Eureka running back Brandon Webb hammered his way for 110 yards on 31 carries, and a touchdown, while the Wildcats defense was smothering as second-seeded Eureka defeated visiting third-seeded Rockwood Summit High, 21-3, in a Class 5 District 2 semifinal Nov. 7.
Eureka (8-2) will play at top-seeded Kirkwood (8-1) in the district championship Friday at 7 p.m. The Pioneers beat Eureka 24-21 on Sept. 26 in a Suburban Conference regular-season matchup.
“It feels awesome to be in the playoffs and we were locked in at 7 p.m. all the way on both sides of the ball,” Eureka junior defensive lineman Noah McCollum said.
Webb finished Eureka’s opening scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. The Wildcats marched 49 yards in nine plays and Webb ran for 32 yards.
“Violence, violence, violence,” Webb said. “We were tired of our first drives not ending in touchdowns and we changed that tonight. It felt great.”
Summit (8-3) had a chance to cut the lead late in the first quarter, but Evan Wade’s 24-yard field goal attempt was blocked by McCollum.
“It was huge to get that block and everyone helped on that,” McCollum said. “It wasn’t just me.”
Just before halftime, Eureka got a touchdown through the air as senior quarterback Patrick Hutchcraft connected with Levi Fieser on a 30-yard scoring strike.
Summit got what would be their only points of the night on a 33-yard field goal by Wade, cutting the Wildcats lead to 14-3 at the break.
Eureka opened the second half with a methodical 12-play drive, capped by Blake Sitton’s 1-yard touchdown plunge, stretching the lead to 21-3 with 6:31 left in the third quarter.
The 18-point cushion freed the Wildcats defense to be relentless and stifling as the Falcons were kept out of the end zone all night. Eureka head coach Jake Sumner praised his defensive unit’s work as it forced a pair of interceptions by Jack Berry and Sitton.
“Our defense around the red zone was lights out and just played to the next level, and with playoff football, that’s what you hope for. And credit our defensive staff and that group of boys over there, how they prepared and how they went about their business and executed tonight was very special,” Sumner said.
As fun as it was for Eureka, it was a painful finish for Summit coach Eric Stewart as he watched his team’s playoff run end.
“We moved the ball pretty well, but we didn’t execute down on the goal line and ended up getting a field goal blocked, and that game’s a lot different than if we can push it in the end zone,” Stewart said. “There’s a lot of things where the ball didn’t bounce right for us.”
The Wildcats, who won a district title in 2023, are looking forward to facing Kirkwood with a chance to advance to the state quarterfinals on Nov 22.
“We’re excited, we’re healthy and we’re ready to get a win,” Webb said.
Eureka girls cross country wins second straight team trophy
After finishing second to state champion Eureka High School at last year’s Class 4 girls cross country championships at Gans Creek in Columbia, Blue Springs South High sprang to first place with 87 points on Nov. 7.
With Blue Springs South comfortably ahead of the pack, the Wildcats were embroiled in a three-way race separated by four points for the other state trophies. Webb City High (second, 133), Eureka (third, 135) and St. Teresa’s Academy (fourth, 137) finished on the medal stand. It was the 12th podium finish for the Wildcats, who won in 2024, were second four times, third four times and fourth three times.
Eureka head coach Darrell Lewis knew who his team’s primary competition was before the race. The Jaguars beat the Wildcats at the Chili Pepper Festival in Arkansas, and he said, on paper, St. Teresa’s was faster.
“Webb City had a great day. They moved up big time in the last K,” Lewis said. “We were in the hunt for a trophy. Ultimately, we set big goals and aim high and we were hoping for the championship. Coming home with the trophy shows we are consistently one of the top teams.”
After a full season of travel and Saturday morning starting guns, Lewis said it’s a delicate balance in the intensity in training the week of state.
“Trying to peak or taper, everybody’s a little different,” Lewis said. “You don’t want to give them too much. We were a little relaxed and I missed the mark on that.”
From the time she finished first at the First Capital Invitational and Stan Nelson Invitational the first two meets of the season, senior Brooke Samuelson didn’t miss the mark once as she moved to the front of Eureka’s pack despite not running her junior year. She won the Suburban Conference championship in 18:36.25 at McNair Park in St. Charles on Oct. 20. Eureka won the conference team title with 74 points.
At the end of her sophomore year, Samuelson finished 134th at the state meet. Two years later, she climbed all the way to 14th with a time of 18:56.3.
Sophomore Claire McKinnon (19th, 19:04.2) was the other Eureka all-state medalist. The top 30 runners are all-state.
Joplin senior Ava Doll won the state title in 18:06.4. Doll passed Cor Jesu Academy senior Mary Mckenzie after 4,000 meters and Mckenzie was second in 18:10.3.
Lewis also coaches Samuelson on the track and field team in the spring, where she’s more of a middle-distance runner. She has run the mile in 4:56 and competes in the 800-meter run.
“She doesn’t necessarily consider herself a distance runner,” Lewis said. “She’s a middle-distance runner who’s also good at distance events. She put in more time this summer than was expected and as a result had a fantastic year.”
McKinnon’s state time was close to her personal best.
“She had a great day and actually fell in the middle of the race,” Lewis said. “We were hoping for a 25 to 30 finish for her, so she exceeded expectations.”
Seven runners on each team start the race and the top five times factor into the team score. Senior Abigail Smith was 33rd in 19:20.4, just a second from being all-state. Junior Sofia Hoerchler (40th, 19:38.8) and sophomore Olivia Golden (81st, 20:28.5) scored for the Wildcats, and senior Haley Meek (83rd, 20:30.4) and sophomore Madison Schepis (97th, 20:42.2) were 6-7.
“Sofia and Abi Smith ran a lot of the race together and both had pretty good days. I don’t think the times show it,” Lewis said. “Olivia was an alternate at state last year. In the spring she plays soccer and she came on this year.
“We sat down in July and had a goal-setting session. They wanted to win conference and did that, go back to state and bring back a trophy, and they did that.”
Eureka seniors Jackson Dalton and Joe Rauls, and sophomore Andrew Perry qualified for boys state, and Perry turned in the best place (70th) and time (16:42.3). In their final races, Dalton was 79th in 16:51.7 and Rauls was 99th in 17:10.
Liberty North High won the Class 5 championship with 77 points. Columbia Rock Bridge High (second, 81), St. Louis University High (third, 97) and Blue Springs South High (fourth, 150) were the other team trophy winners. Rockhurst sophomore Jack McGovern won the individual title in 14:52.2.
Trio of leading scorers return for Eureka basketball
The Eureka High School boys basketball team has posted a winning record every year since the 2016-2017 season.
That kind of consistency is possible when there’s a message from the same coaching staff that goes down to the lower levels. Austin Kirby has been head coach for the Wildcats since the 2014-2015 season. It took three years for Kirby to turn Eureka into a winning program, and the Wildcats haven’t looked back, posting 20 or more wins twice and winning district championships in 2023-2024.
Last year’s squad finished 16-10 after losing by two points in overtime to Marquette High in the Class 6 District 1 semifinals. This year, the Wildcats return their top three leading scorers; all are seniors.
Forward Jaxson Joggerst (6-6) has been on the varsity since his freshman year. He averaged 9.9 points per game and has a realistic chance of reaching 1,000 career points if he ups that average to double digits. Kirby said Joggerst practices every day like it is Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Also the school’s top pitcher in the spring, Joggerst is an Indiana University baseball commit.
“The ace in our pocket this season is Jaxson,” Kirby said. “He’s played a million games and has played every position in his career, and there is no one I trust more than Jaxson. I can’t speak to how hard he practices and prepares.”
Guard Joe Rauls led Eureka with 12.5 points per game and 51 3-point baskets. He just joined the basketball team this week after qualifying for the Class 5 state cross country championships in Columbia on Nov. 7. His brother, sophomore Ty Rauls, played in eight games last year but has been promoted to starting point guard. Ty scored 11 points against Parkway South in a district game.
“Ty’s going to have a more significant role at point guard. I’m going to do everything in my power to keep Joe off the ball,” Kirby said. “Even though Joe runs cross country, we don’t want him to wear down. Joe is muscular and physical. People lean and hang on him and he learned that last year when he moved to top of the other team’s scouting report.”
Forward John Haberkorn (6-2), a Southeast Missouri State baseball commit, was one of the most productive players off the bench in the St. Louis area, shooting 46 percent from the field and averaging 11.4 points. He averaged 20 points per game in the last three games of the year.
“We liked his change of pace,” Kirby said. “He’s cut from the same cloth as Jaxson where he just wants to win. Watching them practice against each other is like watching two rams smashing into each other. They laugh and pick each other up and are best friends. John is the most unstoppable basketball player I’ve ever coached. When he has the ball, it’s nearly impossible to stop him with one player.”
Senior Drew Mojeski started at guard the second half of last season and slides into a defensive role guarding other teams’ best players.
“Drew is extremely fast, pound for pound our strongest kid,” Kirby said. “We’re looking forward to him growing his game. He’s catch-and-shoot. He’ll have big nights because so much attention will go to the other three. I let him in the gym many times a week to shoot.”
Another baseball player, Tyler Sweeney, was on the basketball JV last year and gives Kirby another guard who can shoot from the perimeter.
Junior Jameson Foley just finished soccer season, and Kirby awaits players from the football team, which is playing for a district championship Friday at Kirkwood High.
For the third year in a row, Eureka begins the season against St. Francis Borgia, and tips off the season in Washington on Dec. 5. The two teams have swapped wins in the previous two meetings.
“The home team has held serve. They’re super well coached, and it’s a team that has three or four games under their belt before we play,” Kirby said.
The Wildcats will host their first home game Dec. 9 against Francis Howell High, another regular early-season foe of late. Last year, five Eureka players scored in double figures in a double-overtime win over the Vikings.
Eureka girls need healthy Allen to thrive
With the two leading scorers from last season returning – albeit one who’s still nursing an injury from soccer season in the spring – Eureka High School head coach CJ Herbert has a vision for this year’s Wildcats.
“I’m kind of excited. I think we can play faster this year,” Herbert said. “As long as we’re healthy, we’re looking to increase the pressure we put on people. We’re going to be young. I think we’re going to be fine.”
As is customary for Eureka, the Wildcats begin play this season at the Troy Buchanan Tournament. They open with the host Trojanettes as the No. 7 seed on Dec. 2. Troy reached the Class 6 state quarterfinals last season. Fort Zumwalt South is the top seed in the tournament, and the Bulldogs finished third in the state in Class 5 last year.
Seniors Marleigh Allen and Mia Cuneio return for their fourth seasons and played for Eureka in the final four in 2023 when the Wildcats finished fourth in the state under former head coach James Alsup, who guided them to their only state championship in 2000.
“That’s a lot of experience at the guard level and luxury to have,” Herbert said.
A 5-10 guard, Allen suffered a severe hamstring injury that forced her to miss most of the soccer season. On the hardwood last winter, she led Eureka with 13.3 points, 3.36 assists and 2.84 steals per game. She scored 20 or more points four games in a row, including a career-high 23 against Pattonville High.
“We’re not 100 percent yet,” Herbert said. “She’s been practicing without contact. That could change soon. As much as anything, she’s nervous because if her hamstring goes again, her season would be over. At some point, you have to trust and believe it’s good.”
Cuneio, a guard, led the Wildcats with 58 3-point baskets and averaged 12.4 points per game. She drilled the game-winning shot from downtown to beat Ursuline one of the two one-point wins in four days over the Bears.
“Every year she gets better in ways other than standing at the 3-point line,” Herbert said. “She can get to the rim and take a step back and shoot. She’s a good defender, too. We’re trying to get them all to put pressure on people. The moment won’t be too big for her.
“We are reliant on Marleigh and Mia to score. We’ll find out by committee and some other people will step up and give us some scoring.”
Junior guard Laila Jackson tore her ACL her freshman season and wore a knee brace when she got back on the court as a sophomore. Free of the brace, Jackson has the ability to shoot from the perimeter.
“She’s taken it off and is moving a lot better. I’m excited to see her back,” Herbert said.
Seniors Bailey Thebeau, Tessa Bauer, one of the few forwards on the team, and Maddie Rakey all have plenty of varsity experience; Bauer averaged four points and two boards and all can knock down 3s. Herbet said Rakey is good at setting screens, grabbing rebounds, “being tough.”
Junior Caroline Conley, sophomores Journey Vaughn, Ellie Rakey (Maddie’s sister) and forward Addison Schapaugh, and freshmen Chloe Dorsey and Heidi Garrett are on the varsity roster, although the underclassmen will play some JV and freshmen games.
“We’re going to try and have three teams this year. It’s kind of a shell game,” Herbert said.
Eureka posted a record of 19-9 overall and won the Suburban Conference Yellow pool title with a perfect 5-0 mark. The Missouri State High School Activities Association has not released class and district assignments as of the Leader deadline.