As I begin this week’s column about county teams entering district football tournaments Friday, on the forefront of my mind are the Jackson Indians.
But Russ, they’re three counties south and not covered by the Leader. But, in two weeks either Northwest or Seckman will have to drive down I-55 about an hour and a half to play in the Class 6 District 1 championship to once again be swallowed up by “The Pit” the Jackson fans, their culture of winning, and let’s not forget the dozens of players who make up the 9-0 Indians, in what many are saying (off the record) might be their best team ever. So yeah, they’re on my mind.
It’s not like there’s no evidence to support my worries. In the 2018 and 2019 Class 5 District 1 finals, Fox took two strong teams built on a bruising running game, only to get mugged in “The Pit” by a combined score of 91-43. In 2020 – the COVID season – Fox’s enrollment bumped it up to Class 6. By avoiding Jackson that year, the Warriors went all the way to the state semifinals. The Indians won the Class 5 title, their only one.
By 2021, it was Seckman’s turn to face the defending state champion, and not even Cole Ruble was enough to overcome a 52-14 loss. Jackson lost to an even bigger powerhouse – Webb City – in the semifinals that year.
When I talked to Seckman head coach Nick Baer about the Jackson mystique, he by no means was looking ahead of the Jaguars’ Class 6 District 1 semifinal rematch at Northwest on Nov. 6. I wanted to know what he remembered about playing in Jackson, which is 9-0 and has a bye this week as well. The Indians await the Lindbergh/Oakville winner on Nov. 6 in the other semifinal.
“We haven’t got a great look at them,” Baer said. “We know what we’re getting ourselves into. If we get that opportunity, I hope we can give them a better matchup. We haven’t been in a district final there since 2021, but as coaches, we know what it’s like to go down there and play. They’re the class of the state. They’re the standard for a community being behind a well-run program.”
Under Baer’s leadership, the Jaguars have come miles, winning enough Suburban Conference titles to move up two ranks within the color-coded system that’s used. Just think about the possibilities if Jackson was moved to another district.
“That’s not a choice we get to make,” Baer said.
Another football team outside of Jefferson County that’s making news that impacts one of our teams for the wrong reasons is Farmington. The Knights are the No. 4 seed in Class 5 District 1, along with top-seeded Fox, St. Mary’s (2), Cape Girardeau Central (3), Poplar Bluff (5) and Mehlville (6). Farmington hosts the Mules at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Last week, the Missouri State High School Activities Association forfeited four of the Knights’ games for using ineligible players. The Farmington R-7 School District filed an appeal with MSHSAA. Poplar Bluff was one of the forfeited games.
On Sunday, Andrew Kauffman, communications director for MSHSAA, said, “Farmington requested and was granted an emergency hearing before the MSHSAA Appeals Committee on Saturday (Oct. 24). Following the hearing, the Appeals Committee upheld the forfeiture of Farmington’s first four games, but ruled to reinstate the students involved.”
Fox (5-4) earned the top seed by winning its last two games and going to Chesterfield on Oct. 23 to beat Parkway Central 42-14. QB Jude Pribish and RB Ryan Joggerst both went over 100 yards, and the Warriors steamrolled the Colts for 409 on the ground. Joggerst’s TD runs of 8 and 42 yards in the first quarter gave Fox a 14-0 lead. In the second, Nehemiah Glanville returned a punt 46 yards for a TD, and Pribish hit paydirt from 16 yards about two minutes later to make it 27-0. Pribish opened the second-half scoring with a 3-yard TD run, and Jacob Edwards finished off the Warrior scoring with a 2-yard TD.
Class 4 District 1 is a repeat of the Mississippi Area Football Conference schedule, with a talented Sikeston (7-2) team thrown in as the No. 2 seed. The Bulldogs’ two losses were to: pause for dramatic effect – Farmington and Jackson, of course. Festus has won District 1 the last two seasons and the Tigers (7-2) will rest up this week as the top seed and on the strength of a seven-game winning streak. Of the 12 high schools I cover in the county, the Tigers have been at the top of my unofficial power poll all year. And their defense is playing light’s out. Combine that with a veteran coaching staff and plenty of players who’ve been to a state final and semifinals the past two years, and it’s hard to imagine
De Soto, Hillsboro, North County, Windsor or even Sikeston upsetting Festus.
Speaking of state finalists, St. Pius X is the No. 1 seed in Class 3 District 2. The Lancers (6-3) played in last season’s Class 2 Show-Me Bowl, but were moved up because of MSHSAA’s Championship Factor. St. Pius faced another one of those schools who’ve whipped up on Jeffco teams for more than a decade when unbeaten Valle Catholic (9-0) came to the Lancers’ new stadium on Oct. 23 and turned it into a Warrior romp 52-6.
Herculaneum’s four-game winning streak ended in De Soto with a 17-14 loss to the Dragons in a nonconference game Oct. 23. The Blackcats (5-4) are the No. 3 seed in District 2 and host Lutheran South (2-7) on Friday.
Valle is the No. 1 seed in Class 2 District 2, where Jefferson (6-3) enters on the heels of a monumental 23-14 win against St. Vincent on Oct. 23. The win wrapped up the Quad County Conference title, the first conference title the Blue Jays have ever won. They previously played in the I-55. The Warriors dominated the I-55 and Blue Jays for years before the conference dissolved. If they meet in the district final Nov. 13, we’ll see if things have changed.
Our two teams in Class 1 are winless Grandview (0-9) and Crystal City (2-7), which wrapped up the regular season against each other in a 28-8 Hornets victory. The Eagles travel to O’Fallon on Friday to play Veritas Christian Academy (3-4) in the first-round game in District 2. Veritas beat Grandview 40-22 earlier this year. Crystal and Principia (2-6) have a bye before meeting at JJ Commerford Stadium on Nov. 6 in the District 2 semifinals.