In addition to plenty of Turkey this weekend, the Dome in St Louis provided fans with plenty of high school football. As always, it was enjoyable to be in attendance, some thoughts…..

….in class 6, Blue Springs South was led by the brilliant soph QB, Blaine Dalton. While his passing and rushing stats (4c/24yds and 7 of 8 for 116 yds)seem modest, it was the timing and execution. On his 1st TD pass, he scrambled across the field from one sideline to the other until finding his receiver in the end zone. His impeccable passing, coupled with the powerful running game was too much for the CBC Cadets. Kudo’s to Tony Randolph for his play on both sides of the ball—8c/ 80 yards and being a part of 9 tackles. Most misleading stat—time of possession—CBC—29:19; BSS 18:41 !!

….Class 3, Harrisonville Wildcats, onside kick to begin the game, threw a HB pass on 1st possession and maintained that aggressiveness throughout in this 56-21 win over Owensville. The Wildcats edged Mt Vernon (11-1) 29-28 in the quarters and went OT in semis to upend St Pius (11-1) 28-21 as they moved to the finals. QB Sean Ransberg demonstrated a gun for an arm as he passed for 136 and rushed for 86 more ! Wildcats are already talking about a three-peat.

….Webb City Cardinals read their usual script—rugged run game and unmovable defense as they captured their 7th title 26-0 over Hannibal. The Cardinals racked up 290 rushing yards and 109 through the air as they controlled this Class 4 Championship game.

….Class 2 play saw the Blair Oaks Falcons grab their 2nd crown with a 32-24 win over Hogan Prep. This game saw each team pile up over 300 yards in offense in a very entertaining game! Hogan Prep reached the finals by upsetting highly ranked Mt Grove in the semifinals. QB Travis Henke kept Hogan Prep off balance as he hit for 8 of 18 for166 yards.

…..in the most exciting game of the Show-Me Bowl, S.Shelby won the Class 1 trophy 34-27 in OT over the Marionville Comets. The Cardinals jumped ahead 20-0 but the Comets fought back to take a 21-20 lead. After S.Shelby scored and converted, Marionville scored again only to have the extra point blocked to send the game into OT. Lee Flood of the Comets broke the STATE rushing record as he recorded 91 yards in 17 carries.

…Kirkwood began the game by fumbling away the kickoff to Ray-Pec! Two plays later, Mizzou bound Derrick Washington raced over the goal line for a TD. Special team play bit the Pioneers again as they fumbled away the 3rd kickoff ! Ray-Pec capitalized again by Washington who rumbled for 174 yards on 33 attempts. Seemingly out of the game when they fell 21 points behind in the 3rd quarter, the Pioneers rallied, stiffened on defense forcing 3 consecutive 3 & outs for the Panthers and cut the lead to 35-32. When Derrick Washington returned a punt the distance with under 2 minutes left, Ray-Pec had earned their 3rd consecutive STATE crown.