Fox Warriors at Northwest Lions
Last year’s Fox-Northwest game helped almost no one, including the teams themselves. It certainly didn’t help the cause of our great old rivalry games like Festus-Hillsboro, Herky-Crystal, and SPX-Jefferson, a list from which only the first rivalry is still going strong and to which Fox-Northwest won’t be restored as an annual thing unless this Friday’s contest is better than the last one. Fox won 49-7 in an easy blowout that wasn’t even streamed on MSHSAA TV/HUDL. All media but The Geek ignored it.
Fox’s publicity effort has grown since then, while Northwest’s is getting the sudden burst of enthusiasm that goes with a watershed winner. Thousands will be in attendance in Cedar Hill this weekend, backed up by 5K to 10K more tuning into the Lions-Warriors clash. Northwest’s fun Homecoming Week evaded The Geek’s radar in Week 5, probably because RB Drew Spratt’s team has gotten so much better at football in 12 months that the scrum against Parkway South was a foregone conclusion. The administrators at NHS were wise to not make Fox into Cedar Hill’s 2025 Homecoming opponent, though, since this is the Lions’ week to get down to business.
CORRECTION: Northwest is having its Homecoming Game this weekend. The Gridiron Geek apologizes for the boo-boo, but ya know there’s no flyer passed around in preseason with all of the Dirty Dozen’s Homecoming dates on it. You’re supposed to see a little Monopoly “House” next to Homecoming on a MSHSAA schedule, but NHS seemingly forgot:
Lions Nation also held its Homecoming Parade last Sunday, or something, based on the timing of Facebook photos. All in all The Geek hopes that Cedar Hill will understand the unforced error from Mississippi Magazine. Northwest will play better if they just pretend it isn’t Homecoming, so for now, the blog will lead by example and do that very thing.
Northwest isn’t under pressure to beat Fox High. But oh Lordy, are the Varsity Lions under pressure to make something out of this game instead of just surrendering to one of the county’s top four teams. Scott Gerling’s new lineup has improved in most weeks of the fresh season, and TGG was happy to see firsthand that Cedar Hill’s starting lineup was no longer physically outmatched by Seckman’s athletes in Week 3. But the Lions lost 49-14 in a game of little mistakes that added up to one big boo-boo.
We don’t want Northwest to develop the same syndrome as Seckman when the Jaguars square off against Jackson or Marquette in the playoffs. Blowing out Parkway South is nice, and yet Gerling’s toughest task remains convincing his Lions that there’s no invisible wall separating Northwest from the regional contenders of Class 6. Getting on the scoreboard early-and-often against the Fox Warriors – who did not lose in regulation against Seckman – would be a massive leap forward for NHS pigskin. But on the other hand, the Fox Warriors badly need a victory to help repair a deceptive and unfair 1-4 record that doesn’t come close to illustrating the Warriors’ true strength.
If Northwest can’t falter and make us happy, but Fox can’t lose and make us happy, then what is the proper “Mississippi Magazine Casual” fan’s cheering interest for what we all hope will be a tighter tilt between Arnold and Cedar Hill? A final score like “Fox 29, Northwest 21” would garner a lot more notice across the region this time, and potentially save the legendary Fox Warriors and Northwest Lions rivalry game from the dustbin that even Seckman versus Windsor has found itself in in this decade.
Fox still outweighs Northwest in the trenches. In fact, The Geek believes that one of Brent Tinker’s biggest chores this preseason was getting a very hefty OL in shape to run and cut-block as offensive linemen must in the Paul Johnson playbook. But we know that the host Lions’ offense has become exciting and dynamic enough to overcome a small size disadvantage. Meanwhile it’s not definite that Fox’s QB Chandler Price will have a field day against the Northwest defense again … if the Lions play it smart.
Mississippi Magazine always argues “Blitz, Blitz, Blitz!” when a defense takes on an old-school option team like the Fox Warriors. This time around, it’s actually “patience, patience, patience” that could be key for the Lions to have a better game against Godzilla. Gerling can turn a weakness into a strength if he uses 15-20 of his 200-ish pound tacklers interchangeably against Price’s lineup, rotating players to maximize the unit’s motor on a warm evening. Northwest should allow Fox to get its typical 4-yard gains, letting the favored Warriors play ball-control against themselves. The noisy atmosphere will put Fox under enough pressure to make mistakes of its own, and perhaps even bobble the bean, if Arnold has to convert on third down a lot. Don’t give up the big play to Fox High, and do what Hillsboro refused to do to Kearney in the Show-Me Bowl – compel the Warriors to snap the ball over and over and advance in tight quarters. It doesn’t matter if Price’s ground game chews up 40:00 of Game Clock, because his counterpart Cohenn Stark doesn’t need a whole lot of T-O-P to come up with a handful of TDs. PREDICTION: WARRIORS 28, LIONS 20
Pattonville Pirates at Seckman Jaguars
Is QB Trevor Beckermann and the Pattonville offense poised to outscore Seckman through the air? The splindly sophomore has thrown for close to 1000 yards this year already, surpassing Brody Kube’s 790 passing yards and giving Pattonville an astounding 35-27 win over Ritenour (Overland) in Week 4. Kube’s offense took a Week 5 dip in productivity after four excellent weeks, RB Mason Fowler leading the Jaguars with 44 yards rushing in the type of stat line that typically marks the pass-happy Pirates.
Seckman may not have anybody who can compete with Pattonville’s wideout Jerrail West on the boundary. Like a lot of Jefferson County’s defensive coordinators when they face fast receivers, Seckman’s defensive masterminds have a binary decision between playing Cover-2 or giving up an easy 18 points to Mr. West. But there’s a whole set of factors that should give the Jaguars a solid chance against Pattonville, even on a potential “Homecoming Blues” eve of as many mistakes as last week’s Half #2.
Pattonville and Seckman’s rushing stats may look alike sometimes, but HC Nick Baer’s team does a more responsible job of sticking to it. The Pirates were a bad passing team for a while – now they’re a good passing team that forget to even try to hand the pigskin off sometimes. Running plays are like vitamins for an offense even when they don’t gain yardage. Kube has been way more responsible with the football than Beckermann, who has thrown almost as many picks as touchdowns in an “Evan Eckrich” style 2025 (Or a “Chandler Price 2024”-style of 2025) of learning on the job as an underclassman. If the Jags feed their offense enough “vitamins” with Chance Ruble’s rushes (even another 44 yards’ worth of them) then Kube’s pocket will continue to stay cleaner, and his receivers wider open, than in Beckermann’s plight on the road.
Seckman’s Dylan Lappe has “only” five sacks to go with an amazing 72 total tackles. He is diving in the pile as often as he’s touching the opposing QB, but the prototype EDGE is still leading the Jaguars on the rush. If Baer has ever wanted to save him as a “Fred Dean” to fire fresh-legged from the hash marks on Pattonville’s 3rd-and-6s, now is the time.
Seckman at least scored a victory in Week 5. Pattonville, meanwhile, got its nose busted 0-35 by Lafayette. The Lafayette Lancers are a Show-Me Bowl contender in 2025, capable of beating almost anyone by five TDs on a good day. But that doesn’t mean the Pirates aren’t feeling frustrated. Seckman’s poise and experience are the key to a possible victory this Friday night. The Geek also gives Baer “mad props,” as they say, for having the courage to schedule a very difficult team on Homecoming Friday.
The Seckman Jaguars’ numerous pep squads have a tall task as well – matching Pattonville’s incredibly photogenic fanfare at a Homecoming Game.
Let’s see how Jaguar Nation does in comparison. They’ll have a really good game as the backdrop in any case. PREDICTION: PATTONVILLE 31, JAGUARS 28
Herculaneum Blackcats at Grandview Eagles (Pete’s Predictions)
We’re turning things over to The Geek’s friend Pete Schmidt for a series of “Guest Predictions” this fall. (It was TGG’s Big Idea #7.) Mr. Schmidt is one of the most colorful all-around sportsmen that Mississippi Magazine has come across in Missouri’s pigskin scene, having spent time as a martial artist, surfer, and pro Paintball ace before and after serving in the Marine Corps and playing football against teams from rival U.S. Armed Forces bases. Schmidt is an active Grandview Eagles booster who wants to start supporting all 12 of our teams. Pete says, “This is my first attempt at writing for sports, but I hope to become a valued asset to The Gridiron Geek’s Mississippi Magazine.”
Never fear – with the blog’s new contributor also being a DeSoto graduate, The Gridiron Geek requested “veto” rights over both of his Week 6 predictions in case there were any green (or gold) shaded glasses in the mix. But both picks look pretty solid to TGG’s eyes, considering Grandview’s record versus Herky, and Fredericktown’s malaise.
Take it away, Pete!
The Herculaneum Blackcats will be travelling to spoil the Grandview Eagles Homecoming this Friday. The Blackcats’ Keaton Reeves and Clark Struckhoff have run for more than 1,000 yards combined this year, and will be testing the sizable Eagle defensive Line (Led by Tucker Rhinehart and Ethan Smith). However, will the Eagles be able to minimize their turnovers with a Black Cat defensive line led by Taylor Greenlee, Gavin Feltman, and Ethan Thompson who all have double digit tackles this season.
The Herculaneum defense will have its’ hands full with the variety of yard producing players in the Grandview roster. Against the Perryville Pirates last week, the Grandview Eagles’ rushing attack was led by Brock Poole, Lucas Hannah, and Christian Volner. For the season, #2 Brock Poole leads the Eagles with over 700 offensive yards. In the last two games, Brock Poole led the Eagle offense with 140 yards against Perryville and 195 yards against Cuba.
Brock Poole had a highlight interception against Principia to seal that game for Grandview. However, will these new weapons in the Grandview arsenal be enough to overcome the stifling defense of Herculaneum that held St. Vincent to 13 points and won against Cuba by 30 points?
I think this contest may come down to turnovers and team/coaching adaptability. I see this as a slugfest that will be low scoring. However, in light of the Eagles’ game against Perryville and their dedication to give their all for the entire 48 minutes of that game, I believe Grandview will prevail with a 14 to 7 win.
Pete’s Prediction: Grandview 14 – Herculaneum 7
Jefferson Blue Jays at Perryville Pirates
The Geek has had it with the LACK of viable common opponents, even when it comes to two QCC conference rivals in Week 6! Perryville and Jefferson have each played Bayless High, and each team blew the Bronchos out as per usual. Big wow. QB Cooper Frisk’s team fell short against a different PHS squad in ’24. What about 2025?
Ahh, but we’ve got the results of The Geek’s #5 through #8 Fantasy Power Poll Tournament from this week to lean on. Jefferson defeated DeSoto and lost to Northwest by an unlucky turn with 2:00 to go. How would Perryville do against those two foes? We’ve watched Perryville squander 350 yards of offense in a 31-14 defeat at the hands of DeSoto. As for the Pirates coming close to defeating a solid Class 6 team, well, that wouldn’t explain why Perryville remains in a conference with two Class 1 teams in it. Kayd Luckey, who’s been Perryville’s QB for 100 years, doesn’t have a guy like R-7’s Noah Buehler to throw to in ’25. PREDICTION: BLUE JAYS 22, PERRYVILLE 12
Cuba Wildcats at St. Pius Lancers
The St. Pius Lancers are poised for another blowout win on Homecoming Friday. Cuba and Fredericktown are very comparable as 2024’s “flash in the pan” teams who have shrunk back to insignificance in the MSHSAA scene of 2025. The Dirty Dozen could take some flack for keeping Cuba and Fredericktown on the slate against burgeoning programs like St. Pius and DeSoto respectively, but they’re nearby schools of similar sizes, and Jefferson County deserves a break after dropping so many one-score heartbreakers to teams like Fenton’s. The Over/Under on SPX’s total contingent of tacklers in a roster-rotation game: 26. PREDICTION: LANCERS 44, CUBA 0
Windsor Owls at Hillsboro Hawks
Windsor can pierce the Hillsboro defense for a couple of time-consuming early drives in 2025. But we noticed in the Hillsboro-Festus scrum last Friday that Hillsboro head coach Bill Sucharski’s staff – kicking and screaming – has decided to get Braxton Chazelle closer to the line-of-scrimmage to operate the HHS running attack on occasion, even going to some of Hillsboro’s old-school option looks instead of just keeping a playbook that plays to Preston Brown’s strengths (small problem: he’s at NDSU now). Chezelle can be just as good in Friday Night Lights, his game is just a little different than Preston’s was. If the Hawks utilize a ball-control strategy of their own in the conference game’s first half, Windsor’s defense will be “David” putty by the second half of HHS’s Homecoming. PREDICTION: HAWKS 52, BLACKBIRDS 14
Fredericktown Blackcats at DeSoto Dragons (Pete’s Predictions)
DeSoto played an impressive game against Windsor last week, and the Dragons continue to grow as a team each week. The Dragon offense has developed into a dual threat behind sophomore quarterback #1 Cannon Kisner. In addition, Eli Thebeau is a strong and elusive running back whom many teams find difficult to contain.
Fredricktown scored fourteen points against Potosi last week. Although, Fredricktown has only scored in two games this season. I think the Blackcats are going to find the end zone and lay their current scoring drought to rest, but only because DeSoto is more than comfortably ahead in the final quarter.
Pete’s Prediction: De Soto 56 – Fredricktown 7
Festus Tigers at North County Raiders
Festus High’s 5-0 team is under as much pressure as Fox or Northwest … in its own way. North County is having a nightmare season and should not be able to mint more than two scoring drives against another mighty Midmeadow Lane defense. Nonetheless, the last time Festus played North County, the Varsity Tigers behaved so poorly that head coach A.J. Ofodile officially blew his stack for the first time in five seasons at the helm. Taking a road trip as a massive favorite against a collapsing team is a recipe of more potential misconduct, especially if the NCHS kids get chirpy due to frustration in what could sadly be HC Brian Jones’ final year as a Buccaneer. The Tigers must be relaxed, polite, quiet, and confident at the same time. It could lead to another rash of nervous mistakes. PREDICTION: TIGERS 38, BONNE TERRE BUCCANEERS 7
Crystal City Hornets (Forfeit W) vs Roosevelt Roughriders
Crystal City moves to 2-4 on the season via Roosevelt’s forfeit of Weeks 5-10.