Seckman Jaguars at Hazelwood East Spartans
Seckman at Hazelwood East, from what can be gleaned at MSHSAA.com, will essentially headline Thursday night’s football slate in Missouri. That’s a strange thing to say when it comes to a contest between 5-1 Seckman, a contender for honors in the Suburban League and the Jefferson County Power Poll, and the 0-6 Hazelwood East Spartans.
Why, it’s just another mismatch between the Jaguars and the cellar of the Suburban League, right? Nope … and not just due to the injuries that have hurt Imperial. The Geek thinks Cardinal Ritter and Lift for Life’s “Thursday 10/8” date at MSHSAA.com is a misprint – they’re also listed as meeting on 10/10. You can look at this Thursday night’s schedule if you wish – but trust TGG that Seckman’s game is the best matchup. The issue in getting folks from outside Imperial and Hazelwood to follow the outcome is that one team’s winless record is deceiving.
Seckman’s injury cases seem likely to be concentrated between the hash marks, rather than at skill positions besides quarterback. Of course, the Jaxson Jablonski move to quarterback impacts the SHS running back corps in the same way Parker Perry’s rehab stint impacts the FHS Tigers, by snapping the pigskin to an athlete who could flourish taking touches elsewhere. Yet, it has worked for Seckman and Fox to take their best RBs and put them behind center, where they can still dominate on the rush.
Week 1 and Week 7’s running back and wide receiver corps haven’t changed that much. Mississippi Magazine listed a Seckman TD versus Hazelwood Central as “Jaxson Jablonski to Carter Bough,” but more rewatching revealed that it was the Iron Man star Nick Weidler who took a sneaky handoff from Jaxson Jablonski, before throwing to sophomore Logan Harris for the score instead. Seckman’s healthy skill players are developing skills that they never thought they would have to, at least not with the Jaguars. Meanwhile, Harris and Weidler can work together to “flood” a defense’s coverage, when they aren’t passing to each other.
The Jaguars don’t mind being a mystery-weapon team that can trick opponents in different ways, with more than one arm tossing the bean around. It’s fortunate, though, that Seckman has a warehouse full of hefty underclass linemen and LBs ready to play Fridays, if OL-DL-LB is where the injury problems have hit hardest.
Jackson Rutledge’s two interceptions, not to mention Boyer Hart feeling sturdy enough to have played a surprise Iron Man role against the Fox Warriors, shows that the Jags’ WR-DB boundary corps has also survived the injury woes to some extent. However, Hart did not factor in Week 6 after starring against Fox, making you worry that the speedster turned up limping in Week 6 practice. Coach Nick Baer did not betray any saddening news for Hart when he praised the youngster on a podcast following the Fox win.
Thursday’s matchup is not as easy for Seckman High as it looked when Hazelwood East was losing to Hazelwood West, a previously 1-9 team, to begin this season. Hazelwood’s schools have bettered their gridiron fundamentals, and East’s offense came alive against Ritenour this midseason. Yes, the Spartans are 0-6, but they look like the hardest 0-6 opponent in the STL Metro. Hazelwood East has successfully resisted the Turbo Clock against Hillsboro, Kirkwood, and Parkway’s two powers.
Toughest 0-6 team? How about “best offense that isn’t scoring?” Thursday’s host Spartans haven’t scored a point since losing Week 4’s 32-24 slugfest to 4-2 Ritenour, a game in which the victorious Overland kids needed to recover four fumbles to get by. Ritenour went on to beat Pattonville 38-35 in Week 4, while the HEHS offense took a step backward via two consecutive shutout defeats.
Hazelwood East’s lineup seems to have been hit where it hurts, in the offensive backfield, and maybe in the trenches too. The Spartans’ dynamic RB pair Marquan Kohlien and Amaree Johnson combined for nearly 200 yards against Ritenour, but they were held to a frightening < 50 combined yards by Parkway West. Then Kohlien vanished from the mix in Week 6’s even worse team rushing performance against Parkway North. Ritenour, Parkway West, and Parkway North have comparable defenses, making it another mystery why Hazelwood East made so much Week 2-4 noise, followed by the icy offense that’s cursing a solid defense. Two injury-plagued teams may be about to meet near the airport.
HEHS’s quarterback Tyshawn Tillman has been – how do we say this on a site that never directly knocks a player? – charitable in tossing INTs when the Spartans’ run game isn’t working. That’s Rutledge’s cue to go ball-hawking, and flip the field for the Jags.
If Seckman can’t win decisively in the trenches, due to its thinned ranks, Hazelwood East has a chance for the upset. We’ll put faith in those many big-boy substitutes at the Varsity Jaguars’ disposal. PREDICTION: JAGUARS 21, HAZELWOOD EAST 6
This preview will be reposted as part of the Week 7 Friday Night Predictions.
Photo Credit: Ben Middleton (Purchased from STLMedia)