To understand just how much bigger, faster, and filled with good teams our county’s Friday Night Lights are as compared to a few years ago, think of how Week 9 scores would’ve painted a pale cloud over Jeff County football going into MSHSAA’s postseasons of the past. Hillsboro faded in the final 24:00 and lost to Poplar Bluff, the sort of outcome that Leon Hall was used to BEFORE the Jaxin Patterson years and the big breakthrough of 2022-23. Seckman High’s offense appeared shaky versus a weak sister of the Suburban League, casting doubt on the Jags’ chances against Jackson all over again, just as Festus played its worst game of 2024 and fell by 5 TDs at The Pit. Jefferson lost to St. Vincent after an heroic 4 quarters, losing any share of the QCC title.
Those teams used to make-up a majority of the contenders at Mississippi Magazine. But they don’t anymore! Week 9 was a Friday night for rising stars of the Dirty Dozen, schools like Northwest and DeSoto, or Crystal City and Grandview among the smaller brands, who’ve been patiently trying to build new winning traditions all this time. If Week 9 was any indication…SUCCESS!
Oh, Lordy, did the Crystal City Hornets and Grandview Eagles ever have a slugfest at Sunken Place. The Geek did not bother to watch Live Stream STL’s pregame show, but we can imagine the chorus of “Smash-Mouth Football!” coming off everyone’s lips, while implying that Grandview’s visit would be a cautious affair with lots of running and not much passing. Instead, the 2 former conference rivals roared for so many huge plays in the first 12:00 that Crystal City led 14-13 with scarcely 10 minutes gone by. Grandview’s gritty rusher Isaac Walker terrorized Crystal City’s young defense, and he served as a counterpoint to the Eagles’ unexpectedly nimble passing game against a fast team on a faster surface. Grandview was unlucky in several respects, having a potentially outcome-changing special teams turnover scrabbled by the officials on a night when referees let the players play at Crystal City for once, and bobbling a carry close to the 50-yard line that popped into the arms of Hornet junior Alex Kuchera. Crystal’s newest Iron Man standout raced for a winning scoop-and-score TD (or catch-and-score TD), though the courage Grandview showed mounting a last-ditch comeback made up for any mistakes made by Brendan Martin’s veteran crew.
Veterans? Nolan Eisenbeis was (gulp) 10-of-11 of 250 yards and 4 touchdowns at the finish. #12’s fellow CCHS senior Evan Wolfe had a Senior Night to compare to Kanden Bolton’s great performance on the boundary in Crystal’s hurrah against Herky in 2022, leaping through double coverage to catch Nolan’s first TD bomb in the 1st quarter before finishing with 115 receiving yards and 3 (!!!) interceptions, one of which was a tap-dancing sideline beauty that sealed the win with 2:00 left. RB Ricardo Pastrana may be working on a 1000-total-yard season if the Varsity Hornets stay alive through Week 12. Critically, HC Adam Sims’ coaching staff has at-last successfully greased the working parts of a complex new Crystal City offense that The Geek thought would be too ambitious for Class 1. Don’t look now, but Bradley’s Farm has a healthy 22-man roster, and a path to another District Final.
Jeff County’s underdogs shined in Week 9, all the way from Cedar Hill to Selma. DeSoto’s head coach Russ Schmidt – wearing truly FANTASTIC new specs following DeSoto’s 43-6 win – reported that his Varsity Dragons couldn’t believe it when DeSoto’s coaches started putting backups in the contest as early as Quarter 2. Schmidt’s staff figured out that the Herculaneum game would be lopsided in DeSoto’s favor right away, and it sent DeSoto’s starting lineup into a fantasy-land in which they got to be spectators while the Dragons’ sophomores played out the minutes of a Turbo Clock victory. Just think, less than 2 years ago, DeSoto wasn’t considered a sure-shot winner over teams like Bishop DuBourg. Those days are long gone now, and the 5-4 Dragons’ presence in Class 4, District 1 creates a fascinating wild-card with Hillsboro, FHS, and NCHS looking vulnerable.
Then there was the Northwest Lions’ 31-27 comeback win over Oakville, the thriller which could go down as Friday’s most pivotal for any of the Dirty Dozen when the smoke clears away. Cohenn Stark was granted a 48:00 quarterback’s role by skeptical head coach Scott Gerling, who may not be so skeptical anymore following Stark’s breakout performance in front of a rowdy OHS throng. Stark took command of the scrum’s critical drive at the 5:00 mark, and made a breathtaking move to avoid a sack on the bout’s winning play, cutting back to the weak hash-mark to zoom in from the 10-yard line and give Cedar Hill its first winning season since 2020. Oakville held the early lead on its home turf that The Geek had warned NHS about on Thursday, but Northwest has earned its right to jump Oakville in District 1, and host what’s gonna feel like a watershed rematch no matter what occurs in Week 10. Boosters prayed for the Lions to have any chance in a Q-Final. But instead, Northwest looks like Friday’s f..f..favorite to win!
That story holds true everywhere you look, with Week 9 going in the books as an off-night for Mississippi Magazine’s top 3 teams, but also a showcase of how our pigskin is growing from the grassroots. Fox fought its way to a massive win over Ladue that featured 250+ rush yards from QB Chandler Price, a statement that Arnold’s “Plan B” backfield could be just as deadly of a spoiler as the earlier one when FHS travels to Lindbergh for a quarterfinal. The St. Pius Lancers overachieved by scoring 20 points on Valle University in the 1st half, losing by a 47-20 score which felt eerily similar to Valle’s tally against Festus High in 2022.
Last but not least, the Jefferson Blue Jays’ sterling effort in a 51-35 shootout loss to St. Vincent shows that Jefferson-2024 CAN win at the line of scrimmage against an elite opponent, and that Class 2, District 2’s top seeds Hermann and Bowling Green do not have green pastures on the way to Week 12.