Hillsboro was one of 11 football teams from Jefferson County to enter Friday night’s district playoffs.
By about 10 p.m. the top-seeded Hawks (7-3) were the sole survivor after they beat visiting De Soto 36-15 in the first round of the Class 4 District 1 tournament. The other 10 football teams from the county were beaten by an average score of 49.5-10.
Hillsboro will host Farmington (No. 4, 6-4) next Friday in the district semifinals. The Knights beat Perryville 44-8 in their game on Friday. Farmington waxed Hillsboro 40-14 two years ago in the district semifinals. The Hawks lost to Cape Girardeau Central in last year’s district championship.
The Hawks used plenty of running backs not named Micheal Keller against the Dragons. Keller returned De Soto’s punt to the Dragon 20-yard line after quarterback Briar Fischer was tackled in the end zone for a safety on the second play of the game. Keller was uninjured and watched most of the first half from the sideline as running backs Adam Brody, Joe Garner, Joe Gregory, Luke Skaggs and Jeremy Hummel took turns on head coach Lee Freeman’s merry-go-round.
Gregory gave the Hawks an 8-0 lead after scoring a 6-yard touchdown with 9:05 left in the first quarter. Gregory scored again late in the first quarter to make the score 14-0.
After starting at midfield on its next possession, De Soto quickly answered. Senior running back JaDan Brown rushed for 48 yards to the Hillsboro 1, before finishing off the drive with a TD four seconds into the second quarter. Senior Mayson DeRousse kicked the extra point to cut the Hillsboro lead in half.
The Dragons and Hawks traded turnovers on the next two series. First, Hillsboro quarterback Tyler Isaacson fumbled at the De Soto 27, but five plays later Fischer’s pass was tipped into the air by Hillsboro defensive lineman Ryan Larkin who caught it when it came back down. Fischer threw four interceptions.
Two plays after Larkin’s interception, Isaacson fired a perfect 25-yard strike to senior Chase Green for a TD that put the Hawks up 22-7 with 6:42 to play in the half.
Senior Cody Douglas muffed a punt return after the Hawks’ defense forced a three-and-out, and De Soto took over at the Hillsboro 11. Brown did the rest, carrying the ball three times and ending up in the end zone with his second TD. Senior Logan Smith caught the two-point conversion from Fischer to make it 22-15 with 4:37 in the half.
The third quarter was scoreless, but the Dragons missed a golden opportunity to tie the game after they stopped the Hawks at their own 5 after a 16-play drive that chewed up the first eight minutes of the second half. Hillsboro helped De Soto move out of the shadow of its goal post to near midfield after being given a 15-yard personal foul penalty.
But Brody stepped in front of Fischer’s pass for another turnover. Keller made an appearance in the backfield, but it was the passing game that helped the Hawks pull away. Biting on Isaacson’s play-action fake, the Dragons left senior Josef Marschuetz wide open on a 25-yard TD pass 10 seconds into the fourth quarter. The Hawks led 28-15 and had some breathing room finally.
Skaggs capped the scoring with a 17-yard gallop.
Northwest led defending champs before rout was on
It all seemed to happen so fast.
Facing the defending Class 6 state champion Kirkwood Pioneers in the first round of the District 1 tournament on Friday night, Northwest took a 14-7 lead on a Caleb Camacho touchdown run with 4.7 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
By the end of the third quarter, host Kirkwood was able to rest its starters in anticipation of the next week’s game after scoring touchdowns on four of five offensive possessions and adding a pair of defensive scores in a 49-14 win.
“Football’s a game of momentum, and we had it in the first quarter, we were feeding on that,” Northwest head coach Corey Toenjes said. “But they’re defending state champions for a reason, and they had an answer for us. They made adjustments, and they’re a good football team.”
Daron Clay rushed for 107 yards on 14 carries with a touchdown and quarterback Ryan Kraichely completed 9-of-18 passes for 154 yards and a pair of scores to lead Kirkwood, which improved to 8-1. Caleb Camacho earned 103 yards on 27 carries and a touchdown for Northwest, which finished the season 4-6.
“Northwest played their hearts out,” Kirkwood head coach Farrell Shelton said. “We capitalized on a couple things, but our kids have to understand, all these teams are good, and everyone’s fighting for their last game.”
Northwest scored on its first possession of the game, with Calvin Cromer rumbling in from 2 yards. The Lions missed the extra point, and Kirkwood was able to take a 7-6 lead later in the opening quarter on a 30-yard run by Clay. But Northwest immediately responded with an 80-yard, eight-play drive, capped by Camacho’s 6-yard touchdown run, with Tanner Campbell racing in for the two-point conversion to put the Lions up 14-7.
“We were able to make some things happen that first quarter,” Toenjes said. “Our kids were battling, we were believing, our defense was playing tough.”
It was all Kirkwood from there. Justice Johnson, who transferred from Festus in August, scored on a 2-yard run, and Northwest’s next possession ended with Pioneer defensive end David Young intercepting a Fortner pass and racing in from 8 yards.
Later in the second quarter, Kirkwood went 68 yards in just over 39 seconds, as Travion Mosby caught a Kraichely pass and raced in for a 29-yard touchdown to make it 28-14 with 40.7 seconds remaining in the first half.
“That’s high school football for you,” Felton said. “It’s one or two plays here or there, and you get some momentum, and once momentum gets going, that’s high school football.”
Kirkwood added three touchdowns in the third quarter. Kraichely completed a 3-yard pass to Martez Jones, and Cooper Wise scored on a 6-yard run. Then late in the quarter, Cameron Macon stripped the ball from Campbell and raced 37 yards for the game’s final score.
“They’ve got speed everywhere,” Toenjes said. “Our kids battled hard all game, and it was exciting to be in it in the first half, but we just ran out of gas and they did a good job of taking away what we were trying to do.”
Eureka rolls past Seckman in district opener
Eureka opened the Class 6 District 1 football playoffs with a dominating 70-6 home victory over Seckman on Friday night. The Wildcats’ 70 points was a program record, surpassing its previous mark of 63.
Eureka (10-0), which is seeded No. 1 in District 1, will play host to No. 4 Lafayette (7-3) at 7 p.m. Oct. 27. The Lancers advanced with a 41-13 win over No. 5 Fox (5-5).
Eureka won its regular-season game against Lafayette 28-14 on Sept. 15.
“It was a good team focus, and now we move on to the next one,” said junior tight end Avery Taggart, who had three catches for 17 yards and a touchdown against Seckman. “We have a big game against Lafayette next week. I think (tonight) was a great game for everyone to work and focus on everything.”
Eureka was dialed in from the start against the Jaguars. The Wildcats marched 71 yards on seven plays on the opening drive with senior running back Hassan Haskins finishing things off with a 5-yard touchdown run.
Seckman (1-9), which was seeded No. 8 in District 1, misplayed the snap on its first play of the game, giving Eureka the ball on the Jaguars’ 20. The Wildcats scored three plays later on a 4-yard run by Tyler Kennedy with 6:57 left in the first quarter.
Eureka went on to add three more first-quarter touchdowns. Haskins scored on a 13-yard run with 3:27 left in the quarter. Senior receiver Gunnar Herbert caught a 44-yard touchdown pass with 1:17 left, and Haskins turned a short reception into a 41-yard touchdown as time expired in the first to give the Wildcats a 35-0 lead.
Kennedy added a 9-yard touchdown run 90 seconds into the second quarter, and Taggart caught a 2-yard touchdown pass with 8:18 left in the first half for a 49-0 lead. Sophomore receiver Kyle Miller added a 68-yard touchdown catch from senior quarterback Julien Cifarelli with 3:07 left in the first half for a 55-0 Eureka lead.
In the third quarter, senior running back Cameron Mason scored on a 7-yard run with 8:13 left in the period, and Cory Smith returned a punt 60 yards for another score and a 70-0 Wildcats lead with 4:59 left in the third.
Eureka’s defense recovered four Seckman fumbles, forced six three-and-outs and gave up only 34 yards on the Jaguars’ first 12 offensive series.
“We talked about before the game playing a championship style and execute in a championship way,” Eureka head coach Jake Sumner said. “We came out and did that.”
Seckman scored on its 13th and final drive of the game, covering 77 yards on six plays. Senior receiver Aaron Baer scored on a 40-yard pass from senior quarterback Mike Beattie to finish the drive.
“They are pretty good,” Seckman coach Doug Baker said of Eureka. “I think they are going to be a tough team to beat for anybody.
“I thought we were going to execute better, and we just didn’t. When you go up against a very good, physical team like Eureka, it is going to be tough if you don’t do what you are supposed to do. They made us pay for it quite a bit tonight.”
Other county football scores from Friday night: Lafayette 41, Fox 13; Kirkwood 49, Northwest 14; North County 47, Festus 6; Ladue 56, Windsor 7; Charleston 60, St. Pius X 20; East Prairie 36, Jefferson 21; Hayti 58, Crystal City 0; Cardinal Ritter 49, Herculaneum 0