Fox High School senior center midfielder Ryan Kettler broke the school record with his 26th career assist in a 3-2 loss to MICDS on Oct. 13. Kettler is a four-year member of the Warrior varsity. The record was previously held by Rusty Curran, Fox class of 1992.
Kettler has at least four more games to add to his total. Fox, which has a record of 8-12, is at Seckman High (8-8) today (Oct. 23) in a C-6 rematch from a September game the Jaguars won 2-0. Plus, the Warriors will play at least one game in the Class 4 District 1 tournament.
Earlier this year, Fox head coach Nate Niehaus recorded his 200th career victory at the school.
“Ryan has been a four-year varsity player for Fox,” Niehaus said. “He’s the leader of the team on and off the field. Ryan is an excellent center midfielder that plays great passes to his teammates.”
While we’re on soccer, Northwest High is surging at the right time. After starting the season 3-4, Northwest, which is also in District 1, has a record of 14-7, has won five games in a row and eight of their last nine. In its last outing Oct. 17, Northwest beat Bayless 2-1 on PKs.
The Leader broke the story when St. Pius X was voted out of the Jefferson County Activities Association. At the time Perryville High’s boys soccer team was running amok in the conference, blowing out De Soto High, Festus High, Hillsboro High and Windsor High in most games. The Lancers were the last team other than the Pirates (10-3) to win the JCAA in 2018. Perryville extended its streak of JCAA titles to seven, going 4-0 with four shutouts. The Hawks (5-13-2) gave the Pirates the toughest battle in a 1-0 defeat.
Kettler wasn’t the only player from the county breaking school records. Jefferson High senior softball player Annabelle Richardson now holds her school record for home runs and finished her career with 21 after the Blue Jays lost to East Carter in the Class 2 District 1 tournament.
Moving on to girls volleyball, the state tournament was held at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau since 2011, but the powers that be at the Missouri State High School Activities Association decided to move the event for all five classes to the Civic Arena in St. Joseph’s. That means any teams from the county who make it to the final four will have a 320-mile trip (one way) instead of roughly 80 miles to Cape Girardeau, depending on which team qualifies.
Unlike soccer, the district seeds are prepared for volleyball and county teams snagged two top ones in Class 4. Defending state champion St. Pius X is No. 1 in District 2 being held at Webster Groves High. JCAA large-schools champion Windsor (3) and Festus (4) are also in the district. The district tournament is underway with the semifinals today (Oct. 23) at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. and the final Monday, Oct. 27 at 6 p.m.
Hillsboro held the top seed in District 1 at Cape Girardeau Central High and the Hawks (21-5) have won more matches each year since 2021. But the eighth seed, De Soto, eliminated the Hawks in five sets, 17-25, 27-25, 18-25, 26-24, 15-11 Wednesday. The Dragons (7-17-2) play West Plains (4, 24-6-3) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the semifinals.
Class 2 state champions in 2022, Jefferson High (17-11-4) is seeded second in District 4, which the Blue Jays are hosting. Valle Catholic High (25-6-1) is the No. 1 seed and beat Jefferson in straight sets in September. The two teams play tonight in the championship at 6 p.m.
Our largest schools, Fox, Northwest and Seckman are in Class 5 District 1 at Cor Jesu Academy in St. Louis County. The Warriors (9, 6-13) played Mehlville High (8, 6-14-1) on Tuesday, while the Lions (7, 14-15-5) play the host Chargers (2, 18-8) today at 4:30 p.m. and the Jaguars (5, 21-8-2) meet Oakville High (4, 14-16-1) at 6 p.m. Jackson High (34-2) is the No. 1 seed and plays the winner of the Fox/Mehlville match today at 4:30. The final is Oct. 28 at 5 p.m.
Volleyball’s finals weren’t the only sport MSHSAA moved to the western side of the state. The 8-man and six classes of football were moved from Faurot Field at the University of Missouri in Columbia to Spratt Memorial Stadium at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph. Hillsboro (2023) and Festus (2024) have reached the state final the past two seasons.
This is the ninth and final week of the prep football season before district tournaments begin on Halloween. Going into week 9, Festus is the only team in the county holding a No. 1 seed. The Tigers improved to 7-1 after a rousing 41-36 comeback victory against Farmington High (6-2) on Oct. 17. The top seed in Class 4 District 1, Festus defended its Mississippi Area Football Conference title going 4-0 against four of the teams (De Soto, Hillsboro, North County, Windsor) in their district.
That doesn’t mean the Tigers are a lock to repeat as district champions, but the odds are strongly in their favor. My guess is that head coach AJ Ofodile and his Festus assistants and players aren’t thinking about another run to the state final. I’d imagine that undefeated Jackson (8-0) has their full attention this week in view of their game at Tiger Stadium. The Indians have scored 56 or more points in their last five games and ran roughshod over Seckman (6-2) in the last two Class 6 District 1 finals.
Like I wrote earlier, playing De Smet (the defending Class 6 state champions), Farmington and Jackson the final three games will prepare Festus for districts and beyond.