Every August I type in the football schedules for the 12 high schools in Jefferson County and start formulating my coverage plans.
Of course, as the season wears on and certain matchups rise or fall in importance, coverage is determined week-to-week.
When I began entering Seckman’s schedule, the Jaguars’ Week 1 opponent jumped off the page at me: at Valle Catholic in Ste. Genevieve. For a moment, I thought it was a misprint. After all, the Jaguars are a large Class 5 public school and the Warriors are a small private school that competes in Class 3. The size gap between the two schools is actually much wider. According to the Missouri State High School Activities Association, Valle had 104 students enrolled last year. Seckman had 1,339, more than 12 times as many.
The first thing I did was ask new Seckman activities director Tracy Schmidt and Jaguar head football coach Nick Baer, was it true? What happened to the game that had been scheduled against De Soto?
Baer and Schmidt confirmed the game is real. One of the premier matchups to open the season happened because both schools needed a Week 1 opponent. This is the second year of a two-year schedule cycle for high school football teams in the state. As it turns out, in a crazy twist, the school that rescheduled its opener against Valle, Bishop DuBourg, will play De Soto now.
De Soto paid Seckman $2,000 to break the contract for their game. Teams already had their schedules set for the upcoming season, so it wasn’t easy for Baer to find another opponent, especially for a season opener.
I wanted to know if schools can be penalized for breaking a scheduling contract, so I asked Jason West at MSHSAA. West said schools can set any type of fee for a game contract, adding sweeteners (more money) to play the game or imposing a penalty if one side backs out.
“For instance, De Soto is hosting a basketball tournament and promises three games, discounted hotel rooms and no entry fee as an enticement in the contract,” West said. “On the flip side, you have the example you shared – a fee to break the contract. There are no
MSHSAA by-laws or board policies that say a school even has to have a contract for a game. In many cases game agreements are just that, nothing more than a handshake or a ‘yeah, we can do that.’ The MSHSAA office does not approve or deny game contracts; that is strictly between the schools involved.”
De Soto last played DuBourg in 2017. The Cavaliers finished 0-8 last year and scored a grand total of 14 points. De Soto, under first-year head coach Keith Woodland, was 0-10 a year ago, but at least scored more points (58). Seckman thumped De Soto 55-0 in last year’s opener. A similar score awaited De Soto and DuBourg if they had taken the field against Seckman and Valle.
“They (De Soto) felt they were overmatched and they were looking for a more winnable game,” Baer said.
“We wanted to play a team more suitable for our program right now,”
De Soto activities director Jon Roop said. “We played (DuBourg) for years.”
Roop said former Dragon head coach Chris Johnson was heavily involved in making up the schedule in recent years, when De Soto was more competitive and Johnson was trying to boost the program’s image. He succeeded to a point. I give Woodland credit for pulling the plug on a rematch with Seckman. The timing of these things is never convenient, but starting the season with another blowout loss to the Jaguars isn’t wise for a team trying to win its first game under Woodland.
Seckman wasn’t the only change for the Dragons this year. Sullivan, Cape Girardeau Central and Orchard Farm were added in place of Poplar Bluff, Ste. Genevieve and Potosi.
“Hats off to Seckman,” Roop said. “They’re in a good place right now with some of their teams and athletes. We’re trying to get back to that level.”
Based on enrollment, Valle should have no chance against Seckman. Mismatches of this scale are rare in prep sports. But Valle is no garden-variety program. Under MSHSAA’s competitive-balance formula, the Warriors’ 15 state championships (12 in Class 1), second only to Webb City’s 16, shoved them up to Class 3.
Last season, the Warriors were cruising along at 10-0 when the formula finally caught up with them. They lost 55-7 to the newest state football private school juggernaut, St. Mary’s, in the District 2 championship. St. Mary’s won its first state title a few weeks later, outscoring its opponents 217-30 in its final four games.
When Valle tore through the I-55 Conference every fall and routinely beat county schools by four touchdowns or more, I realized just how fundamentally sound the Warriors were. I went to their training camp a few years ago and asked head coach Judd Naeger what made them so successful. He told me it really boiled down to each generation of players not wanting to let down their predecessors.
It is perhaps partly by design that Valle’s football stadium is right across the street from Memorial Cemetery, symbolizing the Warriors’ many vanquished foes over the years.
So imagine you’re an opposing coach leading a bunch of nervous teenagers into battle on the Warriors’ turf. A turnover here, a blocked punt there and you spend the bus ride home wondering how you got beat 42-6.
I can’t imagine that’s what awaits Seckman. Not this year. Not with senior Cole Ruble playing quarterback better than almost anybody in Missouri. I thought Jefferson had a chance against Valle when Alex Rouggly coached the Blue Jays, but they never came close. Despite no longer playing in the I-55 Conference, Valle crushed Jefferson 56-0 and St. Pius X 63-0 last season.
I’m as interested as anyone to see if Ruble can pull off his magic and sprint for a couple of long touchdowns against a team as disciplined as the Warriors.
I’ve listed Ruble’s eye-popping stats many times: 4,500 yards rushing, 50 touchdowns, etc. But this game will go far beyond statistics. It’s a chance for the Jaguars to show from the opening kickoff they are capable of taking down Jackson in the district tournament. MSHSAA hasn’t released district or class assignments yet, but Baer is confident Seckman and Jackson will be back in District 1 together. A year after winning their first state title, the Indians lost to Webb City in last season’s state semifinals. The Cardinals beat Holt of Wentzville 26-21 for their 16th crown.
When you’re in the same conversation with Webb City, Valle and Jackson, that’s rare air. We’ll see real soon if Seckman has what it takes against the state’s elite.
“We’ve talked about their 15 state championships,” Baer said of the Warriors. “We got our first trophy last year for finishing second in districts. Their boys (were) throwing hay bales all summer and working with cattle. It’s a mean and nasty way to start the season.”