Crystal City Hornets at Herculaneum Blackcats
Week 9 being the time when Mississippi Magazine begins to close down its regular-season coverage and starts looking at the District playoffs more closely, most of our predictions for this Friday night will be of the concise “Quick Picks” style, moreso than any typical tome-weaving from The Geek.
There’s one exception, and you’re looking at it. We can’t give Herculaneum vs Crystal City the “Quick Pick” treatment. Blackcats vs Hornets is the proudest, longest-lasting rivalry Mississippi Magazine gets to blog about. It wouldn’t matter if Crystal City were 0-8 and Herculaneum were 8-0, though we suspect that the game will be better-matched than that in 2023, and in the years (we hope) to come. All which matters is that Crystal City Hornets and Herculaneum Blackcats helmets are lined up across from each other again, glistening in the beautiful beams of Friday Night Lights.
Herky hosts Friday’s iconic meeting of teams following a year of pain and adversity. HC Blane Boss might have made things worse with a bitter, savage postgame interview after losing to Perryville by an unspeakable score in Week 8. But while we know Herculaneum’s form in October isn’t always what it was when the Felines were healthy in August, the worry on Crystal City’s behalf is that Herculaneum pigskin can be just as resilient in Week 9 as it is when the numbers are up.
The Blackcats nearly beat Bradley’s Farm with a comeback in 2022, overcoming injury woes (sound familiar?) to lay a licking on CCHS in the 2nd half. Senior QB Jackson Dearing’s offense found daylight and open receivers as the Hornets nearly blew a substantial halftime lead. It took a seminal kick-return TD from Kanden Bolton to turn the tide and seal CCHS’s massive W.
Bolton was “Christian McCaffery at Valor Christian Prep” in last fall’s Herky vs Crystal City game, racing for around 400 total yards and scoring TDs on all 3 of his team’s units. The fact that the Hornets have kept Bolton and a crew of #2’s fellow track stars healthy while Dunklin sustains catastrophic injuries could be keeping Boss’ coaching staff awake nights, even if previously hospitalized Damien Light is planning to suit up for the Varsity Blackcats again this week.
Crystal City’s worst enemy this year, however, hasn’t been big, strong, healthy defenses. (Gateway Tech had one of those.) It’s been the thick turf of natural grass fields, which slowed CCHS’s vaunted option game down to a crawl in Week 7’s loss to the host Van-Far Indians. The week prior, the Hornets had taken on a similar Russellville defense and scored almost at will on home turf.
It probably hasn’t escaped Herky’s coaches or players that their Varsity turf is slower than Sunken Place’s field, and that Crystal City’s 2023 nemesis is away-games. We don’t know whether Boss’ groundskeepers will be encouraged to pull off a “Notre Dame vs USC” and create an even deeper, soggier surface for the Blackcats and Hornets somehow. Yet the fact remains that Herky can be confident of stopping Crystal on a few extra turns thanks to the Hornets’ road disadvantage, if – SUPER BIG “IF” – HHS has enough healthy bodies to keep a pretty good defense out there.
Nolan Eisenbeis is not slotted into a major-league QB’s duel on Friday. We’re not even sure if QB Keaton Reeves will take every snap for the Felines, since Herky has tried several quarterbacks this season and (surprise!) has had QBs injured too. Eisenbeis will be tasked with avoiding the grave mistakes that cost Crystal City in Week 2, and remember that Herculaneum’s best path to a touchdown begins with a turnover or a series of penalties taken by the 6-2 Hornets.
It’s been a while since Homecoming Night, and the swift CCHS Hornets are eager to start flying around the field and running down the sideline with #12’s epic laterals again. But with a potentially precious 2-game homestand in the Class 1 postseason on the line, it might suit Crystal City and its defense for the QB to not toss the bean through the air very much at all this Friday. Herculaneum, for the second year in a row, doesn’t have the offense to faithfully drive 70+ yards on the Hornets. Yet like Chaffee in Week 1, the Blackcats have the strength to simply drill their way for a short-field TD. Eisenbeis would even be smart to “eat the ball” and take a Herculaneum safety if chased in the Crystal City end zone, instead of pitching the ball up for grabs and risking 6 points for HHS.
Herky may be advised to use the “Opposite Sketch” tactics of passing at the start of regular drives, but running after any sudden change-of-possession in the Blackcats’ favor. We know from the Chaffee game that CCHS can’t stop a bullish running game 3-and-out every time, and once Herculaneum gets to the opposing 40-yard line, they’ve got all 4 downs. But the only way Herculaneum’s going to drive ALL the way is to get Camden Mayes’ defense to back up.
Finally, there’s the mystery of whether HHS and CCHS sports administrators are going to make Herculaneum vs Crystal City football dates into an annual tradition once again. It’s been 2 years and a “Flip-Flop” season since the Tri-City series began back up. Fox vs Northwest stopped having its rivalry scrap of legend every year a few seasons back, and the reasons are complicated. The Seckman Jaguars’ and Windsor Owls’ reasoning for not having the “Battle of Imperial” any more couldn’t be simpler – the way things stand these days, SHS would romp the poor Albino Birds. Consequentially, there’s cause to worry CCHS and HHS might find some reason not to play.
What about that? Should the Herky vs Crystal City game become a “sometimes, if we feel like it” rivalry, with duel coaches carefully going-over Junior High game film to see if one team’s kids are destined to blow-out the other’s in 2-3 years? Will the Blackcats be asked to play so many conference games – with Perryville and Bayless now in the mix of I-55 Conference combat – that Coach Blane Boss gives up the Crystal City contest in favor of making a tiny out-of-conference slate work better, as Fox decided about its legendary tilt vs Northwest? Or, should Herculaneum and Crystal City High be MARKED DOWN IN INK on perpetual calendars, and scheduled to grapple each other in our oldest rivalry game FOREVER and EVER and EVER?
This once – JUST THIS ONCE – The Geek will avoid giving an opinion, and instead, leave the last word to the late All-Japan and NWA world champion Terry Funk:
PREDICTION: HORNETS 28, BLACKCATS 9
Jackson Indians at Festus Tigers
The media is drawn to offense in the sport of pigskin, and this time, The Geek is one of the moths to a flame. Gosh, it’s hard to overlook the matchup of Hayden Bates and the Festus Tigers’ attack going-up against powerful Jackson, a team that could very well find itself in the Class 6 Show-Me Bowl, not long after JHS’s bid to win C5 was spoiled by an heroic Webb City.
Can the RB duo of Bates and Amyas Edwards make hay against an annual state Large Schools contender? How will Jeremiah Cunningham fare if the Black & Gold’s quarterback spot is still NOT a duo, with Essien Smith sitting out and (hopefully) healing up as a potential secret District weapon? Is what seems like the offensive line’s immense progress just a mirage? We’ll find out on Friday night when the Tigers tee-off in a scrum that head coach A.J. Ofodile has pointedly made into less of a ceremony.
But it’s not fair to judge an offense in a Week 9 game when the standings are settled. We judged Hillsboro’s offense – with an A-grade – in a Week 8 kickoff last Saturday but only because the Hawks were playing in special grudge-match circumstances. FHS, unlike the Seckman Jaguars, holds no grudge against Jackson. Ofodile, for all of his rhetoric about “dreaming” of a contest like Festus-Jackson 2023, would actually dream of playing the top-rated CLASS 4 team in the postseason, or for a conference belt, or for a title in any class or division that the Tigers were actually competing in. Coaches of both teams at Festus R-6 will be hesitant to ride their hottest hand to victory, since touches must be distributed very carefully when District tourneys are right around the corner. The host quarterback will be handing-off often, and not always to the Tigers’ top duo.
What’s fair is to give Festus High’s bullish new defense a litmus-test against the best. As far as The Geek is concerned, Jackson is playing the old SEGA Genesis disk “Great Football” in which you began with a 40-point deficit and had to score enough consecutive TDs to come back (since they had spent the video game’s whole budget on the ‘offense’ design, of course, which wasn’t really so Great after all). Jackson’s offense rolled for 63 points against Farmington even as the Black Knights mounted long drives to kill the clock, and hasn’t otherwise been slowed by anyone but Edwardsville, Francis Howell, and arguably the Holt Indians in what’s been a season of revival following Jackson’s 6-4 campaign of 2022. If studs like Mason Schirmer and Rob Turner can throw ANY kind of a crimp in Jackson’s high-octane machine on Friday night, then we’ll know FHS is honest-to-goodness for real this year. PREDICTION: JACKSON 39, TIGERS 14
Hillsboro Hawks at Poplar Bluff Mules
Hillsboro’s offense proved indomitable late last season, “careful” touches or not. Mississippi Magazine would ask questions about the pattern of lax Leon Hall finishes on the gridiron, ponder the implications of injury woes in Week 7 thru 9, and cautiously predict 3-touchdown and 4-touchdown wins for the Blue & White over tough opposition. A handful of explosive rushes, and dynamite defensive plays later, and the Hawks would have themselves another 55-6 blow-out, shredding a prediction like so many failed defensive lines that went against the Hillsboro Hawks in the memorable year of ’22.
We won’t make that mistake again. Even though Poplar Bluff can probably throw for 55%+ and get its yards against Hillsboro’s defense this season, PBHS has once again become too interested in track meets to perform as the Tortoise beating the Hare. Preston Brown’s offense just got some weighed-bat training against Cardinal Ritter, and could knock one out of the park against a C5 team that may be a tad overconfident after winning 4 straight. PREDICTION: HAWKS 49, PBHS 17
Ladue Rams at Fox Warriors
Ladue’s 45-0 win over Class 4’s Riverview Gardens last week did not prepare the off-year Varsity Rams for facing Fox on Senior Night. Prior to that cupcake bowl, the Rams lost 3 in a row in much the same fashion as Arnold’s 5-week skid. PREDICTION: WARRIORS 24, LADUE 21
Seckman Jaguars vs Webster Groves Statesmen (at Kirkwood)
Northwest isn’t one of those struggling teams that tries to “invent” a blood rivalry with opponents who scarcely notice them, another mistake of DeSoto Dragons football under its previous coaching staff. It may be that Cedar Hill’s padawans find themselves cheering for or against Seckman in Seckman’s other games sometimes, for whatever reason. But it’s because of the circumstances that this season’s Week 9 is when the undefeated Seckman Jaguars and winless Northwest Lions should join hands in unity as Class 6 Suburban League brethren, as a sort of big-brother-and-little-brother deal. Webster Groves, recall, is the club that did the dirty, dastardly deed of extending Northwest’s awful loss streak by a single point in Week 8.
In fact, if the Lions and Jaguars kids talk on the phone at all this week, it could be like the “Leave It To Beaver” episode where Theodore (the little brother) tells Wally (the older brother) that a new group of kids up the street just picked on Theodore.
“You want me to go up there and sock ’em for ya, Beaver?” asks Wally.
“Yeah. Go up there and sock ’em for me, Wally,” says Theodore.
“Heck, okay. ALL of ’em, Beaver?” asks Wally.
“ALL of ’em, Wally!” says Theodore.
That sounds about right. Go up there and sock ’em for us, Jaguars. All of ’em. For Cedar Hill, and for everybody. PREDICTION: JAGUARS 1,000,000, WEBSTER GROVES -6
Northwest Lions at Mehlville Panthers
Mehlville is playing a Class 2 or average-Class-3 level of pigskin during its winless 2023, and has only scored meaningful points against weak McCluer since playing its best scrum in a while against Oakville in Week 2’s 10-point defeat. Still, it’s possible that the Panthers could make a trap-game opponent for Northwest in an emotional kickoff for both sides, and Mehlville’s defense can definitely pounce on a fumble and then dance around in celebration with the best of them.
It’s like a Large Schools version of Grandview vs Crystal City in 2019, after Grandview had already gotten its confidence level up a tad from the winless season of 2018. We felt as though it could be CCHS’s chance to capitalize on a blue-collar team’s turnovers and score some TDs from a short field, but the Eagles stayed steady and smooth throughout a nice victory at the Sunken Place. After fighting the battle of their young lives to try to avoid another 0-9 campaign, the Northwest Lions may merely need a strong dose of patience to get over the hump at MHS. PREDICTION: NORTHWEST 32, MEHLVILLE 14
Cuba Wildcats at Windsor Owls
Cuba’s offense is dead-as-a-doornail. We hope the program doesn’t follow in kind. As a Class 2 brand with 0 meaningful TDs scored on the season, there’s no way the Cigars can hope to burn any holes in the improving Windsor Owls on Friday.
Such a stark mismatch creates a crisis for HC Jeff Funston, who doesn’t want the Albino Birds to feel too “HOOT-RAH” about themselves after breezing to a 50-point victory, then get shocked by faster speed and fall behind against Union or Gateway STEM in the Class 4 Q-Finals of Week 10. This week, of ALL weeks, the Windsor Owls should put the football in the air and attempt to manufacture some confidence for a talented-but-quiet WR corps. What does WHS have to lose? Not the game. PREDICTION: ALBINO BIRDS 56, CIGARS 0
Jefferson Blue Jays at St. Vincent Indians
We’ll break our new rule about picking St. Vincent’s unpredictable I-55 kickoffs this once, since The Geek has a hunch about Jefferson – with or without Nate Breeze – on Week 9’s road trip. We’re talking about a Jefferson R-7 program that tends to snap back from defeat very well, at least once the Jays are already in solid form. (7-1 qualifies as “solid form” with room to spare.) The Varsity Blue Jays haven’t lost a game to the St. Vincent Indians in the entire 2020s, to say nothing of blow-out defeats. Jefferson will be especially keen on an I-55 championship with Class 4 level teams hogging the talk of District 2, making Jefferson more of an underdog in its next shindig than vs St. Vinny’s. PREDICTION: ST. VINCENT 36, BLUE JAYS 30
St. Pius Lancers at Perryville Pirates
The Geek expects an entertaining well-paced tilt from these 2 conference bridesmaids, and we’d give SPX the edge on the thick turf of Hill Valley. Perryville has been a beast at home this season, however, and the Class 4 numbers (and finally, deep experience) of the Varsity Pirates should tell the tale in a suspenseful 4th quarter. On the bright side, look for the wide-open side of Frank Ray’s playbook to help the Lancer offense come alive against quality defense again. The easy drive down Highway 55 should ease SPX’s see-saw ride and allow for a reset. PREDICTION: PERRYVILLE 30, LANCERS 22
Grandview Eagles at Chaffee Red Devils
How much has Chaffee improved since Grandview last met the Red Devils? Chaffee began the season with a nice TD drive against Crystal City’s exciting defense, which seemed like a fluke at the time but turned out nothing of the sort. Chaffee would go on to win 3 games in 4 weeks at one point, getting over bugaboo foes of old like Malden and Hayti along the way. The Chaffee Red Devils haven’t beaten anyone with a solid record, but scored twice vs powerful Scott City in Week 7.
At least Grandview is getting better too. It just hasn’t shown up in the W/L column because GHS’s defense and turnover-ratio began to get better just as the conference slate turned stone-cold hard. The Birds of Prey arguably had their own “Hillsboro at Cardinal Ritter” performance against a small-school Show-Me Bowl contender when resisting a Turbo Clock from St. Vincent and its 200 Red Zone turns last Friday (TGG made that up, but that’s what it felt like). Chaffee’s new Double Wing isn’t unlike Jefferson’s old Double-Wing that hurt Grandview in a different era, but it’ll run up against a gigantic D-Line this weekend. PREDICTION: EAGLES 42, CHAFFEE 12
DeSoto Dragons at Orchard Farm Eagles
Goodness gracious, the DeSoto Dragons have just a little bit of legit momentum going, after the noble 2nd half against Hillsboro and a 21-point performance (and a Standard Clock for 48:00!) against visiting Cape Girardeau Central. HC Russ Schmidt doesn’t know the Orchard Farm Eagles like he knows the CHS program inside and out, but the host Eagles are still somewhat of a mirage at 6-2 against a lucky schedule, and could be a candidate to be surprised by an upstart team with nothing to lose and everything to gain from earning a #6 seed that would avoid Festus and Hillsboro in the Q-Finals. PREDICTION: ORCHARD FARM 28, DRAGONS 20