Now the fun begins
It's the time of year all high school football teams have been working towards. Now the games really count. Now it's do or die, win or go home, survive and move on...all the cliche's you can think of meaning the play offs are here. This week marks the start of district playoffs, as the field of teams will be cut in half each of the next three weeks. Who will survive, who will go home too soon? I've got some inklings, but it's better to play things out on the field. Let's take a look at last week's scores.
Blair Oaks 65, California 7
Well...what can you say...if you're going to play the Blair Oaks Falcons receivers man to man and blitz a safety to boot...things are going to start bad. But it seems to happen week after week. The Falcons continue to say thank you...and start the turbo clock. You might have noticed that Nolan Hair is 28 of his last 30 passing? Why do teams continue to put seven in the box against the Falcons? Why do they continue to think they can play man to man against three of the best high school receivers I've ever seen? It's now the more-than-point-a-minute offense of Blair Oaks..and it won't slow down this weekend, although I think California will possess the ball better with quarterback Alex Currens back off suspension.
Rockhurst 41, Jefferson City 8
Rockhurst is still the Rock and the rebuilding project at Jeff. City still has a ways to go. Blue Springs on the road awaits Jeff. City. It's not impossible to think the Jays can go get a win over the 6 and 3 Wildcats...but I'd have to say it would be an upset.
DeSmet 51, Helias 17
We knew this would be a tough one coming in. The Crusaders hung for a while with a very good Class 6 team. Helias has some weapons...that's for sure...and we'll see what they do on the road at Union Friday night. I think there's a better than 50-50 shot Helias comes out of there with a win.
Rock Bridge 35, Francis Howell 21
Big win on the road at Francis Howell gives the Bruins the top seed in the district. But I really don't see a state champion coming from this district.
Oak Park 20, Hickman 17
This was a heartbreaker for the scrappy Kewpies. They scored late to take the lead only to have Oak Park come back and score later.
Battle 41, Hannibal 28
Battle wins its district with a convincing win on the road.
Camdenton 49, Kickapoo 7
Camdenton beats up on another Springfield team and cements first place in the Class 4 district.
Southern Boone 43, Boonville 27
A bit of a surprise here. I really thought Boonville was the second best club Blair Oaks played this year, but Southern Boone put up more points on the Falcons than anybody else outside of Maryville. SoBoCo finishes second behind Moberly in that Class 3 district...and I think they have a legitimate shot of winning that.
South Callaway 33, North Callaway 32 (OT)
Holy moley...I would love to watch one of these games some day. These two teams just tear each other apart every time they play. May be the best rivalry right now in mid Missouri. South Callaway finishes second in the Blair Oaks district. Both these teams feature strong running games...South throws the ball better. Either one will be a tough out.
Fulton 48, MMA 6
The long national nightmare is over...Fulton has won a game. The Hornets play Moberly Friday night.
Moberly 34, Mexico 7
Impressive win for a pretty impressive team. class 3 suits the Spartans well.
Eldon 31, Osage 12
Thought this might have been a bigger win for Eldon...but School of the Osage is capable of playing pretty well at times. Eldon gets Salem in the first round of districts...then Springfield Catholic.
Hallsville 34, Versailles 29
Tough loss for Versailles...which was gunning for a 6 and 3 regular season record. Hallsville can be salty at times. Versailles is in the Lamar district unfortunately for them. Hallsville gets South Callaway Friday night and very well could give the Bulldogs a game.
Tolton 51, O'Fallon Christian 48
Tolton is a sleeper. They trailed this game 48-23 at halftime. They can put points on the board on almost anybody...and if they get some confidence in the districts...look out. Blair Oaks plays the winner of Tolton and Hermann. Rightnow...I say beware the Trailblazers.
Rolla 74, Springfield Central 8
I'm sure Rolla had to work to keep from scoring a bunch more.
Smith-Cotton 29, KC Center 6
Good win for Smith Cotton which plays Hickman Friday night.
Marshall 27, Kirksville 26
St. Clair 49, Owensville 15
Union 41, Hermann 6
Union hosts Helias Friday night.
Macon 37, Centralia 20
Remember...Macon is the fourth seed in their district. Can you say loaded?
A correction and yes...Lamar really did lose
Yep...I goofed in last week's blog about the way the Class 2 playoffs will work. If Blair Oaks gets out of its district, the state quarterfinals will match the Falcons and the winner of District 6...either Palmyra, Monroe City or Clark ?.County. After that, jump up the bracket to play an eastern Missouri school...likely Lutheran North. Okay with me if we avoid some of those western Missouri powerhouses. Although Lutheran North would be no picnic. And we still wouldn't see Lamar until the state championship game. Oh...by the way...in case you haven't heard...Lamar lost to undefeated Cassville last Friday night 24-21...snapping Lamar's nation-leading 57-game win streak. Meaning the Blair Oaks Falcons will more than likely be the top ranked team in the state going into district play. The target just got bigger. We'll see if the boys are up to it.