Jefferson County will be represented in the state football Show-Me Bowl for the third consecutive year.
That is something all fans and participants of the sport here should be proud of. Hillsboro High School played in the Class 4 final in 2023 and Festus High followed last year. The Hawks and Tigers lost those games at Faurot Field at the University of Missouri in Columbia, but they set a precedent that county teams were among the best in the state. Festus made it back to the semifinals, where the Tigers were stopped by Kearney High.
Now St. Pius X carries the hopes of the county much, much farther. The Missouri State High School Activities Association shifts the state final four for most sports. MSHSAA holds the state events all around the state. Springfield, St. Joseph, Columbia, St. Louis currently are hosting state finals. MSHSAA moved girls volleyball from Cape Girardeau to St. Joseph this year.
They did the same for football. The Show-Me Bowl series for the eight-man and all six classes are being held starting today (Dec. 4) through Saturday at Spratt Memorial Stadium at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph. Fresh off one of the most exciting high school football games I’ve ever witnessed (see related story), the Lancers will take a 9-5 record to meet unbeaten blue blood Blair Oaks High (13-0) in the Class 2 final.
I’m not the only one scratching my head why far flung St. Joseph was picked to host state football. But remember that from 1996 to 2015 the football championships were held at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. The eight-man finals have been held at Spratt before.
Plenty of teams and their fans from the Kansas City area had to drive across the state when the games were at the Dome. Obviously, it’s the only Dome in the state, meaning weather wasn’t really a factor. For awhile, I’m sure the success of the Rams when they were the “Greatest Show on Turf” somehow made the venue more attractive. I covered a couple of state championships there and it seemed like overkill since a tiny fraction of the seats were filled.
Spratt isn’t a huge cavern. It can hold 10,000 fans and will provide a much more intimate setting. The Spratt Stadium Complex is where the Kansas City Chiefs hold summer training camp. At one end of the field, there’s a 2,500 square foot video board MWSU spent a couple of million dollars for 10 years ago. The school bills the scoreboard the largest in NCAA Division II.
I’ve driven across the state to watch the Chiefs play at Arrowhead. It’s a haul, for sure. Especially if you’re turning it around the same day. I root for the Packers so most times when they play in KC, I’m there. The last time was in 2019 for a Sunday night game. The Packers won (Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes was out with an injury) and that buoyed my spirits for the long drive home in the middle of the night.
Spratt takes us about an hour north of KC right on the border with Kansas. I keep telling my wife I’m going to Nebraska to cover the Missouri football state final.
Of course, once St. Pius and Blair Oaks kick off, where the game is being played will be secondary to the action. After winning the Class 3 state title for their sixth state crown with an enrollment of 326 (MSHSAA) in 2024, Blair Oaks, a public school, dropped to Class 2 after reporting enrollment of 308. Since playoff success is factored in with enrollment for private schools, most likely if St. Pius (229 enrollment for this school year) beats the Falcons, they’ll move up to Class 3.
The first year Frank Ray was the head coach at St. Pius in 2023, Hillsboro made it to the state final for the first time in school history. Ray had been a defensive coach for the Hawks prior to taking over the Lancers.
Ray has coached two sons on the football field. He coached Griffin at Hillsboro. Griffin also won the Class 3 state championship at 165 pounds in wrestling. Harrison Ray is a sophomore at St. Pius. Harrison caught the game-winning touchdown pass from sophomore QB Evan Eckrich against Monroe City High in the semifinals.
Since I’m not privy to county gossip, nor do I seek it out, I’m not going to guess the reasons why Frank had skeptics when he was hired at St. Pius. It’s Ray’s first head coaching job at this level.
When the Lancers began the season 0-3, critical voices got louder. That’s easy to do with social media dominating and driving discussion. When you come to my Facebook page, don’t expect anything about politics, religion or even commentary about the teams in the county I cover. Mostly you’ll see my two huskies living their best lives.
The St. Pius girls volleyball team won the Class 4 state championship in 2024 and finished second this season in St. Joseph last month. The baseball team opened a new field this spring. St. Pius got to host two state football playoff games on consecutive Saturday afternoons in what I’d consider perfect weather for this time of year.
Sometimes it’s not who you beat, but how you win that defines a season. For Frank Ray, this playoff run confirms his belief his system works.
“It was a vision,” he said after the semifinals. “Sometimes I stood on my own mountain with it. Some people supported me. But once these players believed they could be here, they were coming no matter what anybody threw at them.”