In 2021, it looked on the surface like Festus took a large step back from its 10-win and district championship campaign the year before, going 6-5.
But a closer examination reveals the Tigers lost five games by a combined 30 points and were a few plays away from repeating their 2020 performance. They lost twice to Hillsboro in the game’s last minute. The second defeat, 13-7, was in the Class 4 District 1 semifinals. Festus lost 41-35 to North County in a Mississippi Area Football Conference Red Division game. The Raiders beat Hillsboro for the District 1 title and reached the state semifinals.
“Year one we won 10 games and the next year we’re 6-5 and people say that’s a step back,” Festus head coach A.J. Ofodile said. “Interestingly enough, every aspect of our program, from the strength of our players, to our offensive execution, we took multiple steps forward. Wins and losses are so circumstantial.
“Change the last play of those games and we win and they don’t, and we’re the ones probably in the semifinals and then it represents a step forward. Those plays were in our control.”
Out of Ofodile’s control is seeing great players graduate and the Tigers lost a generational talent at quarterback when Cole Rickermann grabbed his diploma in the spring. He’s now at Lincoln University in Jefferson City competing for the starting QB job. Rickermann was the offensive player of the year in the MAFC Red the past two seasons after throwing for 5,000 yards and 56 touchdowns.
“If you go by the numbers, you could say Cole is the most accomplished quarterback in school history,” Ofodile said. “Our system and the timing plays into that, but you have a player who owns all of the career and single-season passing records and a guy who was a consummate leader with a great demeanor. When you lose someone like that, you expect some measure of drop-off at the position, but I’m really excited about the development of our quarterbacks.”
A three-way battle has emerged this summer for Rickermann’s replacement. Ofodile believes sophomores Essien Smith and Jeremiah Cunningham can be game changers with their scrambling ability. Freshman Jackson Smith is a talented thrower.
“Between those three guys, the position has restocked itself,” Ofodile said. “There are a lot of people who’d love to be in our situation right now. (Essien Smith and Cunningham) have thrown the ball well this summer and we are very optimistic. Jackson has that baseball release which some people criticize. But the way the game’s evolved, you need to be able to throw the ball effortlessly from different arm slots (like Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes) and he’s going to be special before he gets out of here.
“The competition will go down to the wire. (It’s) been very healthy and each of them has pushed each other directly or indirectly with their performance and encouragement.”
Whoever wins the job will pass to one of the most talented wide receivers in the state. Senior Arhmad Branch had never played football before last season. But his friend and fellow guard on the basketball team, Rickermann, talked him into it. Branch caught 34 passes for 1,049 yards (30 yards per catch) and scored 10 touchdowns. He was a first-team all-conference selection and in the first meeting against Hillsboro, Branch racked up 211 yards receiving, including a 95-yard TD bomb. Ofodile said Branch has all the tools – flexibility, ball skills, route running, release off the line of scrimmage, run after catch, play over the top of defensive backs – to play college football at the Division I level.
“I would have told you this spring that Arhmad and (Hillsboro senior) Austin Romaine were two of the most criminally underrecruited players in the area,” Ofodile said. “Now Austin has committed to (Kansas State) and I’ve said all along he’s a Power 5 guy. Arhmad is absolutely a Power 5 receiver. When he puts his senior season on film, that will play out for him.
“It’s one thing to go out there as an athlete like he did a year ago and be productive, but he was really raw. When complex situations came into play, he wasn’t necessarily equipped for it, but it didn’t show on film because of how productive he was. Now, he’s a complete receiver in every aspect. I’ve had some really good ones who’ve been recruited (by colleges) all over the country and he’s in that realm now.”
Branch was already an all-conference basketball player when he joined the football team. This time Ofodile said he’s getting a similarly talented addition from the school’s baseball team. Junior Hayden Bates played shortstop for the Tigers, who finished second in the state in Class 4 in June. He’ll play running back and kick this fall. He’s also on the basketball team in the winter.
Ofodile said when he was researching jobs before he was hired at Festus, he looked at its eighth-grade class and what was already at the high school and Bates stood out in that research.
“I said, ‘Oh, boy, we’ve got some talented kids,’” Ofodile said. “It hurt not having (Bates) those first couple of years, but now he’s a natural football player. He’s physical, explosive, can catch the ball out of the backfield and has a chance to be a special player. We think he can have the kind of impact Arhmad had on our offense last year as a first-year guy.”
A knee injury limited senior Landen Bradshaw in 2021, but he rounded into form and rushed for 594 yards and four touchdowns. His best game was against St. Charles West when he rushed for 190 yards and scored two TDs.
“He recreated his lower body from a strength and flexibility standpoint, which he didn’t get the opportunity to do because of rehab. He increased his speed and vertical jump,” Ofodile said.
The threat of injuries compels Ofodile to stock the Tiger backfield with at least five running backs. Junior Landon Yates can play slot receiver or RB. Freshmen Leaunte Williams and Omauri Anderson will get carries and Ofodile said they were eye-opening in camp.
Eric Ruess, last season’s MAFC Red first-team tight end, was the only all-state (honorable mention) selection on the Tigers last season, although Branch, Rickermann and 2022 graduate Kaian Roberts-Day were just as deserving. Senior Riley Bond replaces Ruess at tight end. Ofodile said Bond has gained 10 inches on his vertical leap in the last 18 months.
“He has been so consistent and dedicated in the weight room and now he’s one of the strongest three guys on the team,” Ofodile said. “At the end of the year last year we were scratching our heads wondering what to do at tight end, and it’s awesome when a kid steps forward to help our offense in a major way.”
Senior Peyton Besore and junior Eli Williams are the returning starters on the offensive line. Senior Quinn Tilley and sophomore Isaiah Desmarias are moving from the defense to the offensive line. The Tigers typically don’t cross over players on both sides of the ball. Senior James Muellersman joins the starters on the O-line.
“He’s one of the flag-bearers for the program,” Ofodile said of Muellersman. “He’s undersized, an underdog as a football player. But he’s a company man every day of the week, whether he’s a starter or fifth string, and he’s going to give you everything he’s got.”
Ofodile called junior linebacker Eli Ortmann “the DNA guy of the defense.” He’s fast and at 6-3, 220 pounds, can play inside linebacker, edge or safety.
Other linebackers are seniors Gavin Grass and Tyler Shepherd and junior Carter Cupp. Along the defensive line are juniors Xavier Gould, Dante Bridgett, Austin Reece, Rob Turner and sophomore Mason Schirmer. In the defensive backfield are Tyler Reece, Trey Lacey, Jeremy Davis-Mays, Jackson Reece, Brady Nolen, Zach Butler and Henry Roux. Yates and Branch will occasionally fill in on the back end.
In a scheduling oddity, Festus has only three regular-season home games this year. The Tigers open against both teams from Ste. Genevieve. They visit the Dragons on Friday and host 15-time state champion Valle Catholic on Sept. 2.