With the clap of his hands, the next play is set in action.
Eureka quarterback Zac Kem takes the snap from the shotgun, surveys the Kirkwood defense, tucks the ball and begins to weave his way through the Pioneers for a significant gain. After being shoved out of bounds, Kem points both arms to signify a first down.
Inside the Parkway North 10-yard line, Kem claps his hands, he bobbles the snap, picks the oblong ball up on one bounce, evades a blitzing defensive back in the Wildcat backfield, sidesteps a linebacker at the goal line and scores a touchdown.
During Eureka’s 55-28 win over Marquette on Oct. 2, Kem completed 16 of 18 passes for 187 yards and three TDs. On his second TD pass, receiver Riley Major ran a post route and was left uncovered by the Mustangs, and Kem hit Major in stride for an easy six points.
Later against Marquette, Kem, who led his team with 132 yards rushing, took off up the middle, stiff-armed a linebacker, cut to his right, bowled over a DB and was finally gang-tackled at the 5-yard line. This run was typical of his night as Mustangs clutched and grabbed at a twisting, knees high target. At 5-10, 175 pounds, Kem’s run over would-be tacklers all season. There’s nothing fancy about what he’s doing.
And he’s having a great time. The Wildcats are 5-1 and just scored the most points in a game since last year.
“I love football. I love hanging out with my buddies,” said Kem as the Wildcats and their fans celebrated beating Marquette and homecoming week. “I’m a huge golfer – I’m not very good. Big cards player. Detailing cars. I just love being a kid.”
The first time I saw Kem play in person was against Parkway North. After he scored a TD, he filled up our photographer’s camera lens, flexing and hooting and hollering. The word that came to mind first was “moxie.” All QBs need to have it in spades. Kem relishes the big moments during a game as much as he loves dishing out contact to defenders.
Before the season began, Kem was in a battle for the starting QB job with Rudy Lange, a 6-2, 175-pound junior. Kem won the job coming out of training camp, and if there was any doubt the coaches hadn’t made the right decision, the Wildcats began the season by going to Troy and beating the Trojans 49-48 in overtime. Kem was like an electric eel, slipping tackles, and shocking Troy tacklers with his strength and speed. All of the banging around didn’t disrupt his accuracy as he completed 22 of 27 passes and two TDs.
“You can see that skill as a coach, as a fan, as a player on our team and the opposing team,” Eureka head coach Jake Sumner said. “The way he goes about his business and how he carries himself, with the intensity he plays and prepares for games with is incredible.”
The loss of senior running back Brandon Webb hasn’t slowed down the Eureka offense. Webb was injured in a 22-7 win over Rockwood Summit and has missed the last two games. He was already sharing carries with AJ White and Curtis Harris, who’ve combined for eight TDs and about 600 yards rushing. Like Kem, White is shifty in the open field and leaves tacklers flailing at air.
“This is one of the most dangerous offenses we’ve ever had,” Kem said. “Anybody can be dangerous. We try to get the ball to our receivers at least three times a game. Our tempo is killing teams.”
Undefeated Ladue (6-0) is the next opponent for the Wildcats. The win over Kirkwood gave Kem and his teammates confidence.
“That’s a great team, one of the best in St. Louis, and that showed we can beat anybody,” Kem said.
Wildcats run roughshod over Mustangs
Eureka’s 55-28 homecoming win against Marquette on Oct. 2 served many purposes.
It’s the most points the Wildcats (5-1) have scored in a game since they had 56 against Hazelwood Central in September 2025. Eureka improved to 3-0 in the Suburban Conference Yellow pool and can win it with wins at Lafayette (2-4) on Oct. 16 and at home against Lindbergh (2-4) on Oct. 23. And combined with Parkway West’s (5-1) 27-7 loss to Fox in Arnold on Oct. 2, the Wildcats strengthened their hold on the No. 1 seed in Class 5 District 2 by beating the Mustangs (3-3), who are in Class 6.
Eureka led Marquette 27-20 at halftime, but scored 28 unanswered points in the third and fourth quarters to briefly turn on the running clock because of the mercy rule – a 35-point lead.
“Our kids came out and did some things that should have been working in the first half,” Eureka head coach Jake Sumner said. “We had a couple of big plays in the third quarter with a nice interception.”
The Wildcats didn’t waste any time getting on the scoreboard. Running back AJ White finished their first drive with a 21-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Zac Kem. Kicker Patrick Bradley’s extra point gave Eureka a 7-0 lead with 9:23 left in the first quarter. White finished with 66 yards of offense.
“They were getting pressure off the edge and constantly getting pressure in my face, so we called a screen, and dumped it over their heads,” Kem said. “AJ’s one of the best athletes on the team, and he walked it in.”
The Mustangs scored the next 10 points to take the lead when Andrew Oldham returned a Kem interception 5 yards for a TD at 6:18 of the first. The Wildcats drove to the Marquette 2-yard line, but Kem lost control of a bad snap and the Mustangs recovered the ball. That turnover became three points when Marquette kicker Caden Frierdich booted a 31-yard field goal with 41 seconds left in the first.
Running back Curtis Harris started the scoring in a wild 30-point second quarter with a 7-yard TD run to put the Wildcats on top 14-10. Kem made it 21-10 with a 4-yard TD run five minutes later.
On Marquette’s next drive, Eureka was penalized for pass interference in its own end zone, and RB Jermon Abbott scored on an 11-yard run with 2:02 left in the half to make it 21-17.
And the scoring before halftime wasn’t over yet. Kem connected with receiver Riley Major for a 50-yard TD with 1:10 to go, Bradley missed the PAT and it was 27-17. But Abbott and QB Kolden Richards gouged Eureka’s defense in the first half, and got them into position for Frierdich to hammer home a FG from 40 yards at the buzzer. Richards passed for 275 yards, and Abbott rushed for 114.
“We respected them coming into the game,” Kem said. “We knew they’d be a challenge. We battled too and turned it on in the second half.”
Eureka’s defense corralled the Mustangs in the second half until the Wildcat offense scored 21 points in the final 4:43 of the third quarter. First Kem rolled right and hit tight end Luke Souhrada with a 2-yard TD pass. Eureka then forced a three-and-out, and on fourth down Frierdich never got the punt off and covered the ball at his own 11. Kem scored from 4 yards to boost the lead to 41-20.
Bradley squibbed the ensuing kickoff along the ground, and Tennessee Cox recovered for the Wildcats at the Marquette 29. Harris scored his second TD of the night and the rout was on.
The Wildcats had subbed out the starters when Easton Ashby increased the lead to 55-20 with a 48-yard TD run. Abbott and Richards stayed in the game and Abbott scored on a 4-yard run to cap the game’s scoring.
“Marquette’s a good football team. Quality win,” Sumner said. “They’ve had a big win against Lafayette. It was seven points at halftime, and they have a great offense that’s capable of putting up points, but I’m proud of our defense.”
Before closing out pool play, Eureka is at unbeaten Ladue (6-0) at 7 p.m. on Friday. The Rams have scored 50 or more points in a game three times, including the last two.
Eureka girls score 15 points to win meet in Hillsboro on Oct. 3
It’s impossible to beat perfection, and that’s exactly what the Eureka girls cross country team accomplished over the 3.1-mile (5K) course at the Frank Schultz Invitational in Hillsboro on Oct. 3.
The top five runners to finish the girls race were Wildcats, including senior Sofia Hoerchler, who won in 19:47.3. With junior Claire McKinnon (second, 20:03.2), sophomore Aubrey Dalton (third, 20:24) and juniors Olivia Golden (fourth, 20:37.7) and Madison Schepis (fifth, 20:38.9) forming a barrier between Hoerchler and the rest of the field, Eureka scored 15 points, the lowest total possible.
It was going to be hard for the Wildcats to maintain their standing as Class 5 state champions in 2024 and finishing third in Columbia last November, but even head coach Darrell Lewis was a little taken aback about what he watched his team do on a perfect morning for running on a course rated as very hard. Much of the course is laid out on rolling pasture used by horses and other farm animals.
“That doesn’t happen very often, so you’re always excited for that,” Lewis said of the perfect score. “Sofia has had a lot of success, but she’s never won a race. For her to be aggressive at the beginning, and go for it, was awesome to see.”
When Eureka won state two years ago, Hoerchler was all-state (top 30) and her time of 18:55 is still her PR. She fell back to 40th at state a year ago.
Daphne Bishop and Brooke Samuelson were excellent senior leaders the past two years, but with both having graduated, this year that mantle falls to Hoerchler, who is the only senior on the team.
The starting line was on top of a grassy ridge that gradually sloped down for 100 or so yards before runners picked up the trail winding around a lake.
“In the first 800 meters, I was gone, and I tried to keep going because it’s my first win and I didn’t want anyone to catch me,” Hoerchler said. “Downhills, I just leaned forward and let the gravity take me, and on the uphills, I’d really pump my arms and try to surge at the top.”
The Gans Creek Classic in Columbia on Sept. 25-26 brought together some of the top runners from 10 states, and Rockhurst’s Jack McGovern set a new state record with a time of 14:25.8.
Eureka’s girls competed in the Elite Division, and Hoerchler had their best finish in 53rd in 18:57.1. Providence Classic Christian Academy (St. Louis) junior Maggie Bishop won the Elite Division in 17:06.8. There were also white, blue and gold divisions.
“We ran very fast,” Lewis said of Gans. “Team placement-wise, we didn’t look the best, but it’s billed as the Elite Division, and there were 10 different states represented.”
Hoerchler wasn’t the only Wildcat to win her first varsity race. Junior Andrew Perry led the boys race at Schultz wire-to-wire and won it in 16:36.1. Unlike Hoerchler, who was never seriously challenged, Lindbergh senior Benjamin Donaldson was second in 16:45.2.
“I went out conservatively, but once I got to that steep hill that comes out of the forest, especially the second time, I kicked down to my recovery pace, and surprisingly I didn’t get caught,” Perry said.
Perry’s win helped put Eureka on top of the team standings with 47 points. Suburban Conference and Class 5 District 1 rival Northwest was second with 65.
Perry was the JV’s top runner as a freshman, and he finished 70th in the state last season. He set his PR of 15:45 at Gans Creek two weeks ago.
“I’ve been spending a lot of time on athletic.net stalking entries to see who my competition is,” he said.
The other four scoring finishes for the Wildcat boys at Schultz were senior William Diekmann (seventh, 17:34.1), junior Tyler Rauls (11th, 17:54.8), freshman Mark Schwartze (14th, 17:58.1) and senior Logan Schilling (16th, 18:09.8).
District host close to clinching top seed
Seeding for the Class 5 District 2 softball tournament being hosted by Eureka at Chesterfield Athletic Association is today (Oct. 8).
Kirkwood, Ladue, Lafayette, Lindbergh, Parkway South, Marquette and Ritenour are in District 2 with the Wildcats. Eureka had a record of 15-4 going into Tuesday’s game (after deadline) against Incarnate Word Academy. The Wildcats are 4-0 this season against teams in District 2, and can sew up the Suburban Conference Yellow pool championship today against the Lancers (15-8). Eureka’s final game before districts is at home against St. Dominic (9-13-1) on Monday.
Between Sept. 21-25, Eureka lost three of four games to teams (Troy Buchanan, Francis Howell, Westminster Christian Academy) with a combined record of 65-15. Since then the Wildcats have ripped off four wins in a row, including a 14-0 shutout in five innings by the mercy rule over Northwest on Monday in Cedar Hill.
“We played some of the better teams in the state and went 1-3 so that was a rough patch,” Eureka head coach Mark Mosley said. “We talked about how those can be moments of growth, and the girls have responded, it woke them up and they have been playing well since.”
Eureka scored early and often against the Lions and wracked up 14 hits in five innings. Shelby Seiler had three hits, including a home run, two RBIs and scored three runs. Chrystal Hall, Teresa Hutchcraft, Alina Logush and Emily Seiler doubled. Hall and Harper Hubbard split time in the circle, striking out eight and allowing three hits.
“All the girls contributed in different ways,” Mosley said. “We had a few defensive miscues. As you get closer to the postseason, we’re looking to fix these little things. Both pitchers threw well, and our offense was running on all cylinders.”
Eureka’s 6-5 win at Lindbergh (13-7) on Sept. 30 was a Yellow pool game and if the Wildcats beat Lafayette, they could be the No. 1 seed.
“All season you think about how everything builds up to that. We’re getting as ready as we can,” Mosley said.
The Flyers led 3-0 after two innings before Eureka rallied for four runs in the third. With two outs, Evelynn Humes singled in the first run. Logush was the next batter, and she crushed a three-run home run to give the Wildcats a 4-3 lead.
Lindbergh scratched out a run in the fourth and sixth innings. Hutchcraft’s two-run double in the sixth provided the winning runs. Hubbard pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing seven hits and five runs (three earned). Hall struck out four in 1 2/3 frames and got the win.
“It had a playoff atmosphere,” Mosley said of the game. “We had Hubbard in the circle, and she would tell you it wasn’t her best game, but she kept us in it. We went down 3-0, but the comeback reminded the girls they can score runs off pitchers like Lindbergh’s. Hall sealed the win and closed the door. It’s a big game for district seeding purposes. There was a lot of emphasis on winning that game.”
The district tournament begins on Wednesday, Oct. 14. The Wildcats beat the Lancers in last year’s district final before losing to Lindbergh in the state quarterfinals. The Flyers finished third in the state. The final four is at the Killian Sports Complex in Springfield on Oct. 29-31.
“There’s no rest. With softball you want to keep the momentum going and the hitters seeing live pitching,” Mosley said.