Mississippi Magazine’s 2025 Fantasy Tournament matched four of Jefferson County’s teams who refused to play enough common opponents for so long, it was time to put them on a PlayStation and see who might win hypothetical bragging rights. This time, we’re going with the BIG SHOTS – 2026’s Fantasy Tournament highlights a 6-Team Bracket to determine a midseason county champion.
Feel free to debate who would really win in the MSHSAA Facebook Group. But remember, it’s just a midseason fantasy, a look at how the teams’ current lineups might play against each other right now. We take injuries into account, and there is no ken for whether it looks like a school will win or lose “IRL” in Weeks 7-9. It’s not a Power Poll – it’s an old-school “JCC” kickoff!
All games may be viewed on Jefferson College Television (JCTV) on Saturday Tape-Delay.
2026 Jefferson County Fantasy Tournament
Seeds (Based on MSHSAA Points)
#1 St. Pius Lancers (Bye)
#2 Northwest Lions (Bye)
#3 Hillsboro Hawks vs #6 Fox Warriors
#4 Festus Tigers vs #5 Seckman Jaguars
Quarterfinal 1: Hillsboro Hawks vs Fox Warriors
Hillsboro’s peak 2026 form might bamboozle the Fox Warriors. But with HHS still missing Trey Zimmerly and package quarterback Cody Reese, while working rehab-cases like Nathan Bulback into the mix again, the combination of Class 5 Fox’s size, defense, and momentum is too much for Leon Hall’s simplified midseason playbook. Fox’s QB Jude Pribish crashes through after his team’s third touchdown drive to put the Warriors up 21-17 midway through Quarter 4.
Hillsboro skipper Bill Sucharski calls former Hawks head coach and current Windsor HC Lee Freeman to ask what to do, having not really dealt with Flexbone football since his last trip to Annapolis. “Switch to a four-down offense,” advises Freeman, and the Hawks oblige, methodically driving to the Fox 3-yard line while using up all but :10 of the Game Clock, aided by two 4th-down conversions.
QB Aidan Fleming scrambles and eventually finds room down the near sideline, but he plants a cleat out-of-bounds at the final gun. Leon Hall has more respect and honor than the Michigan Wolverines … so the referees do not huddle and restore the clock to 0:01.
Final Score: Fox 21, Hillsboro 17
Sucharski: “Our kids watching in the trainer’s room said our broadband was sketchy. That’s on me.”
Pribish: “I’m still a fullback, if you think about it. This game was full of Jude Pribish.”
Quarterfinal 2: Festus Tigers vs Seckman Jaguars
It’s a dream-come-true at Tiger Stadium, except the old-timers who used to stand on FHS Elementary fire escape and watch the old field are dreamier about Seckman. They’re awed by the crazy gap between who they’re seeing take the field now, and what they used to see Seckman show up with 10-or-more seasons ago. Their last memory of the Seckman Jaguars was the Jags’ 2010s program that used to come to the Festus Jamboree each summer, but not often to play Festus. Seckman came to play the litany of urban Small Schools like Cleveland High, because any solid Class 4 opponent was too much for Imperial’s struggling squads. WOW – turn around, and a decade later, the Jags are a feared area powerhouse. The Tiger alums are glad not to be visiting The Valley.
Once again, injuries tell the tale. Festus is more experienced at Iron Man pigskin than the Seckman Jaguars, who’ve built a 6-1 record on pure grit and determination while the Tigers went on an uneven, but heartening, active four-game win streak. That seasoning allows Braydon Wilkes to dominate the first half, scoring catch-and-run TDs and sacking QB Jaxson Jablonski.
Seckman loads up its reserve WR corps for a wide-open third quarter. Jablonski hits WR Nick Weidler on a 34-yard strike to close the deficit to 28-21. Festus QB Quinnten O’ Brien, however, is nearly as accurate as his teammate Parker Perry. O’Brien resumes peppering the Jags with comeback-targets to Wilkes and downfield passes to WR Dylan Clinton. By the finish, it’s evident that Midmeadow Lane is playing on a wider field with a fuller range of weapons, but only thanks to SHS’s injury-thinned lineup.
Final Score: Festus 35, Seckman 27
Seckman HC Nick Baer: “There’s so much fiction in Mississippi Magazine, you’d think they’d overlook Injury Reports.”
Festus HC A.J. Ofodile: “Braydon is a guy who’s been doing some special things for us. When a defense has single coverage on him in plus-territory, it makes … it makes … well, look, it makes absolutely no logical sense.”
Semifinal 1: St. Pius Lancers vs Festus Tigers
St. Pius X has a ball welcoming Festus High School back to Hill Valley for the first time in this century. It was about 30 years ago when St. Pius scored its first-ever victory over Festus on the gridiron, in a game which The Geek attended. The FHS Tigers broke formation on their way to the postgame dressing room, so anguished by losing to the Lancers for the first time that they were shedding tears and slamming into blocking sleds.
The boys were sad because a crosstown win streak ended. Now in 2026, without a “crosstown” football rivalry to speak of, Festus and St. Pius X can have a clean, enjoyable contest in our Fantasy Tournament without the pressure that went with a Tigers-Lancers clash back in the day. That goes double for a “Week 7”-themed Fantasy Game in which the Tigers have a backup QB throwing to a makeshift (or shift-making) wide receiving corps, and St. Pius is trying to remember what Gibson Southern’s physicality felt like.
Then again, the Tigers haven’t had to play Hannibal yet, so maybe both opponents are vulnerable to the early gut-punch?
St. Pius tailback Cody Shaver’s specializes in gut punches. Shaver takes on the Black & Gold defense right where it is strongest, changeling into a “Herschel Walker” instead of a Barry Sanders-vibe. ILB Aiden Schirmer’s opposing front-seven is so solid that Shaver’s explosive carries disappear, but his 5-yard and 6-yard gains are enough to control the bean for Hill Valley. Shaver manufactures a 15-yard TD on SPX’s trademark Speed Toss, giving the physical Lancers a 13-7 lead at the break.
But the SPX defense’s only weak point is the same as FHS’s – the lack of five or six elite defensive backs who can fill out a “dime” package. Festus rallies up as much of its “postseason” WR corps around O’Brien as the Injury Report will allow for – Wilkes, Yates, Clinton, and Associates – letting the Tigers’ alternate signal-caller go to town like it’s still 2025. O’Brien flutters a wide-open Screen Pass to Yates, also known as “A 70-Yard Touchdown.” Later, Yates takes a Sun-Dial Noon carry 21 yards to tie the score 21-21.
Hill Valley runs out the final 1:12 with R-6’s defensive front scowling and growling. But then again, WR Harrison Ray is running like a gazelle up the sidelines for the Lancers’ offense, and QB Evan Eckrich’s arm is almost always at its most accurate late in a close game. Can the SPX Lancers pull off a coup for MSHSAA Small Schools? Will the Tigers find a way to scrape by in overtime?
Suddenly, a Bull Horn blast shrieks at the field, and stops the Tigers and Lancers from going ahead with the OT. It’s a … Pirate Ship! The Hannibal Pirates have sailed down the Mississippi looking for Highway A, and they’re using Plattin Creek for a port.
“Arrrgh, Mateys! Where would the Festus Tigers be?”
“Right here. We have looked forward to seeing you. That’s how we let Bonne Terre’s quarterback look like Tom Brady.”
“Aye, we’ve looked forward to seein’ ya’ scoundrels too! That’s how we let Saint Dominic sack our booty!”
Just then, a Black Knight airman parachutes onto Father Dalton Stadium II. He has a “Farmington Football” sticker on his helmet. “Hey, St. Pius Lancers, you’re looking forward to us a little bit too, right?”
Eckrich: “Sure, but we focus on the team that’s in front of us. Coach Ray says it’s a culture thing.”
Shaver: “Yep.”
The Culture sends St. Pius X to the line-of-scrimmage, ready to play the OT, while the Tigers continue looking forward at the Pirates. The Black Knight who represents the Black Knights takes careful notes as St. Pius X advances in the Fantasy Tournament via a 25-yard TD pass to Ray, whose solo streak to the end zone looks too much like a Rockwood Summit kick return for R-6’s comfort. Festus throws four quick incomplete passes on purpose, hoping to hurry and go meet another Show-Me Bowl runner-up.
Final Score: St. Pius 28, Festus 21
Ofodile: “I don’t knock our kids for getting distracted. Our winning culture is to try to beat Class 4, first and foremost.”
St. Pius HC Frank Ray: “If we have our way, Class 4 had better get used to us. This is only my fourth year here.”
Semifinal 2: Northwest Lions vs Fox Warriors
The Warriors do not intend to lose a third straight lopsided game to the Lions. Remember, the Fantasy Tournament doesn’t have anyone making excuses to skip road trips, so by the time the semifinals come around, it’s the “Week 12” atmosphere where each team has to deal with the other’s fan support in any stadium. Fox rekindles the huge cheers of its recent victories at home (with upgraded video streams and fanfare, we might add!) when Pribish powers his way for an early ball-control touchdown drive. Northwest’s host crowd only roars when Stark hits Jeremiah Clines – more of a threat on offense in ’26 – for a 35-yard TD.
Northwest shares Seckman’s patient game plan against Fox, but for different reasons. The healthy Varsity Lions want to keep Cohenn Stark lurking as an all-unit threat to change the scoreboard with an INT, a kick return, or even a block, while leaving enough pep in the senior phenom’s legs to mesh, fake, give, and keep that Cedar Hill running game humming the way that he has in two straight encounters with Arnold. Stark’s ball-control offense starts to click just as Fox’s predictably sputters, leaving a halftime deadlock of 10-10 on the scoreboard. Would the converted QB, or a kid who was born to be his team’s QB win the day?
It’s a trick question! Northwest cycles the sophomore QB Carter Stark into action, a rookie who has not thrown an incomplete pass while keeping the Lions offense grooved in when called onto the field in 2026. He is not necessarily the younger brother of Cohenn Stark, so let’s not go there yet. There is no good reason for The Geek to assume that Carter Stark is the brother of Cohenn Stark. Mississippi Magazine waits for official word on these things, for reasons obvious to anyone who’s followed the site this season.
With the teams still trading body blows late into the fourth quarter, Carter Stark lines up as an ordinary slot receiver, then takes a backward toss from Cohenn for a good old Double Pass, such as the Jefferson Blue Jays used to vanquish the Perryville Pirates last weekend. Carter’s trick-play pass is recognized early by Arnold’s defense, but Clines fans out to get in Nehemiah Glanville’s business, leaving Kaleb “Cuz” Belcher all alone downfield for a go-ahead TD, caught on a prettier pass than Jefferson got off.
Northwest High sighs with relief at the Game Clock showing 2:00 left. Pribish, not a stereotypical Option QB by any means, rapidly moves the Warriors inside the Lions’ 20-yard line and takes a last shot at the Northwest end zone. The final throw falls incomplete.
Final Score: Northwest 17, Fox 10
Northwest HC Scott Gerling: “I think Iron Man tactics would work for Class 7 and Class 8 teams, too. Maybe even Class 9.”
Fox HC Brent Tinker: “Kirkwood could win Class 7 if there was one, so I hope Gerling’s right.”
2026 Fantasy Tournament Final: St. Pius Lancers vs Northwest Lions
Strange that this matchup featured in last year’s Fantasy Tournament, even though neither side was competing for top-ranked status in JeffCo at the time. Northwest and St. Pius X are undoubtedly BIG SHOTS of the riverside now, making 2026’s final even better.
Northwest’s giant fans’ contingent helps to fill up Hill Valley’s “61-67” bleachers for the first time. Except that there are many JeffCo fans, such as the MSHSAA Group member Tiffany Waller, who are proud volunteers and boosters of both programs. So, there are neutral folks in the home-field bleachers on the “Campus” side, too, and they’re shocked at what they witness in the opening half.
It looks like a decent matchup of Class 3 and Class 6, but … St. Pius X looks like the team from the larger school. The thrilling 2026 Lancers lineup has more fast kids than the Varsity Lions, superior blocking, and a deeper offensive backfield. It’s not a duel between Stark and Shaver’s carries, because the Lancers’ duo of Shaver-Ervin dishes up an elite ballcarrier on just about every running play. Stark can’t carry the football on every play for Northwest – heck, both Starks together couldn’t do it. Ervin takes one of his patented carries Blue Boy would be proud of (“Remember Meee …”) for an early TD on one of the snaps when Shaver isn’t terrorizing NHS.
Hill Valley is leading 22-6 by the third quarter, and the St. Pius X defense and special teams are rocking and rolling. Hunter Hylton’s linebacking corps builds hotels in the Lions backfield, scoring tackles-for-loss and forcing punts every time Northwest’s senior QB threatens to get his Read-Option offense going downhill. David Schulte caved in half of NHS’s blockers to quash the XP attempt following Stark’s lone 36-yard TD gallop in Quarter 2. To begin Quarter 4, the St. Pius punt team pins NHS in the coffin corner.
The Lions get a miracle in their favor. It begins to rain – a lot – and the Bermuda grass at Hill Valley begins to get soaked, gnarled, and nasty. But instead of helping the Lancers like it usually would, the slippery turf begins to help Northwest’s less-large line make its blocks, causing Schulte’s defensive line to slide sideways and backwards away from daylight. It’s the same tactic that SPX had originally hoped to have at its disposal against Monroe City in 2025’s Class 2 semifinals, before a scheduling change pulled that Final Four game out of a rain-sleet-snow day that was headed for Tanglefoot.
With the edge of traction against SPX’s slipping defensive line, Cohenn Stark begins running for five yards around one end, and then seven yards around the other end, and then nine yards up the … AHH!!! He’s DOING HIS CAM NEWTON THING. Stark leads a TD drive and scores a 2PT’er to close the gap to 22-14.
The rain provokes a rare fumble for Hill Valley’s offense at midfield. Northwest uses its sudden-change down to hit an explosive play on a quick Flanker-Screen pass to WR Kaleb Belcher down to the 4-yard line. Cedar Hill’s other Iron Man star Jeremiah Clines takes over the rushing effort against a tremendous goalline defensive front of Jackson Jercinovic, Schulte, and Collin Spink. It’s a hard row to plow with the Lancers seeking to protect their eight-point lead. But the Northwest Lions are not the Arizona Cardinals, and Clines finally plunges in on 4th down to make the score 22-20. 2PT conversion? Heck, it’s raining harder. Stark takes it in standing up! Phone-cameras click beneath the umbrellas across both sets of bleachers as Northwest hails a potential comeback win. It’s 22-22 with just 4:00 left.
Coach Ray grabs the St. Pius X coaching staff for an emergency huddle. “Look, if they’re gonna Cam Newton us, we’ve gotta Cam Newton ’em right back!” Ray exclaims. Cody Shaver appears behind center as the Lancers’ new “Wildcat” quarterback, taking direct snaps and running Student Body Right and Student Body Left for first downs. When the Lions catch on to the simple strategy and tackle Shaver for a water-logged loss at the 50-yard line, that’s when the deadlocked Lancers play their ultimate trump card.
It’s the TEXAS ROADHOUSE OFFENSE! Schulte begins lining up at Fullback, OT, Tight End, and elsewhere, shifting positions in the Wishbone like Drew Lauer at St. Charles West did in 2013 … except that Schulte happens to be 6’7″ and 300 pounds. SPX’s beef on the hoof is too much for Northwest’s defense – as soon as Gerling thinks he’s got his best man on him, Schulte changes roles and blasts a smaller defender off the rock. SPX, now down on the opposing 15-yard line, looks certain to score and win.
Cohenn Stark gets an idea. If a Force Field could somehow trap Schulte, and keep him from shifting around, the Lions could figure this out for sure! Stark uses fantastic brain power to form an “Interlink” of his mind with Father Dalton Stadium II.
But wait – IT’S STILL RAINING!!! The rain -fries- the Force Field’s electricity, causing the senior linchpin to get zapped by a massive short-circuit on the 10-yard line. He’s cooked! Shaver sprints right up the middle for the winning TD and a wet celebration.
Final Score: St. Pius X 29, Northwest 22
Gerling: “I guess you could say we got shocked there at the end.”
Stark: Zzzzzzt zzzt … Zzzzzzt zzzt ..
Coach Ray: “No, The Geek didn’t give away a secret playbook. David is already contributing to our offense. Besides, no opposing scout is going to read Mississippi Magazine’s comedy stuff.”
Eckrich: “If they’re going to call it the Texas Roadhouse, I guess we might as well go get a steak.”
Shaver: “Yep.”
2026 Jefferson County Fantasy Tournament Results:
Winner: St. Pius Lancers
Runner Up: Northwest Lions
Semifinalists: Festus Tigers, Fox Warriors
Others to Qualify: Seckman Jaguars, Hillsboro Hawks