The 3^rd time is a charm…for the 3^rd consecutive year the Owensville Dutchmen squared off with the Borgia Knights(class 3, #10) for the district title. The Dutchmen broke the jinx and walked off with a 35-25 victory and the district trophy.

Pigskin Survivors…no….not a new  TV show… in class district , all 4 teams entered Friday’s competition with a 1-1 district mark. Handing the Washington Bluejays their 2^nd loss, the Rolla Bulldogs survived this hectic, wild district. Waynesville and Camdenton, of this district, will also be collecting equipment on Monday despite strong seasons.

Two- 4^th Quarter TD’s to come from behind!….John Batcheller led the Ava Bears (8-2) with a 17 of 30, 233 yards and 3 TD passes (including 2 in final quarter) to a dramatic 30-27 win over the Salem Tigers (8-2).

A play after the buzzer ends the game ....trailing 21-14 to the Nixa Eagles with 2:19 remaining the (class 4, #6)Ozark Tigers made a furious rally. As the drive began, QB Brett Walster was crunched between 2 defenders and was forced to exit the game. Off the bench, Matt Jordan converts one 3^rd down and  three- 4^th downs to keep the chains moving. With a scant 0:10 ticks showing on the clock, his completed pass into the end zone is denied due to an offensive pass interference call. The next play, seemingly the last play of the game sees a penalty on the defense so on a play with extended time, the Tiger rally was snuffed out with an INT by Dback  Travis Hicks !  What a thriller !!

Balanced like a Swiss watch…Mt Grove (9-1) heavy favorites outlasted Strafford (6-4) 25-22. Mt Grove’s offense was perfectly balanced with 158 in rushing & 158 in  passing. Amazingly, the 158 yards passing came on just 3 completions !

I don’t want to kiss my sister… Eureka Coach Farrell Shelton disdained going for a tie when his team scored to make the score 21-20 behind the Parkway West Longhorns. His 2 point conversion failed—congrats on a tough call and a great season.

Some things just don’t change…annually, the slugfest in the Suburban North between the McCluer North Stars and the Hazelwood East Spartans is one of the feature games of the year. This year was no exception as the North Stars used the strong leg of Tommy Latimore to kick a FG in OT to win this Class 5 District championship 38-35.

Class 3 had the most the key matchups, #7 Mt Vernon Mountaineers (9-0) crushed #5 Bolivar  Liberators(9-1) 48-7; #2 Cassville (8-2) upset by Seneca (8-2) 31-28; #4 Platte County (10-0) smashed Smithville (#6, 9-1) 37-7