Ameritime Sports has taken its content off of pay-per-view for this season, which coincides with a number of local media outlets pushing in the same direction. Off The Rails enterprises and a new web-based version of Mississippi Magazine (thank you, thank you) have each stated bluntly that our purpose is to transform MSHSAA media coverage back into something free for everyone to enjoy. That’s the best news of the 2021-22 offseason by far, and although no one can promise a return to basic-cable Show Me Bowl broadcasts anytime soon, we’ll get right on the horn to Fox Sports Midwest as soon as the Athletics Activities association looks ready to negotiate.
Ameritime also beat The Geek (and just about everyone else) to the punch on Friday Night Lights previews for 2022. The “2022 Schedule Series” gave JeffCo fans a handy look at the region as early as July, and though TGG hasn’t experimented with the site map, there’s a good chance some of 2021’s recaps and media have been taken off Ameritime’s previous pay-wall. That’s aces, since it’s the only site other than Mississippi Magazine to have published a feature on Emily Holt’s trailblazing 2021 on the gridiron, hailing the R-6 alum with a midseason close-up.
But (wouldn’t you know) The Geek takes slight issue with the focus of the Schedule Series articles, which analyze season records from past years as if there weren’t serious pitfalls with applying that metric to High School sports. Gauging trends in prep-sports W/L records is kind of like reading 40-yard dash times – we know that 5.2 and 1-9 are both incredibly bad numbers, while 4.4 and 9-1 are very good numbers. Yet the fast-changing rosters in prep pigskin aren’t comparable to NFL or NCAA or even Pop Warner leagues, because boys are hitting puberty while developing as players on the field. The simple occurrence of a team’s nucleus turning 16-years-old over the summer can have an impact that goes far beyond the “seasoning” of an NCAA team that’s rebuilding its upperclass depth chart, just as scheduling changes can affect a prep team’s fortunes more than when an FCS program joins the Group-of-5.
Adopting a tone of “which team will show up this year?” can be misleading when every MSHSAA school essentially has a new team that shows up every year. But we don’t want to idly poke holes in a competitor’s predictions (especially a blessedly FREE competitor’s predictions) without suggesting another way. Like the late Toni Morrison said, when there’s a book you can’t find on the shelf, write it. So, The Geek has decided to use 2022’s Northwest Lions preview as a rip-off “Schedule Series” post of Mississippi Magazine’s own, with a focus on what TGG believes are the most important things to worry about each weekend of the Lions’ new season. Hide the padawans.
Northwest Lions 2022 Season Schedule Preview
Week 1 – at Sullivan Eagles
The Varsity Lions of Cedar Hill are among Patricia the Cat’s favorite local teams – we can’t imagine why – and so the undisputed Tri-Cities Lizard Hunting champ will be pleased to know that as of right “meow,” Northwest is looking at a more confident season on the gridiron than was experienced in the forlorn days of autumn 2021. Sure, the Lions made strides in rehabbing a lineup that had lost tons of upperclassmen (as in, literally tons of upperclassmen) and the Northwest defense played exceptionally hard in pretty much all of the team’s 5 victories, in addition to a hearteningly hard-fought loss to Cole Ruble and Seckman. Yet there’s no getting around last season’s sour bookends, dual Turbo Clock losses to the Hillsboro Hawks and the Marquette Mustangs, the latter of which fared better in a rematch with Northwest after running into another stubborn front-7 performance in the teams’ regular-season meeting.
Northwest is switching to an “NCAA” offense for 2022, but that’s a move that fits the Lions’ talent and aptitude, much as the Festus Tigers benefited from getting out of the Delaware Wing-T and tossing the ball around instead in 2020 and 2021. Cedar Hill tailback Chase Viehland has been touted as the most explosive tailback in Jefferson County next to Jaxin Patterson of Hillsboro, which is awesome, but Northwest can also field a higher-quality selection of skill players around starting QB Kris “Have a Seat” Hansen than was the case when dominant runner Caleb “Macho” Camacho was taking 30+ touches for the Varsity Lions. Northwest’s senior class isn’t that large for a Class 5-6 program, but there’s lots of senior O-linemen in the mix from a pass-blocking group that’s improved 200%.
Meanwhile, the Sullivan Eagles went 4-6 in 2020, 5-4 in 2010, and 0-10 in 2000. Which team will show up this year?
No, really, Sullivan pigskin is a hard-nosed brand that frustrates favored opponents often while usually finding a path to .500 if not better throughout a slate in the challenging Meramec region. Sullivan offenses started to fool around with a more wide-open style of play beginning in the late 2010s, which accounts for most of the team’s blow-out defeats since then. But the Eagles flashed their physical traditions in a recent 6-0 upset win over Hillsboro played in a driving rain storm. Northwest should be able to handle the Class 4 (and sometimes Class 3) hosts in Week 1, but Sullivan’s reputation makes the Eagles into a rather handy litmus-test for the new-look Lions this Friday.
Week 2 – at Parkway South
None of the Park Place Parkways have been living up to the standard of Parkway North’s state-playoff run from 5 seasons ago. Parkway South may be the worst offender after posting < 3 wins since 2019, placing Park Place Parkway South closer to Baltic Avenue than Boardwalk, or at least on a crummy wharf near Marvin Gardens.
Parkway South does have a numerous Class of 2023 that could help the Patriots double or triple the program’s recent win-total this autumn. But the ’22 squad lacks powerful linemen and difference-making skill players, and any team that’s bound to struggle on offense is a bad match-up against Northwest’s 12+ available senior tacklers.
Week 3 – Seckman
Seckman’s powerful 2022 lineup is previewed here.
Week 4 – at Lafayette
The Lafayette Lancers are among the classier all-around athletic programs on Cedar Hill’s schedule, and fought through a murderous gridiron schedule to climb to .500 in 2021. Lafayette matched the season’s best defensive performances against then-undefeated Fenton Rockwood Summit in last year’s elimination game, losing just 27-0 prior to Rockwood Summit piercing Jackson High for 2 early TDs in a foreshadowing of JHS’s loss to Webb City.
Lafayette features a loaded offensive backfield that includes 4+ talented rushers and several game-worthy QBs. Zae Jones is the dynamic dual-threat and will probably take over the reigns behind center in his junior season.
Week 5 – Marquette
While coming at the end of a 3-game gauntlet in which Northwest will consistently play the underdog, the Week 5 scrum against Marquette could be a hinging point for the Varsity in Cedar Hill. Trip over lesser opponents coming out of the gate, and the game could take on a doom-and-gloom vibe with Northwest-CH already standing at 1-3 or worse and facing a bugaboo Suburban League rival. Win the “easy” games and execute hard tactics well, and there’s a chance that a fighting 48:00 against Marquette, win or lose, will feel like a sign of a successful season to come.
Week 6 – at Oakville
If springing a new playbook on Class 4 helps the Lions get to 2-0, then we can expect Northwest to be playing to get above or at least match .500 against Oakville. Even though the game will be away, it could feel like a “homecoming” of sorts as Viehland and other star performers are finally loosed to gallop in a winning performance.
Not that the defenses Northwest will face in Weeks 6-9 will be cupcakes. Webster Groves played a fantastic game of chess (imagine that) stuffing Cedar Hill’s option plays in much of last year’s David vs Goliath contest by the college, and Oakville held the Lions to a miserable 230 yards of offense despite losing to Northwest again last year.
But if 2021’s campaign is any indication, the OL will be warming to the challenge right as the leaves turn, buoying an attack that will be “teed up” a lot more often thanks to the pedestrian offense of opponents. Cedar Hill’s biggest weakness could be its pass rush, as the 2022 team returns zero players who recorded QB sacks in 2021. Conversely, the Oakville game is when speedy LBs like senior Collin Rupp could begin to bring-down passers.
Given a batch of short fields and tons of T-O-P, the offense must simply be patient and responsible, and wait for the winning TDs to come. The Oakville game should get Northwest above water if the ‘Cats aren’t there already.
Week 7 – at Parkway Central
This is a defensive coach’s dream contest by the looks of it. Cedar Hill will be favored over the host Varsity Colts, who have an exceptionally bare senior class for a large-school program from the ‘Lou. Almost nobody who touches the football for the 2022 Parkway Central Colts will be graduating with the Class of 2023, giving the school few real prospects for a gridiron revival this year.
Having said that, nearly the entire Parkway Central senior class consists of stubborn, grizzled linemen who weigh around 250 pounds. Northwest’s big OL will have fun in Week 7 since there aren’t any real bruisers in the mix – Parkway Central junior Luke Beckley is 300 pounds but lacks the length or bone-girth to be an awesome physical presence. Yet we can expect the veteran Colts to fight for every yard on the line-of-scrimmage, testing the Lions’ patience as a new coaching staff, with its spurs jingling and jangling, may be forced to try to win a game 6-3.
Week 8 – Webster Groves
Week 8’s ceremony in Cedar Hill should be accompanied by a scoreboard victory. Webster Groves, in one of the most bizarre MSHSAA stories of 2021, scored 21 points against Seckman High School in the middle of the season. The reason that mundane detail is so interesting is because the WGHS Statesmen scored exactly 3 meaningful touchdowns against the rest of the schedule combined, meaning a burly SHS defense was chagrined to have given up half of Webster Groves’ 1st-string scoring output, like a Class B hack taking a pawn from Magnus Carlsen.
Webster’s senior class is as tiny as Parkway Central’s, another ominous sign for the visiting wood-pushers.
Week 9 – Mehlville
Meh. Mehlville’s ’21 effort was as flaky on offense as some of the Lions’ other foes on the late-week schedule. It’s still a Suburban League rivalry, and should produce a livelier contest than either of the games in Weeks 7-8. But the Panthers are about to be clobbered by a series of opponents like Seckman, Lindbergh, and perhaps even Pattonville before visiting the Lions’ den in October, and may be thinned out by injury before the kickoff.