Jefferson 28, St. Pius 18
A Friday night that’s filled with mismatches doesn’t have to result in boring pigskin. Jefferson County fields (and other fields starring JC’s teams) were lit-up with TDs in Week 4. Yes, a lot of those touchdowns were scored against local schools, but we had our share of blow-out wins too, including all 3 Mississippi Conference victors.
Jefferson R-7 may have had the most impressive point-scoring performance in spite of only netting 28 in victory at St. Pius X. (No offense, Hillsboro – we’re using your recap to brag on a defense making noise on Friday, if only one.) JHS was sharper, cleaner, and more accurate through the air than Hill Valley’s hosts, responding to a 2nd half field-goal block with a pair of INTs and a game-sealing drive that was parlayed into 7 Blue Jay points just as the 4th quarter began.
The Geek’s “recap” of SPX vs Jefferson could be a tad warmed-over, since we already live-reported the I-55 contest’s crucial twists of fate on Twitter/X and on Facebook. There’s no great mystery behind how Jefferson won more easily than could have been anticipated. Neither team won the line-of-scrimmage, but SPX committed 10+ penalties, tossed 10+ inaccurate passes into the dirt, and could hardly get a 3-and-out on defense against R-7’s unique, modified option attack. Jefferson’s QB Kole Williams looked like $1,000,000 passing the bean around.
Williams isn’t substantially faster than St. Pius Lancers signal-caller James Smith. Williams does not have a markedly stronger downfield arm than Smith does, either, sometimes chucking the ball into a safe space for a quick incompletion at the first blush of pocket pressure. (Considering how awful it is when a QB holds the football forever, Jefferson HC Matt Atley is likely to think of Williams’ rapid releases as a “good problem.”) Smith is not the inferior player from a physical-tools POV. Yet Friday, he was off, stutter-stepping in the pocket and side-arming his throws.
The blog rejects any idea that Smith “choked” in his first big conference tilt of 2023. Last week’s scrum at Grandview was SPX’s first big conference game, and Smith punished the Eagles’ immense defense by ground and air. But if the senior didn’t crumple under the pressure, and if Smith shares all the talents of Kole Williams, why the bummer game vs JHS? And what’s the remedy for Hill Valley’s QB?
WELL…here’s a thought. It occurs to The Geek that Mr. Smith would be a far better #1 quarterback for the St. Pius X Lancers if he wasn’t the #1 quarterback, the #1 running back, the #1 linebacker, the #1 safety, the #1 pass-rusher, and also the KICK RETURNER and the PUNT RETURNER and SOON TO BE ASSISTANT COACH-SLASH-SPORTS INFORMATION DIRECTOR for St. Pius The Tenth. Good lord, let the poor teen have a breather on the sideline once in a while.
TGG has seen all kinds of small schools play their quarterbacks on defense. If he’s the team’s best athlete, it would be stupid not to do so. It’s rare, though, to see a player as over-used on 3 units as “quarterback” James Smith of the SPX Lancers. Mississippi Magazine is stunned to see St. Pius’ ace passer playing almost every down of every close bout, taking foul collisions on special teams before going right back behind center to be the QB. It’s not smart, it’s not healthy, and it’s arguably cost Hill Valley a conference win already. Yeah – and we know exactly what the head coach and the player would say in response to all this. Not relevant.
It doesn’t matter if Smith is physically fit-as-a-fiddle after playing 47 out of 48 minutes at 9 positions on the gridiron. He’s mentally tired, not reading the defense or executing his play-calls nearly as well as the fresher QB from R-7. In fact, it’s unfair to say that Williams had a bigger performance than Smith in Week 4. The “quarterback” from St. Pius X made a lot more of an impact for his school’s chance to win, having been all over the field on every play. Williams is part of a well-oiled machine; Smith is an overwhelmed kid trying to play a dozen different roles.
Welcome to the duality of having a head coach like SPX’s Frank Ray. Ray behaves much like a Varsity team captain instead of a grown-up coach and has as much fun on the field as a Varsity captain would, making him a true players’ coach and not a feared presence among student-athletes. Ray made fun of The Gridiron Geek for bringing up Pat Mahomes just once in a Bible-length rave for the 2022 Hillsboro Hawks, which is what a Varsity youth would do if he disliked an NFL franchise as much as Ray hated hearing about Kansas City. (If the coach engages in small talk about the NFL with the boys in the locker room, that’s a real good idea too.) The Geek’s favorite Frank Ray moment came 10 years ago, when a Hillsboro kid appeared to break his leg versus Cape Girardeau Central. Ray cornered the tearful youngster and his folks on the sideline, screwed a giant Santa Claus grin on his face, and told the kid one joke after another until he was forced to smile back. That’s what a great team captain like Farmington’s Carson Sutton would do.
But there’s a downside to having an “Athlete’s Administrator” in charge of a High School team. Sometimes, they have problems seeing the big picture. Frank Ray is coaching Smith like a kid trying to prevail at Madden, putting that circle around the player who seems to always make good things happen. But not even Deion “Prime Time” Sanders could make plays on offense, defense, and special teams on every snap forever. If the Lancers keep up their greedy short-term use of an exceptional player, they’re going to turn around in Week 11 and he won’t be there, or at least he’ll be banged, bruised, slowed by fatigue, and incapable of leading an upset.
Williams or Smith leading an upset from the QB spot is the only way either I-55 school wins a 2023 District Championship over a bracket with Lift For Life in it. (Valle University and Lift For Life Motorized Scooter Company will presumably scoot back to Class 3 in 2024, but MSHSAA will probably just promote a new private-school crusher for Classes 1 and 2 to deal with next season, whichever team wins 2023’s 8-Man Football title with 8 players recruited from 8 states.) Jefferson’s got the right idea already – get that star QB into a rhythm so he can have a career day against an All-Star opponent when the time comes.
With virtually no chance to win the solo I-55 Conference crown following Friday’s loss, St. Pius X must ask itself if it would rather see a record-setting regular season from a stressed and beaten-down James Smith, or a District championship bid after a 7-win regular season in which Smith stays healthy.
Hillsboro 48, North County 0
Hillsboro’s stock rises yet again after a surprisingly easy win over rival North County. We don’t have any stats to share from the HHS-NCHS contest, thanks to another “illuminating” Box Score from our pals at STLToday:
Thankfully, there’s the MyMyInfo presser with HC Bill Sucharski, and a few public highlights to go on. Hillsboro put to rest any notion of another Buccaneer upset quickly after the opening kickoff, turning NCHS over on its maiden possession, popping an option play for a long TD, then scoring again when Peyton Brown scampered with a down-and-in catch for 66 yards and a 14-0 advantage. It snowballed on Bonne Terre from there in a style not unlike 2021’s loss.
If HHS beating North County by a worse score than 2022 puts any fear into the Festus Tigers this week, A.J. Ofodile should remind them that North County is feast-or-famine when it comes to matching up with Hillsboro. Coach Jones’ program took 2021’s Turbo Clock defeat to the Hawks and learned from it, eventually taking revenge on Leon Hall in a one-sided playoff shocker.
But it’s not so significant that a 1-3 North County squad was blown-out by Hillsboro. What’s more notable is that the Buccaneers were shut-out, iced for zero TDs by a defense that supposedly couldn’t compare to last year’s incarnation. Sucharski told Regional Radio that the Blue & White defense had its best game of the season in Week 4, using a rotation of seniors and platoon-specialists to stay fresh inside.
Jaxin Patterson and Austin “Fresh” Romaine had plenty of fresh legs in pursuit last season. It makes sense that Hillsboro’s solution to losing the pair of NCAA studs involves taking advantage of how few Iron Man kids are expected to perform on every play. If Sucharski doesn’t have an elite pass-rusher, he’ll make up for it utilizing high-motor numbers, taking a page from Coach O’s book in 2023.
Lastly, the Varsity Hawks’ state ranking should rise due to a truly insane turn of events in Park Hills. The CHS Rebels were running a kickoff back for a potential tying 4th-quarter TD when a penalty flag appeared in the pile near the goal-line. No big deal – the Rebels could still only be backed up 15 yards. But the Cape Central Tigers were also given a face-mask penalty on the tackle, which soon resulted in an absurd “offsetting flags” call and a brand-new kickoff granted to the other CHS. Central scored its touchdown anyway, but ran the clock down to 1:30. Once Cape Girardeau scored another quick touchdown, the game was effectively over, and thanks to the most fortunate 15-yard penalty flag the Tigers have ever had thrown on them. (Just so everyone knows how big of a story this is in Park Hills currently, the contest was delayed for about half an hour while Rebel coaches did everything but pull the roster back to the locker room, like CSKA Red Army versus the Broad Street Bullies.) Therefore, the Hillsboro Hawks can now say they’ve defeated a Class 5 champ that beat Park Hills…and HHS has done it 4 years running.
TGG has hyped this week’s Highway A battle as a potential shoot-out that could produce 100+ points scored, like Hallsville’s win over Boonville in Week 3. Yet because of the strange way that Class 4, District 1 has developed, this Friday’s rivalry tilt will be for the teams’ pleasure of playing and scouting each other out, scarcely the high pressure nail-biter which a Festus vs Hillsboro scrum often is. We’ll explore the reasons why (Little Debbie is involved again) later this week.
Festus 41, DeSoto 0
We’re noticing a pattern in DeSoto’s defeats. The Dragons are not getting blown away as readily as they used to be. Festus R-6 spent around a full quarter of Friday’s game trying to push a 34-0 lead over the Turbo Clock margin, but the Dragons wouldn’t let either Tiger QB produce the necessary points. We’ll be looking forward to the DeSoto-Windsor contest for Mississippi Conference placement that’s better matched than pundits had dreamed in summer.
Ritenour 48, Fox 25
Wow. There’s a “pattern” with Fox Football too, because every time we think Arnold is down for the count, the Red & White then comes right back with an eye-popping performance. Fox High produced over 7 yards per play against a state playoff contender, scoring 3 times in the latter half to ward off a Turbo Clock. Rusher Ayden Smith has raced for 559 yards on just 64 carries this season, as Fox establishes a key hand-off threat to play decoy for Cameron Underwood.*
How will we keep up with the great matchups in Week 5? The Highway A rivalry game will kick off alongside Fox vs Seckman, Crystal City’s rematch with Gateway STEM, and a sleeper scrum between Perryville and Grandview. The Geek loves attending Hillsboro-Festus tilts at Midmeadow Lane (and at Leon Hall), but this Friday night looks like an evening spent between 5 TV screens and devices.
*Sunday Edit: The Geek apologizes for giving Fox’s QB Cameron Underwood a completely new name for no reason at all. Then again, Fox played like a brand-new team in the 2nd half against a squad that could beat Valle U. by 6 touchdowns.
Hallsville 41, Grandview 7
With great irony, Grandview High resists a Turbo Clock score against powerful Hallsville in much the same way that the Birds of Prey fought nobly vs St. Dominic in 2022. Can the Eagles do more to fulfill the promise shown in Week 4’s tussle, compared to 2022’s dull results after the St. Dom’s game? Having more success against the 2-2 Perryville Pirates in Week 5 would demonstrate that they can.
Crystal City 54, Confluence Prep 26
Crystal City’s young blockers are starting to figure things out, much to the joy of senior O-linemen like Seth Senter, who’d rather not have to block 2+ players at once. Confluence did prove that it’s a more legitimate and lively Class 4 entry in 2023 compared to the awful Varsity Titans of last autumn. That’s not a bad deal, since freshmen linemen who’ll be counted on in the playoffs must learn against competent cogs instead of having a false sense of security crushed by Week 6.
Meanwhile, though, Crystal City is still fumbling, and The Geek is too concerned to want to talk about it now. There’s even a sense of personal guilt for TGG from the Hornets’ grease-fingered episodes. We’ll take a deep breath and talk it over soon.
Seckman 48, Mehlville 7
The 4-0 Seckman Jaguars pulled a “Festus High School” and held Homecoming Week at the end of summer, as these early Homecoming Game schedules are tricking The Geek on an annual basis. Homecoming dances, of course, are kind of a headache and otherwise not necessarily relevant insofar as the actual football scores go, except that it might be good for SHS to get its ceremonies out of the way now with Fox, Pattonville, and (we presume) Jackson on the fall slate.
Lafayette 63, Northwest 13
Northwest’s new/old coach Scott Gerling impressed The Geek in an interview after the Lafayette loss, explaining that he has leveled with Cedar Hill’s kids about the Lions’ slender chances to win Suburban League scrums.
Northwest has set a more reachable team goal of “pushing” the league’s big-shots into the 4th quarter of good games. Too many times, NCAA and prep coaches mimic the “Any Given Sunday” rhetoric of NFL coaches in an effort to sound professional, but dooming their student-athletes to be bummed about losing to Alabama by a few points. (South Florida, which did just lose to Alabama by 2 scores, is probably not feeling bad about it, having gone 1-99 for 3 years.) Northwest-CH’s goal-setting allows the team to focus on improvement.
Marquette is the next plank to walk, but Cedar Hill’s schedule becomes a little softer as the regular season goes on. The L-streak may be over in weeks.
St. Vincent 40, Herculaneum 0
The injured HHS Blackcats will also enjoy a softening schedule in October, and a game at Bayless in Week 7 should get the Felines to 2 wins if nothing else. The schedule concludes with a couple of sharp tussles against Perryville and rival Crystal City, but Herky will host both kickoffs, and could be healthier by then.
Windsor 54, Bishop DuBourg 14
First things first. The Albino Birds made something of a statement in Friday’ 40-point win, getting to 2-2 and re-establishing Windsor as the favorite in a conference game that could pull WHS above .500 on Week 5. Bishop DuBourg’s not the same cupcake that the Varsity Owls beat by 35 points last season. The Cavaliers have been slowly gaining steam on offense for close to 2 calendar years now, and yet Windsor’s defense had exactly the field day that TGG called for, netting 6 total turnovers, nearly 100 return yards, and 3 sacks of the star QB Jack Masters.
We’re not sure, though, that Windsor’s coaches aren’t still setting their sights too low, and focusing too hard on a narrow strip of the gridiron. Windsor put the ball in the air less than 5 times against Bishop DuBourg, never exploiting the Cavaliers’ biggest remaining weakness to build confidence for a WHS offense that needs balance. If Jeff Funston’s staff just doesn’t think Luke Patterson is capable of distributing the ball to Windsor’s senior skill corps, now is the best time to pull a “Northwest” and level with the kids about it. But it’s not a conclusion that an ordinary fan would make, that’s for sure. Patterson had the best completion percentage of any Varsity Owls quarterback as a sophomore last year.
Could the Owls be saving up their passing attack for DeSoto this week? It would be a clever way to try to get to 3-2. But it’s hard to trick the Dragons’ new skipper.