In 25 days, prep football is back.
When county teams take the field on Aug. 26, four of the best football players in the St. Louis area will begin their senior seasons.
Hillsboro’s Jaxin Patterson and Austin Romaine, Northwest’s Chase Viehland and Seckman’s Cole Ruble have all established themselves as players to watch in 2022 based on their past performances. Patterson, Romaine and Viehland all play running back; Ruble has been the Jaguar starting quarterback the last two seasons.
Combined, the four have rushed for 13,079 yards, or about 7 ½ miles. They’ve accounted for a total of 145 touchdowns. Romaine just committed to Kansas State University. Ruble is the defending Class 4 state wrestling champion at 160 pounds. Patterson played baseball at Hillsboro and for Festus Post 253 this summer in the American Legion. Viehland competes as a power lifter and has been deemed Northwest’s strongest athlete since his freshman year.
Here is a look at each players’ offensive career rushing statistics: Patterson (625-4,060); Romaine (244-2,118); Ruble (484-4,271) and Viehland (496-2,630).
The Leader will publish football previews for the county schools from the I-55 Conference on Aug. 18 and county schools from the Mississippi Area Football Conference on Aug. 25.