I’ve begun preparing for the Leader football preview issues that will publish Aug. 15 for the small schools and Eureka, and Aug. 22 for the Jefferson County large schools.
I start the process by typing up all 13 school schedules in our coverage area. This allows me to start looking ahead to some of the season’s top matchups. Of course, the conference games are always full of rivalry energy and intrigue, but mainly I look forward to finding the hidden gems, matchups between schools that don’t often meet.
The last two years that meant covering the unusual contest between Seckman and Valle Catholic, who are polar opposites. The Jaguars (2023-24 enrollment 1,301) are in Class 6 while the Warriors (enrollment 99) play in Class 2. Valle has 15 state championships in football (second only to Webb City’s 16), while Seckman has yet to win a district title.
The beauty of those kinds of matchups is that the unexpected usually occurs. In 2022, Valle surged in the second half to win a 61-36 shootout at Ste. Genevieve even with Seckman’s all-world quarterback, Cole Ruble, gouging the Warrior defense for big gains. Last year, minus the graduated Ruble, the Jaguars won 34-21 at home (after leading 34-0) and went 10-0 before losing to Jackson in the Class 6 District 1 championship game. Meanwhile, Valle played Rock-em, Sock-em Robots against archrival Lamar in a 35-28 overtime loss in the Class 2 state final.
That same day at Faurot Field in Columbia, Hillsboro lost to Kearney 68-28 in the Class 4 state championship. The Hawks’ only loss last season prior to that was against Class 5 state champion Cardinal Ritter.
Hillsboro kept the county focused on football until December. It also gave the other programs here a sense of pride and stirred hopes they can make that kind of leap.
Since taking over in 2020 and immediately guiding the Hawks through COVID-19, head coach Bill Sucharski has taken a machinelike approach, producing a record of 31-6 since 2021. The Hawks have won the Mississippi Area Football Conference Red Division three straight years, running the table (12-0) in the process.
Despite all of this success, after I typed Hillsboro’s upcoming schedule, I wondered, ‘Could the Hawks start the season 0-5?’ Unlikely, but not impossible.
I asked Sucharski to sum up his schedule in one word, and he gave me the classic understatement: “competitive.”
Hillsboro starts the season at home against MICDS on Aug. 30. The Rams were rolling along at 9-2 last year before losing to Ritter, as Hillsboro did. MICDS is a perennial winner with five state titles, although it’s been a long time since their last one in 1986.
As if that opening matchup isn’t enough to scratch Sucharski’s private-school itch, the Hawks travel to St. Louis University High in Week 2. The Junior Bills are as steeped in football tradition as the Rams. Former head coach Gary Kornfeld retired after the 2022 season, compiling a 212-101 record in 38 seasons. That included winning the Metro Catholic Conference seven times, 14 district titles and four final-four appearances. The Junior Bills usually had a high-flying passing attack under Kornfeld and it didn’t change under Adam Cruz last season, when they finished 7-4.
Following SLUH, Hillsboro will settle in for three consecutive home games. First the Hawks entertain Washington before getting the MAFC Red season going against North County and Festus. If Hillsboro falls to the private powers in the first two weeks, the game against the Blue Jays will be a bounce-back opportunity, although Washington (5-6 in 2023) is no pushover in Class 5. The Missouri State High School Activities Association won’t release class and district assignments until later this month.
Hillsboro has had its way with North County since the Raiders shut them out in the 2021 District 1 final. Last season, the Hawks hammered them 48-0 twice – once in the regular season and again in districts.
Then will come the game we’re all waiting for against Festus. How will the Tigers respond after blowing a 21-0 lead over Hillsboro in last year’s district championship and losing 29-28? I’m sure Festus head coach AJ Ofodile and many returning players don’t need me to point out that their losing streak to the Hawks has reached six games.
A trip to Chaminade on Oct. 18 will be the last of Hillsboro’s unfamiliar opponents, with the Hawks’ other games coming against conference foes De Soto and Windsor and the usual late-season district tuneup partner, Poplar Bluff. Chaminade, another member of the Metro Catholic Conference, is better known lately for success on the basketball court, producing NBA stars Bradley Beal and Jayson Tatum, a league MVP and leader of the champion Boston Celtics.
I wrote earlier this summer about the St. Pius X football schedule and the Lancers traveling to Mississippi and Kentucky as they chart a new course outside the I-55 Conference. I think head coach Frank Ray will find the answers he’s looking for this year.
Some other unusual pairings I noticed were Crystal City visiting Sikeston and De Soto hosting Freeburg (Ill.) in Week 1 and Windsor hosting Rochelle Township (Ill.) the week before districts.
The Hornets are a Class 2 school that annually struggles to field 20 players, but in Dan Fox’s last two seasons they won 16 games and became credible again. That was driven by a large, talented senior class that has graduated and Fox has stepped down. Traveling to play the Class 4 Bulldogs, just a “throwed-roll” away from Lambert’s Café, might not be the best idea this year. Sikeston was 2-9 last season but for years has competed in the same district with Festus and Hillsboro and in any year can jump up and be contenders there.
As for De Soto and Windsor, I’m presuming their head coaches are trying to find competitive games outside of the conference as they rebuild. This will be Lee Freeman’s first year guiding the Owls. He led Hillsboro to the state quarterfinals in 2017. De Soto’s Russ Schmidt once again will do double duty this fall as head football coach and activities director.
De Soto just replaced its turf playing field and has plans to complete stadium renovation by next spring. Maybe that excitement will help the Dragons regain their competitive edge. A lot of good people, besides Schmidt, are working to achieve that.
Consider this my last column of the summer. Starting next week we look ahead to the 2024-2025 school year with boys soccer previews. I’ll be starting my ninth year as the Leader sports editor, 20th overall in that role and 35th year in the profession.
Let’s continue the memories this fall.