Festus recovered three Hillsboro fumbles, limited a banged up Hawk running game and continued to see growth in starting junior quarterback Quinnten O’Brien.
The Tigers are 3-0 since O’Brien replaced senior Parker Perry as the starting QB. Perry played against Rockwood Summit and St. Mary’s. Festus lost to those two talented teams by a combined six points, and Perry was certainly capable of winning the next three games but broke his collarbone against the Dragons.
O’Brien threw two touchdown passes in a 36-8 win over De Soto on Sept. 18, and he fired two more in a 20-0 shutout at Hillsboro on Sept. 25. Both victories were in Mississippi Area Football Conference (MAFC) games, and along with a 47-6 win over Windsor, Festus (3-2, 3-0) can capture the conference championship for the third year in a row with a win against visiting North County (2-3, 1-1) on Friday night. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
“We installed a new offense,” O’Brien said. “Parker is an absolutely phenomenal quarterback, but me and him have very different playing styles. I had to get my mind right and make sure I’ve got the confidence to push through. The coaches’ confidence in me gives me confidence in myself, and the whole team has my back, and I have theirs. It’s great.”
Turning the ball over decreases a team’s chances at winning, and that only compounds as the number rises and where they happen. Hillsboro (4-1, 1-1) turned the ball over once inside the Festus 20-yard line, and once at the Tiger goal line, into the end zone where it was recovered by Tiger junior linebacker Aric Luo.
“When you lose the turnover battle 3-0, with one of them on the 1-yard line – our coaches thought he reached over (the goal line) and scored before it got knocked out – but ultimately you’ve got to hold on to the ball right there. That was just huge momentum for them,” Hillsboro head coach Bill Sucharski said.
“In games like this with two good teams, it comes down to the turnovers. Both teams made mistakes with penalties. The holding calls on both teams were both right. We had some holds in the second half that were correct calls.”
Pre-snap penalties piled up faster than traffic on I-55 between Pevely and Festus during rush hour. More than once, the Tigers were penalized consecutively for the same violation. Holding calls were the most frequently called once the play began.
“I would have never believed that something could not make me feel great about winning this game, especially with how dominant they were against us early, and fighting back in as even programs again,” Festus head coach AJ Ofodile said. “We’ve been fighting back and forth. It’s one of the best rivalries in the state, as far as I’m concerned. I should be thrilled, but 25 penalties doesn’t allow that. We’ll look at every single penalty. I’ve got an idea of why. It comes down to our practice habits. From a coaching staff, we have to make sure we’re practicing in a way that doesn’t lead to 25 penalties. I’m happy we won, but it doesn’t bode well.”
On the Tigers first scoring drive in the first quarter, O’Brien completed a 30-yard pass to senior wide receiver Dylan Clinton before senior running back Kam Yates kept the chains moving with a first-down run. Junior running back Aiden Schirmer capped the drive with a 5-yard TD run with 7:02 left, but Festus missed the PAT.
Senior Auston Ross returned the ensuing kickoff to midfield to launch the Hawk drive, but Festus senior defensive end Antonio Pinkston played as much in the Hillsboro backfield as if he was part of it and disrupted drives with several tackles for losses.
“We were more focused in the film room this week,” Pinkston said. “I feel like everybody bought in to the rivalry with Hillsboro. I hope we keep that energy rolling into next week.”
Pinkston’s performance against Hillsboro will not go unnoticed by other coaches who aren’t even playing Festus this year.
“It’s about grinding and working hard when no one’s looking,” Pinkston said. “I remember the nights working in the offseason when I’d get home late at night, like 11 p.m., and then making the zero hour with Coach O. Just working my tail off with every opportunity I get, then bringing it to the table with my whole team.”
“He’s got a big motor,” Ofodile said. “It’s a big opponent. You’re going to get the best effort out of him all the time.”
In the second quarter, the Hawks moved the ball into Tiger territory on two runs by sophomore RB Jadyn Rice. But another fumble squashed the momentum with senior DB Liam O’Brien recovering the fumble.
O’Brien threw a 65-yard TD pass to Clinton, and completed the 8-point surge with a pass for two points to senior TE Braydon Wilkes for the conversion to give Festus a 14-0 lead with 3:39 left in the half.
Somehow the Hawks managed to get to 4-0 despite a rash of injuries. Not having junior Preston Ross available was a huge blow to their defense. His absence forced senior Aiden Fleming into the safety position, along with having to handle the full-time job at QB. Fleming had been sharing QB with sophomore Cody Reese, but Reese was injured in the win over North County. Preston Ross is also the team’s leading rusher.
“It was a lot to ask out of Aiden,” Sucharski said. “Cody got hurt last week and those guys have been splitting time, so this was Aiden’s first full game. That’s a tough thing, because you’ve got to get all the calls on offense, and then turn around and get the back eight aligned on coverage calls on defense. When we get Preston back (this) week, that will help shore that up and Aiden can focus on the offense.”
Also missing against the Tigers were senior RB Trey Zimmerly, who’s missed the last two games, and sophomore Jackson Sharp, who is the sixth lineman when the Hawks run their unbalanced packages.
The Hawks fumbled again before halftime, but O’Brien was tackled two yards shy of a first down and fourth-and-6 and the half ended 14-0.
After Luo’s recovery, Yates turned an O’Brien pass into a 69-yard gain to the Hillsboro 14-yard line. O’Brien swung a pass to the sideline to Wilkes, who sidestepped Hawk defenders into the end zone for a TD with 2:17 left in the third quarter to make it 20-0.
“That’s a big man,” O’Brien said of Wilkes. “Great player. Love him to death. That’s a flat route, the linebacker comes, swing it out to him really quick and the momentum’s ours. Spectacular.”
Ofodile played tight end in college and the NFL.
“For a big kid, Braydon plays the ball well in the air and can go up and get it,” he said. “The bigger issue about covering Braydon is at 235 pounds, when he gets the ball in space, it’s tough for DBs to bring him down. He’s got balance and he’s agile. Quinn has emerged as a confident football player. He’s believing in what he’s doing. He’s smart, athletic and tough. I’m excited to see his success because he’s deserving of it.”
Hillsboro is at Windsor (2-3, 0-2) on Friday night. It’s another game for the Hawks and Owls that has double meaning because both teams are also in Class 4 District 1.
It could also mean a rematch against Festus, which beat the Hawks 41-0 in last year’s district semifinals.