In their Sept. 24 regular-season meeting in Hillsboro, Festus was driving inside the Hillsboro 10-yard line late in the fourth quarter, poised for the game-winning touchdown.
But Hawk linebacker Austin Romaine forced a fumble by Tiger quarterback Cole Rickermann and Harrison Voyles jumped on it like a live grenade to preserve the home team’s 34-29 victory.
That win propelled the Hawks to the Mississippi Area Football Conference Red Division championship and the No. 1 seed in the Class 4 District 1 tournament. Hillsboro’s only loss this year was to defending Class 5 state champion Jackson. After a bye last week, the 8-1 Hawks host No. 4 Festus (6-4) in the district semifinals on Friday night. It’s the first district meeting between the schools since Hillsboro knocked off the Tigers 42-21 in 2015.
Festus has beaten St. Charles West and Sikeston the last two weeks by a combined score of 97-13. In Friday’s first-round district game against the fifth-seeded Bulldogs (3-7), Festus used a balanced attack to breeze to a 48-6 victory. Rickermann, a senior, completed 12 of 15 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns, while senior running back Kaian Roberts-Day led the Tigers with 176 yards on 16 carries.
“We’re improving as we go,” Festus head coach A.J. Ofodile said. “Going forward, part of the prep for Hillsboro revolves around the last game and it’s notable how much more technically sound we are. We are not dominant by any stretch of the imagination. Not to disparage them at all but our last two opponents are not the caliber of team we see this week.
“For us offensively, it’s been about protecting the football. In some of our losses we had untimely turnovers. We’ve been finding the right balance and diversity and simplified the run game to not overwhelm our guys in protection. At the beginning of the year, our (offensive) line was inexperienced. We don’t ask players to play beyond their skills.”
The rangy Rickermann (6-2, 175) can use his arm or legs to move the Tigers for long drives or quick strikes. Since his friend and basketball backcourt mate, junior Arhmad Branch, joined the football team this year, Rickermann’s numbers have reached all-state consideration. He’s completed almost 70 percent of his passes (121 of 175) for 2,613 yards, spraying the ball all over the field. More impressive is his TD-to-interception ratio of 27-2. He’s also run for 280 yards on 56 carries.
After catching four passes for 114 yards against Sikeston, Branch (5-11, 155) topped 1,000 receiving yards with 1,049 and he’s scored 10 touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Isaac Stucke caught TD passes of 50 and 88 yards in the Tigers’ 35-32 win over Pacific this season and has 31 catches for 733 yards and seven scores. Senior tight end Eric Ruess (6-4, 225) has caught 25 passes for 342 yards and five touchdowns.
“Our senior class and some underclassmen we have are high-end competitors,” Ofodile said. “(Friday’s game) is a great matchup between great players. We have guys who can make plays and big moments like (Hillsboro). We have guys who are built for this situation.”
Defensive backs Dalten Yates, a senior, and sophomore Trent Young lead Festus with three interceptions apiece and senior linebacker Eli Ortmann has 12 tackles for loss and three sacks. The Tigers yielded 401 yards on the ground to the Hawks in the first meeting.
“Defensively, it’s about mastering Day 1 fundamentals like alignments, stances and the cliché things you need to be a good defense,” Ofodile said. “We’ve been competitive the whole way. We lost games on a play here or there. (The Hawks) were very physical. Pacific was extremely physical. North County is doggone physical.
“Romaine, as a ball carrier and pass catcher, is a consistent competitor. (Hillsboro junior running back Jaxin Patterson), same deal. Take that and flip it to the other side of the ball when they play defense. (For) Tyler Watson (Hawk senior running back), you can say the same thing. They are the heart and soul of who they are. On top of that, they are extremely physical on both fronts. That’s the type of teams you want to play.”
The bye week was a welcome respite for the Hawk backfield. In their last game, a 45-19 win over Poplar Bluff on Oct. 22, Patterson carried the ball a season-high 37 times. He leads Hillsboro with 1,373 yards. Romaine has 815 yards rushing and 165 receiving but is even better defensively, with 34 solo tackles, including 15 for loss, and four sacks.
Ofodile was hired two years ago in part to challenge the rival Hawks, and the Tigers did that last year in the regular season, winning 41-26 at Festus. Now the stakes are raised and Hillsboro activities director Chris Schacht said he expects a large crowd and a great atmosphere, as does Ofodile.
“They’re a high-level opponent,” said the former University of Missouri tight end and assistant coach. “They play very physical and with a lot of effort. (The Sept. 24 loss) was a great game to be part of. We weren’t on the right side of the (outcome) but if you take that same feeling and put it in a playoff scenario, it heightens it even more. Who knows what the outcome will be, but I’m looking forward to it.”
In the other District 2 semifinal, No. 2 North County (9-1) hosts No. 3 Farmington (7-3) in Bonne Terre on Friday. The Hawks beat the Raiders 42-7 in a MAFC Red game in September.
Blackcats, Eagles advance in districts
After a 1-5 start under new head coach Blane Boss, Herculaneum has ripped off four straight wins and reached .500 Friday, beating Roosevelt 30-12 in the first round of the Class 3 District 2 playoffs. It was the Blackcats’ first district playoff win since 2015.
Herky is the fourth seed and will visit No. 1 St. Mary’s (7-1) in St. Louis on Friday in the semifinals. The Dragons had a bye last week and haven’t lost to a team from Missouri this year.
Coming off a 190-yard rushing performance against Perryville, Blackcat senior D.J. Johnson wore out No. 5 Roosevelt (1-8) with 240 of his team’s 347 yards on the ground.
Another I-55 Conference team that ended a long streak of district losses Friday was Grandview, which won its third straight game, beating Cuba 28-14 at home in Class 2 District 2. In this same district matchup a year ago at Cuba, the Wildcats smashed the Eagles 55-0.
Third-seeded Grandview (7-3) had not won a district game since 1992. They travel to St. Charles on Friday to play No. 2 Duchesne (7-2) in the semifinals. The Pioneers lost to Jefferson in last year’s state quarterfinals. Fourth-seeded Hermann (6-4) is in St. Peters to play top-seeded Lutheran-St. Charles (7-2) in the other Class 2 District 2 semifinal.