A-#1 Forever: Our 12 Teams’ Facebook Pages!
The St. Pius Lancers Football Facebook was zapped on Tuesday by another local “Harvey Updyke,” who sent a drummed-up complaint to Meta because he couldn’t find the right tree to poison at Hill Valley. SPX’s administration tells Mississippi Magazine it happens every so often and is nothing to worry about, and that the SPX Football page will be back online, celebrating its 8000 follower milestone, in very short order if all goes well. The Lancers aren’t the only ones to be hurt by Jeff County superfan sickness – Mississippi Magazine, and several JeffCo teams have been. But it’s sadly understandable why St. Pius bears the worst of it, following 2023-24’s row with the JCAA. It just takes one bad apple at a time. We will toss them all out.
#1 (T) – Festus Tigers
Yes, it’s still tied at the top … but Weeks 8-9 might just help settle the Power Poll’s debates.
The triumphant Festus Tigers extended their latest winning streak against an easier legacy opponent than St. Pius X or Fox fell to by “teens” margins last Friday. The Tigers scored the same number of points, 21, against the thinned Hannibal Pirates’ roster that the SPX Lancers produced against Josh McCarthy’s buoyantly healthy Farmington Black Knights. Also, Jeremy Maclin was not coaching the Hannibal Pirates. Fortunately, what saves Black & Gold from being a weird “rank in jeopardy despite winning” brand in Week 8 is the Week 8 Power Poll’s theme of quality performances > victories, and the ranking tool of looking at our teams’ body-of-work and each of their opponents’ bodies of work after 49 quarters of combat.
The St. Mary’s Dragons of Class 5 played Festus High in Week 2, winning 14-12. Then the Dragons faced Jackson two weekends later, losing 42-7. Combined with Valle’s 42-7 thrashing of Tanglefoot’s Week 1 foe Rockwood Summit, early-season scoreboards seemed to suggest that Festus was no longer on par with MSHSAA’s standard bearers, whether Small Schools or Large Schools contenders to win state titles.
But look at the St. Mary’s vs Jackson outcome again. Better yet, click on HUDL highlights of the South Side stronghold’s “Turbo Clock defeat” to the Jackson Indians, which might prove to be one of the most competitive contests of Missouri’s 2026 season that ended with a running clock. St. Mary’s bothered the Indians, driving to the goal-line when the score was merely 7-0, completing a midgame touchdown bomb from QB Ja’Khori Battle to WR Davion Hollis. It took RB Jaylon Hampton and the Indians all day to manufacture the five-TD margin of victory. Without a doubt, St. Mary’s South Side had the best performance of any Jackson opponent so far this season, a list of schools that includes Farmington and Edwardsville.
From this Week 1 to Week 2, and most of the Fridays since then, LB Aiden Schirmer’s defense went from suspect to sensational. FHS surrendered 31 points to Summit’s flaky offense in August, then averaged fewer than nine points-against versus St. Mary’s, Hillsboro, and Hannibal. St. Mary’s eked out 14 points against a Tigers lineup that saw its linchpin QB go down with an injury, then it barely hung on to prevail by two. R-6’s extended conference streak is no accident. Festus took a gigantic leap upward in September!
The Dirty Dozen passed its test against Farmington, Hannibal, and Kirkwood last week, even though the county went 1-2 in those matchups. St. Pius rushed for 300 yards and put up three TDs, next to Jackson’s five-TDs scored on Farmington’s tremendous tacklers. Hannibal couldn’t begin to tackle Braydon Wilkes. Fox took a stunning lead on Kirkwood late in the first half, frustrating Maclin’s starting lineup for 23:23.
The best thing about this season is how towns and regions are cast together as hotbeds of JeffCo’s wild success. Festus and Hillsboro appear well-matched against most District 1-2 teams, while St. Pius X is poised to be prohibitively favored over most of its bracket – which means that two Highway A schools might just be seen winning in the state playoffs in the same autumn again. Fox, Seckman, and Northwest have been crushing with a combination of six outstanding QBs. Imperial and Cedar Hill, presuming The Geek gets the Suburban League standings, can lift conference trophies on 10/23, demonstrating that those schools would fit in right the “JeffCo Super League” that Fox HC Brent Tinker is calling for.
#1 (T) – St. Pius Lancers
Did the Varsity Lancers just show that it’s actually the offense, not the defense, that can lead Hill Valley to a Class 3 championship bid? More like they showed that the offense has risen to the level of a fantastic defense, giving St. Pius X at least two Show-Me Bowl caliber units out of three. If special teams isn’t unduly behind in development, it could all be coming together – and Week 8 can provide the proof.
The Geek and Coach Ray misunderstood each other during a Saturday “debriefing” on the Farmington contest, causing a late-day “Fake News” update with exactly the wrong info on St. Pius lineman David Schulte. The Fake News wasn’t on the site for long. Our recap was always accurate. However, if any of the student-athletes, or their parents, snuck online to read Mississippi Magazine while the Missouri Tigers were finishing a win last Saturday, they might’ve viewed a WEIRD update that could have made it appear like our website was lying on behalf of the Lancers, or that Ray was telling lies to The Geek. Please be assured, not only were Week 7’s morning (and evening) recaps truthful, but last Saturday afternoon’s tall-tale was caused by how up front and enthusiastic St. Pius X is communicating with the media.
St. Pius X’s Week 7 eligibility issues compelled the team to play a different defensive line. It wasn’t a backup defensive line, but rather a wonderful “Plan B.” That’s the intriguing part. Last Saturday, Ray explained to The Geek that more than one non-injured lineman had not been eligible for this Week 7, compounding the absence of TE/WR Wyatt Harris that has left the Lancers without another experienced man playing. It is a complicated story that Joe Harris didn’t even try to raise in his STLToday recap. But at the same time, The Geek was surprised to observe last weekend that a decidedly alternate D-line concept was put in motion – and Jackson Jercinovic’s lineup was not some last resort. It isn’t so hard for viewers to notice when a 6’7” nose guard has been replaced – but if SPX’s injury-and-suspension woes were worse than meets the eye, well, what a story line it is that Week 7’s encounter was so tight in the first place.
The Geek asked, “So David (Schulte) was out injured, plus a lineman was suspended (for the rough stuff at Lutheran St. Charles)?” The coach texted back, “Yes. Jackson and Collin (Spink) were Iron Men,” not realizing how The Geek was going to read that “Yes.” Deciding that it was silly not to laud a makeshift Iron Man defensive corps for stuffing Farmington’s running game like no one from this side of The Pit, TGG logged in to add Saturday’s late blurb about the offensive line’s double duty and a short-term “injury” for Schulte, who the HC had said “would be back in Week 8.” But Schulte was one of the ineligible kids, not actually injured, and of course it had to say “thanks to St. Pius for being so honest,” which – to any insider fan who knew that David wasn’t really hurt – must’ve made it sound like a bit o’ Country Jive.
Mega misunderstanding! We hope that the two dozen lonely readers who skipped Mizzou’s postgame won’t gossip that their local blog is tricking opposing teams with injury subversion. Heaven knows there has been enough real injury news to go around in Jeff County. If anyone does gossip, loyal readers who do watch the FBS will wonder what all the fuss is about, and then show off the accurate David Schulte news on the blog now. It would never have to be brought up like this if St. Pius X wasn’t the biggest Mississippi Magazine supporter of all (<3) and if we didn’t care lots about Lancer Nation knowing that it can trust us.
Trust us, this “Plan A-B” defense of St. Pius X’s a marvel to behold. When we say that the Festus Tigers’ lineup of Canaday-Cotham-Pinkston-Hall is the top defensive front in Jeff County, that’s true – it is the best traditional front for a unit with up to six players scowling in sunken three-point stances. The St. Pius Lancers don’t want, need, or bother trying to create that kind of a front! Instead, Hill Valley is going with Schulte or Jercinovic as a rock-solid inside beast – both potential All-Stars in that role – surrounded by the contingent of quick, athletic edge-rushers and playmakers of Hunter Hylton’s ilk. One absolute bruiser manning the middle, plus 10 speedy, fine-tuned tacklers, equals the kind of defense that red-dogged A.J. Robbins.
Having such a small-but-flexible corps of big men is almost as good as having a vast depth chart, considering that it would take a total Injury Report disaster to weaken St. Pius up the middle.
Could there be a “Plan C” to get Schulte, Jercinovic, and Spink all together on an ultimate run-stopping defensive line? Probably not yet. Ray would not dare tempting the Injury and Suspension Gods with more Iron Man time than he already has to pencil in. But when the Varsity Lancers get a playoff matchup against a fellow school with a great rushing attack, Hill Valley’s coach could feel like former Team Canada skipper Mike Keenan after he kept Wayne Gretzky and “Super” Mario Lemieux on separate lines in the Canada Cup group stage. “Hey, Coach Mike, why not Great One and Super Man, same line all time?” stuttered a European reporter in broken English. (Gretzky and Lemieux eventually won that Canada Cup, performing same-line-all-time.) St. Pius fans might watch Schulte make the stop on one play this November, then watch Jercinovic pushing the pile on another, and say: “Hey, Coach, David and JJ, SAME LINE ALL TIME!”
There’s a road map for St. Pius to leave Vianney beaten this Friday, and ride home with a #1 Jeff County ranking in tow. It would have to include Festus R-6 underachieving, but there’s a path to that elusive first No. 1 ranking. Whipping a potential Week 13 seed from Class 4 while the Festus Tigers coast by a few scores over struggling Poplar Bluff is how a team removes a “T” from a “1.” What’s nice is that it doesn’t involve any fancy strategy, or any bold lineup moves like the Plan C Defense. In fact, the matchup may be one of those rare times when the home team has earned every right to be called a favorite, but the visiting underdog is really more probable to win. More to come in Week 8’s Friday Night Predictions.
#3 – Northwest Lions
One thing that The Geek missed in this early season’s Cedar Hill coverage was that the University City loss wasn’t a conference L, making it less critical than we feared. In fact, the Suburban League’s been keeping its conferences, divisions, or whatever you want to call them quite tidy, so that there are just 5-6 teams vying for each crown. This year, Oakville and Northwest appear set for a title game on October 23. It’s another shot for Northwest to have a breakthrough on Fridays after breaking the database in 2025.
Northwest has stacked a few Quality Performances such as the Lions’ romp at McCluer North, though the 2026 team still doesn’t have a signature foil if you don’t count Fox. Week 9 and 11 will be big moments.
#4 – Hillsboro Hawks
The band is back together, now let’s see if they can make some noise. The Hillsboro Hawks and Seckman Jaguars possess unlucky schedules from a rankings point-of-view; apart from the Highway A game, there have been few chances for Hillsboro to prove itself, for instance, while the teams ranked above Leon Hall have had opportunities to go toe-to-toe with heavies, often showing off excellent traits even if they didn’t win. The Hawks’ Week 5 turn against the Festus Tigers came during a rash of injury.
Holt, against whom Hillsboro scored 62 points in a September victory, had a great game against Class 4’s unbeaten district favorite St. Charles West in Week 7, falling just 21-14. That boosts the Hillsboro Hawks’ stock in much the same way that the St. Mary’s Dragons’ fine season boosts Festus’ ranking in hindsight of the close call between those two schools. If Kirkwood begins to resemble itself on the gridiron by November, the currently T-#5 Fox Warriors will be ranked up based on Week 7 also.
Week 7’s “silver medal” conference win served to show that there’s a cavernous gap between the Power Poll’s top half and Teams 7-thru-12. However, the Hawks have a chance to prove The Geek wrong and ascend rapidly into at least the #2 ranking in one fell swoop this week, should they become the second Jeff County team to conquer Farmington in four attempts since last October.
#5 (T) – Seckman Jaguars
The Jaguars are on fire under Friday Night Lights, looking dangerous now that Brody Kube is taking snaps again. From a rankings point-of-view, they’re victims of circumstances! We really thought that Seckman’s schedule of 2026 would produce tighter matchups – North Point came into this season looking exciting, and Hazelwood East was dynamite in 2025, but the Grizzlies and the Spartans have combined to go merely 1-13. Seckman High is making the underdogs look bad again, yet it needs more winners to swing at.
That changes in Week 8. Imperial’s kickoff with Overland (or Breckenridge, depending on your geography) is a precious chance for the Jaguars to score a signature victory of their own, while getting a leg up on a league race that the Ritenour Huskies have already taken strides in. The Huskies’ momentum, by catching Pattonville in its wake, has done the Jaguars a favor. Score the victory in this weekend’s monumental bout, and there will be a three-way tie atop the Suburban’s Red division headed into Week 9.
#5 (T) – Fox Warriors
Good news: Fox High would like a bye in Week 11 and they might just get it. Arnold will coast to 5-4, while district rival St. Mary’s faces DeSmet and Rock Bridge. Bad news: Parkway West looked like compost while losing to pedestrian Lindbergh 45-7 in Week 7, de-weighting Week 6’s win in the JCPP, just as it’s hard for Fox to earn Power Poll points from losing to Kirkwood’s hangover-team.
Fox has more fighting losses as an underdog than almost any Dirty Dozen club, such as Ladue’s revenge win and the loss to Seckman in overtime. The Geek is using those scores as a barometer because you have so many more to pick from if you forget about W/Ls and look for close calls. The Fox Warriors have endured way too many moral victories, though, and Kirkwood’s win from Friday night was another one. Jude Pribish’s lineup is good enough to impress with many more genuine scoreboard Ws this fall.
Please bear in mind that the top six of the Power Poll look EXTREMELY well-matched this season. Number 6s could beat Number 1s in a head-to-head, which is why The Geek imagined zero lopsided games in this year’s Fantasy Tournament.
#7 – DeSoto Dragons
DeSoto’s upcoming bout with Potosi will help determine the makeup of Class 3, District 2, in addition to the Dragons’ district of C4D1. We know that Cannon Kisner’s talented club would be favored to reach Week 12 in Potosi’s C3D2 bracket, but also that the Dragons would be underdogs to the St. Pius X Lancers once they got there. If DeSoto defeats 3-4 Potosi, the Dragons will remind us that Sikeston’s not the only potential spoiler in C4D1 … and we’ll surmise that the St. Pius Lancers should prepare for St. Clair, or maybe even Herculaneum, before they worry about meeting Potosi for the District 2 title.
#8 – Jefferson Blue Jays
Once again, the power of JeffCo pigskin is leaving conference-title hopefuls out of the top six. Jefferson is meeting a Ste. Genevieve brand that’s been pretty fair against Jefferson County schools historically, in Week 8’s interim kickoff prior to 10/23’s bash with St. Vincent. Do not put any pressure on the Blue Jays against an out-of-conference foe in this situation, though. The Blue Jays have cliched a winning regular-season record, and they can’t be passed up for the #2 seed in Class 2, District 2.
#9 – Herculaneum Blackcats
How many win streaks does it take to jump over DeSoto? A trampoline by the railroad station would help, but Dunklin’s ‘Cats can begin licking the Power Poll’s top half via a head-to-head W at Desoto in Week 9.
#10 – Windsor Owls
We have to reassess what The Geek wrote about Windsor early this season, which was that the Owls’ size and numbers could start to overwhelm Small Schools opponents on their schedule. That isn’t the case. Fridays have shown that the Owls are still a struggling brand in earnest, and that they have to courageously fight for every little scrap of success they can get. It’s not a bad deal for WHS that Week 8 opponent Fredericktown is on a losing streak, even if it means that the game isn’t prestigious, or that it doesn’t promise accolades after a win. The Albino Birds need that victory over somebody, anybody.
#11 – Grandview Eagles
Grandview kept the scoreboard from getting out-of-hand against Jefferson, leading HC Cory Hanger to tell Live Stream STL, “I thought we finally got a little better.” The lineup is beginning to welcome rehab cases back to the fold just as GHS prepares for a potential double-dip against Crystal City in Weeks 9 and 10.
#12 – Crystal City Hornets
CCHS has succeeded in one important way in 2026, by getting the school district’s overall participation in football to tick upward, the MOST critical job at Bradley’s Farm. The Junior High program is proudly performing in another autumn, and the grown-up Hornets keep looking to add more players during the season. That’s wonderful news, because, well, what lies beneath The Geek’s frustration when Crystal City loses is a fear that if the Hornets don’t succeed, participation will fall too low, and our county’s bedrock Friday Night Lights brand will go dark.
It isn’t that Tri-City kids aren’t brave enough to go out for pigskin when Varsity is losing. Crystal City and Herky’s revivals have proven that. But you have to advertise in-house – student-athletes have to notice and like the football team before they sign up to play – and it’s harder to earn that attention when the program isn’t winning. Winning generates more buzz and more excitement, which leads to better participation when every Grade 6 kid’s favorite topic is the local gridiron. It’s a natural process.
Did HC Craig Collins use his people-skills to “Kobayashi Maru” that process, and build the Hornets’ numbers in any circumstance, rain or shine? If more players have joined a one-win club in midseason, then yes, the Conditions Of The Test Have Been Changed. Kudos to Collins for bringing the kind of recruiting-friendly attention and goodwill to Crystal’s effort that is usually reserved for schools that aren’t in a bad slump.
Winning still works too, though, ya know! Can we get back to garnering goodwill the old-fashioned way? Thankfully, the Hornets’ next matchup against 1-6 Malden offers another chance to get back on track.
Photo Credits: GS Images, Shake it Up Entertainment Facebook, Jefferson R-7 Football Facebook, St. Pius X Sports & Activities Facebook