The St. Pius X Lancers are in the 2025 Show-Me Bowl. QB Evan Eckrich and the 9-5 Varsity Lancers stunned the Monroe City Panthers with a last-ditch comeback victory in what was described on 104.7 KRES as “one of the greatest High School football games in Missouri history.” Eckrich found wide receiver Harrison Ray with the winning touchdown throw on 4th-and-goal from the Monroe City 1-yard line with time running out and no timeouts left for either team. Hill Valley has joined the hallowed air of teams like the 1991 and 1995 Herculaneum Blackcats, becoming the first Jeff County program smaller than Class 4 to make the state championship finals since QB Jon Lewis’ Blackcats did so 30 years ago.

What’s the bigger ka-bang – St. Pius X’s historic state title bid or today’s instant-classic semifinal with Monroe City that thrilled the largest crowd in SPX sports legend? The Geek regrets that he doesn’t do recaps this time of year (too much competition!) because Russell Korando of the Jefferson County Leader has the exclusive recap-job of a lifetime. SPX and Monroe City waged a see-saw battle that included a hard-to-believe performance from 5’8″ senior rusher Quincy Mayfield of the Panthers. St. Pius fought back with an unreal effort on offense, Eckrich throwing three clutch touchdown passes on the best day of his fledgling career, bouyed by Cody Shaver’s two TDs and a pick-six from Cayden Payne.

St. Pius may have just hosted the greatest State Semifinal this side of Valle Catholic and Columbia Rock Bridge. The fourth quarter of St. Pius vs Monroe City matched every bit of the Herculaneum-Warrenton clash’s epic drama in 1995. It may have surpassed last year’s tense fourth quarter of Festus-Warrenton in sheer excitement, peaking as Hill Valley’s throng of thousands of spectators looked up with 3:00 left and realized that the Lancers might just win it. Congrats to a young St. Pius X team for playing like veteran champs!

Lancers fans can be forgiven for trying to storm the field before the referees sorted out the last skirmish. Heck, they’re experiencing the coolest thing that has ever happened on the gridirons we all grew up with. Hillsboro, Festus, and St. Pius X have now combined to send three teams from two ends of Highway A to the Show-Me Bowl in consecutive seasons … and there’s one Class 4 Semifinal left to play at Midmeadow Lane! Can the FHS Tigers maybe, just maybe, match the Black Friday heroics of the Lancers?

It’s not a fair standard for the Tigers to have to live up to. But if they do? Then St. Joseph, MO could get a dose of Double Trouble from Festus in eight days.

Photo Credit: St. Pius X Football Facebook