a dual threat.

There is substantial risk in usurping a 3-year starter at QB. The Hawks keep their information so close to the vest that Ray could have hurt his throwing hand for all we know, in which case the emergence of Brown as an excellent, polished pocket-passer could be fresh news that’s got everyone at HHS dancing a jig to class on Mondays. But another possibility is that Sucharski chose to bolster his defense even further while giving the offense an even higher ceiling to attain, even if there’s a few hurt feelings and growing-pains in the weeks to come.

Jim Harbaugh came to the same conclusion about replacing Alex Smith with Colin Kaepernick at a much later point in the 2012-13 NFL season, and Harbaugh’s reward came quickly in the form of a Super Bowl berth.

You need 2 quarterbacks to get through a championship year without biting all of your fingernails off, anyway. With 2 Varsity QBs whom he can clearly count on, don’t be surprised to see Beyonce-like nails shining on Sucharski’s fingers.

Herculaneum 16, Jefferson 8

TGG isn’t 100% sold on Herky’s new wide-open offense yet. As fun as it has to be for Dunklin R-5 to end Jefferson’s win streak, gaining less than 200 yards of total offense on the Blue Jays in victory represents the season’s first regression for Jackson Dearing’s supporting cast…and not because JHS has become anything close to a pushover when defending the end zone.

Herculaneum wants an “NFL”-style offense that protects the pocket, distributes touches to skill-players on the boundary, and completes passes to soften-up the defense for “RBI hitter” RBs to slice through late in the game. The first thing to know about a solid NFL offense is that if the other team’s offense is average, and gives up the ball on punt after punt, at some point the QB is going to peck, poke, and produce some scoring drives against stubborn defense. Herky’s missing “NFL” component is efficient point-scoring that maximizes the team’s chances, compounded by the lack of any PAT or field-goal kicking game. Of course, 16 points and a victory despite < 200 yards could be called “maximizing” a team’s success, given the short drives allowed by Jefferson High.

St. Pius 35, Grandview 0

The Grandview Eagles played better on Friday than in any of the Class of 2022’s blow-out losses to teams like Jefferson, St. Pius, or St. Vincent. But the scrum turned lopsided anyway thanks to a crucial sequence in which St. Pius X scored on the last play of the opening half, then made a Red Zone stand after Grandview threatened to start scoring early in the 3rd quarter.

SPX and “explosive” haven’t clung in conjunction for more than a few spare skill players in the recent past, in spite of the Lancers’ reputation for solid, speedy football. It’s good to see St. Pius scoring bunches of points at a time, even if games are otherwise well-matched for 40:00 out of 48:00 minutes. That’s the sort of competitive trait that comes in very handy in Weeks 10-thru-12.

Winchester Avenue can take solace in the Eagles’ play along the line-of-scrimmage, which hasn’t wavered much at all from 2021 to 2022. There’s less playmakers on board to “finesse” a respectable score against a favored program in defeat, but if the ’22 Birds of Prey keep developing in the trenches, there simply won’t be quite as many “favored” rivals to face in the long run.

Crystal City 32, Bayless 14

Having watched 3 and 1/2 quarters of Crystal City’s 3rd-consecutive lopsided win on Friday, The Geek was prepared to pen a glowing, enthusiastic tribute to CCHS out-playing yet another of its Friday Night Predictions with a 32-14 victory over Bayless of the I-55 Conference.

Upon review, there is still 95% good news to report. Crystal’s defense hasn’t garnered nearly as much attention as the Hornets’ exciting offensive backfield. But a unit that was criticized as “skinny” on Jamboree Week fared extremely well against a burly, bolstered Bayless rushing attack which manufactured 270 yards on 28 carries vs Grandview on the weekend prior. Week 3’s visiting tailback Mark Patton rushed for close to 100 yards and a TD, but fell on 4 or 5 tackles-for-loss as the CCHS front-7 overwhelmed a Class 3 OL that averages about 275 pounds. Hornet cornerbacks and safeties swarmed to the ball on opposing screen-pass and run-after-catch attempts. You wouldn’t have known that Bayless is finally getting its legs in I-55 Conference combat just by browsing the Bronchos at Sunken Place. Crystal City’s defense made a handy offense look slow and dull.

Nolan Eisenbeis was all over the field for the Hornets on both sides of the scrimmage line. Camden Mayes had a spectacular punt return and came up with an INT. Cyle Schaumburg had a potential TD pass bounce off a receiver’s hands, but The Geek hates when recappers say that a QB was “plagued by drops” as if it’s somehow relevant to the signal-caller’s performance and not an external factor. Ultimately, there’s nothing bad you can say about an offense that answered Bayless every time the Bronchos threatened a 2nd-half comeback. Mississippi Magazine has seldom covered a more lopsided bout that was flashing “6-0” on the scoreboard at halftime.

But there was a small coaching problem that reared its head, and it’s the reason Crystal City was only leading by a scant 6 points at the half. Don’t worry, the fix doesn’t involve anything as drastic as Chelsea F.C. “sacking” Thomas Tuchel. An attitude change (not to be confused with an “attitude adjustment”) from Daniel Fox’s staff is all that’s necessary.

Fox must learn to coach like a favorite. You would forgive the HC, of course, for leaning another way after years upon years of coaching an underdog. Underdog teams take chances to win, relying on special circumstances and surprises to produce a W. Favorites must simply play their game. CCHS hasn’t been a favorite on the gridiron in over a decade. But it is now. That means risk-taking can become a way to help the opposing underdog.

With Crystal City facing a 4th-and-9 near midfield with minutes to go in the 1st half, Fox called for an option play, hoping to keep the drive going, or perhaps pop a long run for a TD against an aggressive defense. But the Bronchos weren’t capable of a 90-yard drive at a high tempo and would have been stressed to begin a series in their end zone’s shadow. When the play netted just 5 yards, Bayless was gifted a chance to lead at halftime.

BHS made a cautious call on 1st down anyway, losing 6 yards on a designed QB run. If CCHS had punted Bayless to the 5-yard line instead of trying the “Cinderella” 4th-and-long play, that same T4L would have led to a safety, an immediate 8-point advantage, and a chance for the Hornets to score again with plenty of time remaining. If Mayes’ subsequent pick had come closer to pay-dirt after a casual punt getting downed inside the 20, the hosts’ halftime lead could well have been 14-0.

Russ Schmidt once lost to Cape Girardeau Central by calling for a 2-point conversion try, aiming for a 1-point edge, when a tired CHS squad was just praying to retain a lead with which to run out the clock on Festus High. In other words, despite coaching the favorite, Schmidt thought like an underdog and tried to “shake-up” the works with a surprise gamble of a call. You wouldn’t want to see Crystal City take a loss like that in what could be a magic season of rebirth for Jefferson County’s newest contender.

Maybe as Fox and his miracle-working staff stands on the sideline at Confluence watching the Varsity Hornets win again in Week 4, CCHS’s hard-to-fathom status as a Friday favorite will begin to sink in.

Seckman 64, Northwest 6

Trayton Clariday’s pick-6 jumps off the Seckman-Northwest box score as the play that sparked a crazy-quick Turbo Clock for the Jaguars. But unless the 86-yard return came off a 70-yard throw from the pocket, the circumstances also show that Northwest threatened to break-up the party with a long 1Q drive.

Festus 36, Windsor…6 or 12

FHS alums should not fret about the relatively modest final score out of Windsor (whatever it was). Festus winning 66-24 on a septet of passing TDs from Jeremiah Cunningham would look more impressive and build more buzz, but defense would still have been lacking. There’s too much daylight and too many play-makers on the field for Black & Gold to get shut-down by any opposing team, but the poor defense of Weeks 1-2 must be improved upon.

For perspective, Clemson defeated Furman 35-12 in college action yesterday, while Oklahoma trailed 3-0 in mid-game before beating Kent State. Coach O doesn’t always realize how much the FBS has worn off on him as a CEO. Varsity Tiger fans must be prepared to give-up a few TDs against Windsor and Pacific in-exchange for better winning chances against Hillsboro and Valle U.

The scrum’s final score was reported 2 ways by the same people (?!), with Windsor either scoring 12 points (according to Regional Radio) or 6 points (according to Regional Radio’s print scoreboard) in the losing effort. WHS head coach Jeff Funston did not discuss specifics of the 2nd half in his postgame presser, and weirdly passed-up a chance to praise the Albino Birds unequivocally for avoiding a Turbo Clock defeat to Festus (or any #1 or #2 ranked team in a Class 4 league), easily the biggest stride forward Windsor pigskin has taken since former QB Derek Williams graduated in May ’21.

If TGG does not miss his guess, there was a late mop-up score for WHS, potentially off a fumble or some other snafu, that occurred with so few seconds remaining in the game that busy reporters (or volunteers) were already headed to the parking lot and texting-out the game’s statistics when the TD went up. That’s how it happened after a Week 2 win at Sullivan back in 2019.

Here’s hoping the Mississippi Conference schedule of 2022 goes better for the Tigers than that injury-plagued autumn from 3 years ago.

North County 42, DeSoto 0

North County tailback Jobe Smith is having the best season of anyone from the mining lands so far, and might have racked-up an amazing 1000+ total yards already if the legendarily talent-milking Dave Dallas still coached NCHS. Smith began the campaign by rushing for 324 yards against Farmington High, a feat that the Hillsboro Hawks or Festus Tigers would brag about accomplishing as a collective. Smith ran for several TDs and scored on a 63-yard INT return to spring a 1st-quarter Turbo Clock on DeSoto before taking a seat at halftime, making this “42-0” final score into the most deceptive of Friday’s finals.

Lindbergh 35, Fox 14

Fox is still on the right track, but that “enigma” called the Ritenour Huskies just upset Ladue in Week 3, making the Warriors’ upcoming schedule look more beastly than benevolent.