Fox (4-1), which is in Class 5, will host Marquette (5-0), a Class 6 school, on Friday. The Mustangs’ signature win this season was against Kirkwood on Sept. 13. Junior Christopher Kreh leads Marquette with 916 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns.
A 44-yard TD run by Cole Elwood (a 2019 Fox graduate) in the fourth quarter was the difference in last year’s 21-17 win by Fox.
“They’re very aggressive,” Fox head coach Brent Tinker said of Marquette. “We’re trying to become more of a power in the south and they’re doing the same thing in the West (St. Louis) County area. Last year we were senior heavy and beat them and now the tables have turned. If we play and coach well, we can play them. It’s going to take a focused effort to get ready for them.”
Tinker has been shuffling players in and out of his two lines because of injuries. That includes senior captain Austin Dearing, whose status for Friday and beyond is unclear. Tinker said Dearing is one of the best football players in the St. Louis area and his loss is significant.
However, his absence didn’t keep the Warriors from racking up 529 yards of offense in a 49-21 win at Oakville on Friday in a Suburban West National Division game.
Thanks to a quick-strike offense, Fox led the Tigers 21-0 by the end of the first quarter. Jake Waters caught a 30-yard scoring strike from QB Brock Inman with 6:02 left in the first. Carson Elwood scored the first of his two TDs in the first half from 3 yards with 3:44 to go, and Juhaud Thompson dashed 80 yards for the final TD with 1:37 to go. Thompson grabbed an Inman pass and went 53 yards for a TD in the second quarter and finished with 140 yards of offense.
“He is a dynamic athlete. He has a lot of potential. He needs to keep on growing,” Tinker said. “Ethan Phillips got banged up and Juhaud got more attempts. We protected Brock just long enough for him to get the ball away (on Thompson’s receiving score). We have not come close to reaching his potential.”
The Warriors got touchdown runs from Chase Maxey (20 yards) and Chris Lowery (38) in the second half. Ten Fox backs carried the ball for 384 yards. Two of Inman’s three completions were TDs. For the season, he’s completed 12 passes and five have been touchdowns. Waters caught three passes for 77 yards against Oakville.
“(Waters) has the best hands on the team,” Tinker said. “He caught some big passes for first downs. Brock has a good arm. As we continue to maximize our roster, you will see more of Brock in play-action.”
Elwood, Luke Pisoni and Maxey continue to shine on defense. Inman and Noah McGinness both had an interception in Friday’s win.
“We don’t have a superstar on defense. We play a bunch of kids on defense, maybe 18 or 19,” Tinker said. “Coach (Dennis) Sander has worked hard to maximize the roster and get the kids in the right situation.”
Jags fall to Mehlville
Seckman and the Panthers rushed mightily against each other in Mehlville’s 38-14 victory on Friday.
The Panthers gained 337 yards on the ground and the Jaguars piled up 267. Lukas Salsman led Seckman with 138 yards on 15 carries. Jags quarterback Joe Stuckmeyer completed six passes for 145 yards.
Defensively, Brandon Granger led the Jaguars with seven tackles, while Miles McPheeters had a sack and Logan Hanson recovered a fumble. Seckman has recovered nine fumbles this season.
The Jaguars fell to 1-4, but they’ve lost three of those games by a combined nine points. In a battle of 1-4 teams, Seckman hosts Oakville in Imperial on Friday.