Missouri Week 9 football notebook: District play starts this week
By Chris Geinosky
More or less, the last nine weeks of football didn’t matter too much. It matters now.
Every team in the state of Missouri now has the opportunity to play in the postseason starting this week with the first round of district play. Every game matters now – win and advance, or lose and turn in equipment.
Squads that survive the three-week district tournament will advance to the state playoffs. Here’s a look at some of the more intriguing district tourneys around the state:
Class 6 District 1
Christian Brothers College, the No. 1-ranked team in the SBLive Missouri Power 25 and reigning Class 6 state champion, edged Marquette and Seckman for the top seed in the bracket. All three teams enter district play with 8-1 overall records, but CBC’s strength of schedule was the difference maker. No. 4 seed Kirkwood (5-3) and No. 5 Lindbergh (6-3) have enjoyed winning seasons as well.
Class 6 District 2
Troy Buchanan reached the Class 6 semifinals for the first time in program history last year, and the team is set up to do it again after earning the No. 1 district seed and home-field advantage. However, the Trojans may have to meet dangerous De Smet in the semifinals, and then resurgent Rock Bridge, the No. 2 seed, could be waiting in the championship round.
Class 5 District 5
Camdenton locked up the top seed after a Week 8 win against Lebanon, but then lost to Glendale in Week 9. As it turns out, the Lakers might run into Glendale again in the semifinals, which will not be an easy matchup. And then who will be waiting in the championship game? Most likely it will be No. 2 seed Lebanon, one of this year’s top rushing teams in Missouri.
Class 5 District 6
One of the best rivalries in the state has been the one between Carthage and Webb City. Both of those two teams receive first-round byes in this six-team district, which will have them more healthy and ready for a postseason push. As long as both take care of business in the semis, they will set up one of the most anticipated district title games in the Show-Me State.
Class 4 District 8
Kearney put together an undefeated regular season and earned the No. 1 seed. Defending Class 4 state champion Smithville lost one game all season – 20-19 against Kearney in Week 3 – and owns the No. 2 seed. These two teams do not like each other, and barring unforeseen circumstances, they will meet in the district championship game in a couple weeks.
Class 3 District 3
St. Charles West sits on the No. 1 line of the bracket but is probably not the favorite to win the district. No. 2 Lutheran St. Charles is last year’s Class 2 state champion, and No. 3 Lutheran North is one of the most battle-tested small-class teams in the state. A Lutheran St. Charles-Lutheran North semifinal game would be a playoff-caliber matchup.
Class 2 District 8
Meet the most top-heavy district field in the entire state. Undefeated Lafayette County (9-0) stands as the No. 1 seed in the tourney. However, three teams with glossy 8-1 records – Richmond, Macon and Trenton – are slotted No. 2, 3 and 4 respectively. Lawson, a team with a 6-3 record, did not even earn a first-round home game as the No. 5 seed in this loaded district.
Liberty North QB Van Dyne finishes regular season with no turnovers
Coming into the season, Liberty North quarterback Sam Van Dyne vowed that he had learned from his mistakes. Point taken.
Van Dyne committed five turnovers in the Class 6 Show-Me Bowl – a game his team lost to CBC, 48-21. Amazingly, the top-rated college quarterback prospect has committed ZERO since then.
Leading the Eagles to a perfect 9-0 record during the regular season, Van Dyne has completed 92 of 152 passes for 1,694 yards and 18 touchdowns with zero interceptions. He has also rushed for 164 yards without fumbling either.
Van Dyne passed for 181 yards and threw three touchdowns to three different receivers in last week’s 36-0 shutout victory against Lee’s Summit West. One of those receivers was Jay Ross, who hauled in three receptions for 84 yards in his debut with the Eagles.
Does that name sound familiar? Ross is none other than Jayshawn Ross, the No. 3-ranked player on the list of top 2024 football recruits in Missouri according to 247Sports.com. Ross started the season playing for St. Pius X but has been sitting out the past few weeks while attending Liberty North. He was declared eligible by MSHSAA last week.
Mayo’s return boosts CBC offense
Dakotah Mayo is making up for lost time after returning from an injury for reigning Class 6 champion CBC (8-1).
A dynamic senior wide receiver-returner, Mayo has scored five touchdowns in his last three games and has made a dangerous Cadets offense even better.
“Dakotah’s a great asset to the team,” CBC standout junior Jeremiah McClellan said after Mayo scored twice in Week 7 against Warren Central (Ind.). “He’s fast. He catches everything that touches his hands. Just having him back is going to open up the pass game way more.”
As a junior, Mayo caught 37 passes for 440 yards and scored three total touchdowns, including a kickoff return score. So far this season he has 15 catches for 278 yards and five scores in six total games – with nine catches for 212 yards and five TDs the past three weeks.
Mayo’s return and resurgence gives CBC another weapon in the passing game – McClellan leads the Cadets with 44 catches for 781 yards and 11 TDs and sophomore Corey Simms is second with 20 catches for 338 yards and four scores — and on special teams.
Union heads to postseason play with undefeated record again
For the second year in a row, Union has completed the regular season with an undefeated record. But it wasn’t easy.
Trailing most of the night, the Wildcats had to rally late to pull out a 21-14 victory against Hermann in last week’s regular-season finale. Quarterback Liam Hughes tied the game with a 40-yard touchdown run with 3:11 left in the fourth quarter and then tossed a game-winning, 51-yard touchdown strike to Hayden Burke with 1:13 on the clock.
Union clinched the Four Rivers Conference championship and more importantly, remained undefeated heading into the postseason. However, the Wildcats had to settle for the No. 3 seed in the Class 4 District 2 tournament behind No. 1 St. Mary’s and No. 2 Rockwood Summit.
Hughes has completed 98 of 168 passes for 1,755 yards and 24 touchdowns this season. Burke had hauled in 29 receptions for 527 yards.
Springfield Central caps history-making campaign with seventh win
It has been a history-making campaign for the Bulldogs. Last week, Springfield Central brought the regular season to a close with a 57-11 blowout of Forsyth.
The Bulldogs improved to 7-2 on the year, which is the most single-season wins for the program since 2002 – yes, in two decades. Only one other time since 1986 has the team won as many as seven games in one season.
Last week’s win extended Central’s current win streak to five in a row. To find the last time that happened, you have to dig even deeper into the history books: more than 50 years ago when the program went 10-0 in 1967.
What is the most amazing part of all this? Just last year, the Bulldogs lost 53 games in a row from 2015 to 2021. Ironically enough, they have gone 11-6 since that dubious losing streak.
Central has earned the No. 3 seed in the Class 5 District 5 tournament and will play a home postseason game for the first time since 2015. The Bulldogs will take on Waynesville in the first round.
Parkview snaps 33-game losing streak with win against Hillcrest
It had been awhile since Parkview had won a football game: 1,148 days to be exact.
The Vikings snapped a 33-game losing streak with a 40-33 victory against Hillcrest in a meeting of winless teams in the regular season finale last week. It marked the program’s first win since the season opener 2019 – a 49-6 victory against Springfield Central.
Cameron Harris turned in a record-breaking effort Friday night, and his team needed every bit of it. Harris rushed 35 times for 356 yards and four touchdowns.
Parkview had scored single digits in its past five games. The Vikings will take on resurgent Republic in the first round of the Class 5 District 6 tournament this week.
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