St. Pius X High School received the opening kickoff from Blair Oaks High to start the Class 2 Show-Me Bowl and the Lancers marched all the way to the Falcon 4-yard line.
That was as close as St. Pius would get to completing its historic run at Spratt Memorial Stadium at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph on Dec. 6. Blair Oaks drew on every ounce of its experience and shut out St. Pius 59-0 to finish the season 14-0.
For a team making its first visit to a state championship game against a team steeped in that experience and vying for a second straight state title, the Lancers couldn’t have planned a better start.
On third-and-11 St. Pius (9-6) sophomore quarterback Evan Eckrich completed a 27-yard pass to junior running back Brody Ervin. And on fourth-and-4, Eckrich connected with senior wide receiver Jack Michaud for 33 yards to the Blair Oaks 4. Two rush attempts resulted in one yard, Eckrich’s next two passes were incomplete and the Lancers turned the ball over on downs.
“If anything, it was a shot in the arm that the offense was able to operate and move,” said St. Pius head coach Frank Ray. “Honestly, we were disappointed we didn’t get the points, but it was the drive that we were looking for. It took over six minutes off the clock, what we’d call a quality drive.”
It took the Falcons seven plays to cover 96 yards in the opposite direction, culminating with a 6-yard touchdown run by senior QB Tyler Bax and extra point by sophomore kicker Jeg Holloway for a 7-0 lead with 4:17 left in the first quarter.
On the next St. Pius possession, junior RB Cody Shaver was stopped on fourth-and-1, Blair Oaks took over at the Lancer 43-yard line and six plays later senior WR Brady Dapkus scored a TD on a 4-yard run and the Falcons led 14-0 with 24 seconds left in the first quarter. Dapkus caught five passes for 89 yards.
Shaver concluded his historic season with 18 carries for 47 yards, putting him at 3,002 yards. According to mshsaa.org, Shaver is the 14th player in state history and the only player from Jefferson County to rush for 3,000 yards. You can’t mark that type of achievement without drawing extra attention to yourself.
“They were cuing on me the entire game. If I’d go out, they’d say, ‘Forty’s out,’” Shaver said.
It’s the largest margin of victory in state championship history. The Falcons won the Class 3 championship in 2024 and dropped a class after enrollment went down at the public school in Wardsville south of Jefferson City. It was the seventh state crown for Blair Oaks and the first one in an odd-numbered year. It’s also the first time the Falcons won state two consecutive years.
Blair Oaks head coach Ted LePage won his sixth state title, tying him for fifth on the state’s all-time list with Judd Naeger at Valle Catholic High and Ron Holtman at MICDS.
“We started on January 6 and never once were the words ‘back-to-back’ spoken until today,” LePage said. “Because they wanted to win it just as badly as they did last year. And I’m just humbled and ecstatic for these young people.
“Our message was do the little things right over and over. The goals these guys set were to be a champ every day and go 1-0 every day. That’s all I ask. We can’t let the little things slide. This week everybody’s coming at you. This (championship) week is an overwhelming week.”
After starting the season 0-3, St. Pius (9-6) was under .500 at 4-5 going into the District 1 tournament. The Lancers beat East Prairie High, St. Vincent High and Caruthersville High to win the district title. Then on two successive Saturdays at home, St. Pius shut out Montgomery County 14-0 in the quarterfinals and stunned Monroe City 40-36 on a fourth-down TD pass from Eckrich to sophomore WR Harrison Ray.
“We were happy to be here,” said Frank, who finished his third season. Harrison is his son and caught 10 TD passes this year. “We wanted to give a little more of a fight and it didn’t work out that way.
“We’ve been here one time in 66 years. I’d like to think we can get here enough times where we can walk away (state champions). Blair Oaks has been here a lot. Once you get into the final four, you’re kind of rolling dice. The draw and matchups matter. Against these teams a mistake or two’s going to bury you.”
The Lancers turned the ball over five times. Eckrich threw four interceptions – two to Blair Oaks junior linebacker Carson Verslues, whose 40-yard interception return for a TD capped the game’s scoring – and Shaver lost a fumble. Blair Oaks didn’t have any turnovers and outgained St. Pius 361-118. Oddly, the Lancers held the ball six more minutes than the Falcons, who were led by Bax’s 12 carries for 86 yards, 16 completions for 179 yards and accounted for five TDs (3 rush, 2 pass).
“Stopping them on fourth down (on the first drive) brings so much energy for the team and it helps the whole vibe on the sidelines when you get a stop like that,” Verslues said.
Trying to avoid being shut out, St. Pius got all the way to the Falcon 3 in the fourth quarter. The drive began at the Blair Oaks 43 with 5:49 left in the third. Eckrich’s 17-yard completion to sophomore tight end Wyatt Harris and Shaver’s longest run of the day of 16 yards moved the ball to the 3. But Eckrich was tackled for a loss of three yards on third down and Shaver was stopped for no gain on fourth down on the first play of the fourth.
Holloway made all eight PATs and booted a 29-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the first half to give the Falcons a 45-0 lead. The running clock began running on the second-half kickoff. The mercy rule goes into effect in the second half if a team is leading by 35 or more points.
Being able to effectively punt the ball plagued the Lancers from week 1, but junior punter Nathan Heredia got all three attempts off cleanly and averaged 31.7 yards per punt.
Senior linebacker Daniel Degeare led St. Pius with seven total tackles, one for a loss. Sophomore RB/LB Lynnden McCoin had five tackles and returned eight kickoffs for 172 yards, with a long of 40 yards.