After starting the football season with three straight road games, winning two, Fox finally got to christen its new artificial turf field for a home game Sept. 20.
Eureka was a rude guest, however, smothering the Warrior offense in a 27-0 shutout that left Fox at 2-2 while the Wildcats, ranked eighth in Missouri Class 5 by MaxPreps, improved to 4-0.
Fox’s field was damaged by summer flooding and had to be replaced. Fox C-6 officials also installed new turf at Seckman High.
The Wildcats opened the game on offense and promptly marched down the field with little resistance. But the Warrior defense woke up once Eureka arrived in the red zone, forcing a fumble recovered by senior quarterback Casey Hobelmann, and then sacking him on the next play. Fox junior Paxton Watts then blocked the Warriors’ field-goal attempt.
The Wildcat defense held the Warriors to a three-and-out, forcing a punt. Once again, Eureka drove downfield and threatened to score. But Hobelmann fumbled again and Fox’s Corbin Fuller scooped up the pigskin and started to return it when Hobelmann tackled him.
For the first time since Week 1, Eureka was held scoreless in the first quarter. The Wildcats had put up 100 points in winning their first three games.
Fox head coach Brent Tinker said his team showed a lot of pride on the evening.
“Kind of the general trend right now is I’m super-proud of the defense,” Tinker said. “They fought hard; they hung tough. That was major growth from us defensively.”
By the second quarter, Eureka’s powerful offensive line exerted its will more productively, opening holes for junior running back Trevor Codak, who scored two touchdowns on four-yard runs and another from 14 yards out. Eureka led 20-0 at halftime.
The only score of the second half came on an eight-yard run by backup quarterback Patrick Hutchcraft, a 6-4 junior. Hutchcraft also completed four of seven pass attempts for 44 yards, just enough to help counterbalance the Wildcats’ run-first attack.
“Just two good quarterbacks getting out there and making some good plays,” head coach Jake Sumner said. “Just happy to see both those guys getting some work in.”
Eureka’s defense showed once again why they are among the top units in the area. Wildcat opponents are averaging 5.25 points per game on less than 100 yards of total offense. Fox finished with only 92 (84 rushing, eight passing).
Senior linebacker Jack McMillen is one of the Wildcat defensive leaders. At Fox he wore Eureka’s No. 28 jersey honoring former player and U.S. Marine Riley Baker, who was killed in action in Iraq in 2006.
“We’re off to a great start,” McMillen said. “The defense is playing really well and our offense is definitely complementing that well. I’m liking where we’re headed.”
Codak finished the night with 140 yards on 21 carries. Hobelmann was two-for-two passing for 19 yards. The Hobelmann-Hutchcraft duo has yet to throw an interception this season.
As for Fox’s offense, Tinker is still tinkering.
“We’re trying to make a big growth here,” he said. “To do that, we’ve had to incorporate more shotgun (formation). So you’ll see it work, and then you’ll see a mistake because we’re not quite polished yet. We’re not abandoning who we are, we’re just trying to grow within it.”
Both teams are on the road this week for conference games. Eureka will face Kirkwood (3-1, 1-1), while Fox travels to Rockwood Summit (3-1, 1-0).
Wildcats continue turnaround with shutout
In a tight, physical game that afforded precious few scoring chances, it took a penalty kick to separate Eureka and visiting Kirkwood Sept. 19.
In the 50th minute, the Wildcats were awarded a PK in front of Pioneer senior goalkeeper Max Gaal. Senior midfielder Kyle Rehg stepped into a shot and Gaal punched it out on a diving save, but junior forward George Lenger swooped in to bury the rebound for the decisive goal and a 1-0 victory. It was the fourth consecutive single-goal margin between the teams, both competing in the top-tier Suburban Conference Yellow pool.
The win inched Eureka closer to .500 overall at 3-4, with a 1-1 league mark, while Kirkwood suffered its fifth straight loss, slipping to 1-5-1 and 0-1.
“It was exciting to see George get the goal,” Wildcat head coach Mike Hanna said. “He changed the pace and energy level.
“Kyle gets the PK and he didn’t put it where he wanted, but we were there to get the cheap, easy, ugly goal, (the kind) we need to be scoring.”
Eureka started the season with three shutout losses in a row but has won three of four since then. The Wildcats’ fourth setback was a 3-2 battle with Lindbergh (7-1-1), which sits atop the Yellow pool at 2-0.
“At this point any win is a good win,” said Hanna, who led the Eureka girls soccer squad to second place in the state (Class 4) in June. “(This was) a conference win against a team that’s equal to us. That’s every game. We don’t have many games on the schedule where we can sit back and not give everything we have. Kirkwood is trying to get things going and we knew they’d throw everything into that game, so we had to match that intensity.
“We’re playing harder and more together,” Hanna added. “We started off with some injuries and weren’t clicking. We’d make simple mistakes and when we made them, teams punished us. We stressed keeping it simple and now we’re finding the back of the net.”
Senior Ryan Rose earned the shutout vs. Kirkwood the hard way as the Eureka goalkeeper had to leave the game late in the second half with a cut above his eye that required stitches. Junior Landon Flaherty relieved Rose in goal and protected the shutout in the last eight minutes. Rose missed this week’s games while he recovers.
“In the moment (against Kirkwood), it was the second time he’d gotten hit,” Hanna said. “Tensions were high, but we looked at the film and there was no intention to injure. The kid from Kirkwood took a knock as well. It was unfortunate.
“Landon’s worked his tail off all season. We expect him to keep it down back there. He’s a very technical goalie.”
In a 3-0 loss to Parkway South Sept. 3, the Wildcats not only lost the game, but senior captain Logan Basler suffered an injury that could spell the end of his Wildcat career. Basler was injured going after a 50-50 ball. Hanna didn’t rule out the possibility that Basler could return for the Class 4 District 2 tournament at Chaminade.
Without Basler, Hanna said senior Lucas Valenti has taken over that leadership role from the backfield.
“We pushed (Valenti) to step forward and assume that (responsibility) more than he has in the past. (Senior) Jackson Forth is playing great in the back and has been our shut-down defender.”
After Eureka’s 1-0 win over conference rival Lafayette Sept. 17, Hanna held junior forwards Tyson Sobacke and Xavier Subramaniam out against Kirkwood for rest. Sobacke, coming off a knee injury, scored the game-winner with three minutes left against the Lancers. Some of the top Eureka freshmen also were held out and played with the JV. But players who did suit up for the varsity all saw action. Hanna made wholesale changes on the field a couple of times.
“Every single person played last night,” he said.
Rehg scored both goals in a 2-0 shutout over Chaminade of the Metro Catholic Conference Sept. 10. Eureka hosted Vianney (3-3-2) of the MCC on Wednesday, after the Leader deadline, in the first round of the Champions League Tournament. The Wildcats travel to Vianney on Saturday to play 4-1 Liberty (Wentzville) in the tournament.
“The boys have been excited to play in this tournament,” Hanna noted. “We knocked off Chaminade. It’s a good thing as a coach to know you’re not afraid of teams. We think we can compete. We can’t necessarily run with (some teams). We have to counter them to have success.”
Girls cross country team wins Stan Nelson
It’s not often a cross country team wins a big invitational meet without placing any runners in the top 10. But that’s what Eureka pulled off for the championship of the Stan Nelson Invitational Sept. 14 at the Northwest Early Childhood Center.
The Wildcats packed their five scoring runners between 11th and 28th for a winning total of 79 points, four better than Kirkwood. The gap from No. 1, sophomore Sofia Hoerchler (20:34.40), to No. 5, sophomore Natalia Hunt (21:59.8) was less than 90 seconds. Nos. 2-4 were senior Olivia Pearce (14th, 20:43.3), junior Abigail Smith (17th, 21:01.50) and junior Haley Meek (20th, 21:26.60)
The five-kilometer (3.1 mile) course at the Nelson meet, named after the longtime Northwest coach who built state-power teams in the 1970s, is one of the flattest – and fastest – in Missouri.
“Going in, I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen,” Eureka girls head coach Darrell Lewis said. “Kirkwood hadn’t run a 5K yet. Lafayette had run one on a really fast course, but so is Stan Nelson. We had run on a fast course (Memphis Twilight) but it was extremely hot and humid. Plus, we ran there without three varsity runners.”
Hoerchler was part of the Eureka team that finished 11th in the state (Class 5) a year ago. The Wildcats ran at Stan Nelson without their No. 1 runner, senior Daphne Bishop, who was taking the ACT exam.
“We were missing our front runner,” Lewis said. “Hopefully as the year goes on, Daphne will be in front of the pack. The split between 1-5 is so important. We were by far the closest together (of any team).
“It was a little warmer than predicted, but we battled to the finish line. Sofia, Olivia and Abby have run under 20 minutes. We’re not at PR range yet, but we’re being competitive.”
The Wildcats will see some of the state’s top competition at the Gans Creek Classic Saturday in Columbia. Gans Creek is the site of the state championships scheduled for Nov. 8-9.
Eureka’s boys will run there as well Saturday. It’s a return visit for junior Joe Rauls and seniors Evan Wilke and Logan Ghormley, who each qualified for state last year.
The Wildcat trio is leading the way again this fall and finished in order (14th through 16th) to propel them to second place at Stan Nelson with 91 points, trailing Kirkwood’s 71.
“Right now, we’ve got a group of three guys who are really close together,” Eureka boys head coach Brad DeMattei said.
“The course was soft in some places and ran a little slower than in the past, but in cross country placement matters more than time. We were able to put five of our guys in front of Kirkwood’s Nos. 4-5. Kirkwood got us up front, where we’ve had hopes, so they came off with the win.”
Rauls was Eureka’s highest boys state finisher (55th) last year and has reclaimed the team’s No. 1 spot. He clocked 16:53.8 at the Nelson meet and right behind him were Wilke in 16:54.60 and Ghormley in 16:59.2.
Junior Jackson Dalton (27th, 17:28.30), senior Mitchell Barth (34th, 17:37.30), freshman Tyler Rauls (45th, 17:53.50) and freshman Hunter Meek (49th, 17:59.90) hope to help build that five-man scoring rotation that will lead to postseason success.
“We have 10 or 11 guys who are fighting for a varsity spot,” DeMattei said.
The Eureka boys finished fourth with 182 points at the 51st Annual Robinson-Lang Invitational at Wilson Park in Granite City, Ill., Sept. 7. Top teams from Illinois and Missouri competed and St. Louis University High won with 44 points. Rauls was the Wildcats’ top finisher in 27th, clocking 15:40.80 on the three-mile course.
“Being from Illinois, I like taking our guys there early (in the season) because the racing style is you’ve got to get out hard and hang on,” DeMattei said. “It sets the tone for the season.”
Midseason break comes at right time for softball team
Perhaps a week off will be just what they need.
A 6-1 start for the Eureka softball team devolved into an 8-6 record after the Wildcats lost at home to Parkway South 7-4 Sept. 18. It was Eureka’s second loss of the season to the Patriots (10-7).
The Wildcats had six days to regroup before taking the field again Tuesday, after the Leader deadline, at home against Lindbergh (9-7) in a Suburban Conference Yellow pool game. Eureka hosts Incarnate Word Academy (7-4) Friday.
“Four of our losses were to state-ranked teams,” Eureka head coach Mark Mosley said.
Almost overlooked in the second Parkway South game were some magnificent defensive plays by junior shortstop Gracie Mazzola, who snagged a pair of Patriot missiles and made it look routine.
“My range has definitely improved,” said Mazzola, whose sister, Sofie, plays at the University of Washington. “I’ve been working on that a lot and I feel that’s my biggest strength on the field. My favorite kind of plays are the backhanded ones.”
“That’s become the norm for Gracie,” Mosley said. “She makes plays that only a few girls in the state can make. To even get to the ball, and to have the arm strength and quickness to release it in time to get the runner – she awes us.”
Madison Sherry, South’s top pitcher, didn’t play against the Wildcats. Ava Moretti stepped into the circle and had her most effective start of the season with a complete game. The junior scattered seven hits, walked one and struck out one.
“It was a frustrating offensive night because we didn’t make the adjustments we needed to or can make,” Mosley said. “We were way out in front and dipping our shoulders. About 75 percent of our outs were in the air. We popped out a lot. We didn’t have good, level swings. We got doubled off third base because we didn’t freeze on a line drive.”
The Patriots led 1-0 after one inning, but Eureka responded in the home half of the second frame. Moretti walked Heidi Daffron leading off, and after Daffron stole second, Maddy Wilken doubled her in to tie the game. Haley Deakin followed with a single and swiped second before Wildcat pitcher Chrystal Hall was hit by a pitch. The Patriots pulled off a double play, but Alex Dodge slashed a two-run double to give Eureka a 3-1 lead.
South opened the third with singles by Brookley Ware and Carrie Naeger. With one out, an error allowed both runners to score and tie the game 3-3.
The Patriots added runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take a 5-3 lead. But the Wildcats struck back quickly. Mazzola led off the fifth with a bunt single, stole second and advanced to third on a single by Daffron. With two outs, Mazzola scored on an error.
“We’ve been in a hitting funk,” Mazzola said. “But I think we’ll come back. As a team, we’re pretty close.”
The Eureka defense turned a double play in the sixth, and in the bottom half Peyton Hildebrand was in scoring position to tie the game, but Mazzola lined out to end the threat.
In the seventh, Hall walked Ware to lead off, and with one out, Elle Haston tripled her home for a 6-4 lead. Haston scored on an error for the final run of the game as Moretti retired Eureka in order in the seventh.
Hall struck out eight but allowed 11 hits and two walks. She was one of three pitchers for the Wildcats in a 9-0 loss to Jackson (14-7) the day before.
“There were some frustrating at-bats for Chrystal because she hit her spots, but (South’s) hitters kept their hands back long enough to get a barrel on it and fought them off,” Mosley said. “They hit two balls down the left-field line where chalk flew up. We didn’t have much luck tonight. (The Patriots) always work hard in the batter’s box and they kept up the pressure.”
On Sept. 13-14, Eureka played in a tournament in Columbia, losing to Lafayette 3-2 and Rock Bridge 12-4 the first day, but beating Jefferson City Helias 4-1 and Hickman 7-4 the next.
Wildcat senior Lily Delmain is among the leaders in the St. Louis area with a .577 batting average. In the win over Hickman, she was three-for-three with a walk, a run scored and a run batted in.
“Pitchers have found it hard to contain her for an entire game,” Mosley said.
Field hockey team on hot streak
Eureka field hockey and girls lacrosse head coach Melissa Menchella is pursuing a master’s degree in positive coaching from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
And she has the ideal laboratory to put principle into practice – a Wildcat field hockey team that started the season with two shutout losses but has since reeled off six straight wins, five of them shutouts.
“There’s always something I can take things away from the classes that help me as a coach,” said Menchella, who earned her bachelor’s degree at Lindenwood University in St. Charles. She led Eureka to the girls lacrosse state championship in June.
The Wildcats’ two most recent wins came against private schools – 4-0 at home over Notre Dame (St. Louis) and 5-0 at Whitfield.
“The girls have had me surprised,” Menchella said. “The last two games were great performances and I was proud of how we played in those games.
“Last year we struggled to score. We changed up the way we did things. I wanted to give the girls something new and a different way to score. We changed our starting formation and the way we changed the press.”
So far Eureka’s scoring is spread around; eight players have at least one goal, so opponents can’t single out anybody. Junior forward Anna Mowry leads the Wildcats with five goals, followed by senior forward Meghan Walker with four.
“Our forwards work really well together and take on different roles,” Menchella said. “In some cases they carry the ball. I don’t have one girl who does (only) one specific thing.”
The defense posting all those zeros starts in goal with junior Colby Durbin, who has five shutouts (one solo) and a 1.47 goals-against average. Her backup, junior Sara Keebler, also has logged minutes and shared in four shutouts.
Menchella said Durbin hasn’t seen many shots recently because the forwards, midfield and defense are all working in harmony.
“Our first line of defense are the forwards,” Menchella said. “When we played Parkway Central (a 5-2 road victory Sept. 16), we had a lot of breakdowns, lots of being outnumbered and we learned a lot from that game. We focused on the defense and made adjustments.”
Going into this week, Eureka had completed half of its schedule and was at Oakville (3-2-1) on Tuesday and hosted Parkway West (5-6-1) on Wednesday, both games after the Leader deadline. The Wildcats visit Marquette (6-3) Oct. 1.
“Great opponents the next two days,” Menchella said. “I’m very hopeful we can have a record improvement (Eureka was 8-9 in 2023). We can contend with all of our opponents. I don’t look at X amount of wins or shutouts. We’re enjoying the moment. It’s a breath of fresh air seeing the girls have happy moments.”
Several players and the assistant coaches are carryovers from the lacrosse team.
“That consistency is helping us build something special. We have a little community.”