Back to Even: Week 4 in Jefferson County Football

Two Fridays ago, Festus and Jefferson were 0-2. Festus had lost a home shootout, then a road game and its quarterback; Jefferson had lost to a first-time opponent, then got pushed around at Park Hills Central. On Friday both finished the climb — Festus 36, De Soto 8; Jefferson 27, Cuba 0 — and both are 2-2 and unbeaten in league play. The road back to even ran in both directions, though. Seckman, 3-0 a week ago, went to Pattonville without its first two quarterbacks and didn't score. Windsor, 2-0 two weeks ago, ran for 393 yards and lost by 32. Crystal City, 0-3 in its 100th season, won a football game. And one team didn't need to get even with anybody. Hillsboro is 4-0, has outscored its opponents 183-52, and on Friday the standard comes to Hillsboro.

Week 4 by the numbers

• 393 — Windsor's rushing yards at Saxony Lutheran, on 41 carries. Windsor lost 52-20.
• 33.3 — Cohenn Stark's yards per carry at Mehlville: three carries, 100 yards, three touchdowns.
• 0 — interceptions thrown by Hillsboro's two quarterbacks this season, in 61 attempts.
• 18.0 — St. Pius X's yards per play against Park Hills Central: 395 yards on 22 snaps.
• 166 — receiving yards for Pattonville's Gilbert Lakine III against Seckman, 32 more than Seckman's entire offense.
• 91 — passes Eureka's Zac Kem has thrown this season without an interception.

Festus is back to even. Now it gets the unbeaten.

Festus didn't send its numbers to the Post-Dispatch, but De Soto's half of the box score reads like a scouting report on the Tigers' defense: 138 total yards, 4-of-7 passing for 30 yards and an interception, and nothing on the board but a Cannon Kisner touchdown and two-point conversion. The Live Stream STL crew filled in the rest. Kamden Yates ran for more than 250 yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns, Braydon Wilkes caught two touchdown passes, and Quinnten O'Brien is now 2-0 as the starter since Parker Perry was hurt. It was Festus' 10th straight win over De Soto, and it looked like the other nine. Friday won't.

Hillsboro: a stop at the 1, then 97 yards

The first half explains Hillsboro 45, North County 13. Jesse Johnson broke a 60-yard run to the Hillsboro 4, a crowd of Hawks swarmed Braydee McClure in the backfield on fourth down at the 1, and Hillsboro drove 97 yards the other way for a touchdown, per the Daily Journal. It was 25-6 at the half. Hillsboro plays two quarterbacks, and Friday belonged to sophomore Cody Reese: 8 of 10 for 213 yards. Auston Ross, Preston's older brother, caught four passes from the pair for 140. Preston Ross ran seven times for 72 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown, before he was helped off in the second quarter, per the Daily Journal; Aiden Fleming added a rushing score, and Dylan Dickemann sacked McClure twice. Between them, Reese and Fleming are 42 of 61 for 843 yards with no interceptions — 13.8 yards every time Hillsboro throws. It's the Hawks' first 4-0 start since 2023, when they played for a state title at Faurot Field; last year's team went 5-6.

Jefferson's defense gets its turn

Cuba came in averaging 37 points and had gained at least 331 yards in every game. Per the Live Stream STL crew, it didn't reach 100 total yards on Friday. Jefferson 27, Cuba 0 was the Blue Jays' first shutout since a 35-0 win over Herculaneum in September 2023. Aiden Kentch carried 21 times for 98 yards and two touchdowns, Evan Botkin ran for another, and Logan Young caught a 12-yard touchdown pass and recovered a fumble. Sam Kerley went 10 of 13 for 121 yards. Since the 0-2 start, Jefferson has won twice by a combined 57-14 and joined St. Vincent as the only Quad County teams unbeaten in league play. They meet Oct. 23 at Jefferson.

Kerley still trails Crystal City's Kolton Adams in the county passing race, 717 yards to 663, but he has the better rate numbers: 7.5 yards per attempt to 6.4, and a 98.9 rating in the Post-Dispatch's database to 92.2.

Seckman ran out of quarterbacks

Seckman went to Pattonville without Brody Kube, hurt in Week 1, or Cohner Baer, hurt in Week 3 — coach Nick Baer told Metro Sports St. Louis both will be out for an extended period — and ran what it had left: direct snaps behind a lead blocker. That produced one real drive, 12 plays and 70 yards over more than seven minutes, and it ended on downs. Pattonville 35, Seckman 0. The Jaguars finished with 134 yards, nine of them passing, all on throws from running back Jaxon Jablonski. Pattonville's Trevor Beckermann went 17 of 23 for 306 yards and two touchdowns, and the Pirates are 4-0 for the first time since 2014. Per Metro Sports, it was Seckman's first road loss since the 2022 playoffs, and it ended a conference winning streak that had reached 27 games and dated to 2020. Nick Baer said his team was "six inches from a pick-6" that would have made it 14-7.

Windsor can run. Stopping people is the problem.

Windsor averaged 9.6 yards a carry at Saxony Lutheran and lost 52-20. Jett Black had 180 yards on nine carries and a touchdown; Jack Kuda had 153 on 15 with two touchdowns and intercepted a pass; Ethan Cobb made 16 tackles. Saxony, coming off a bye, piled up 476 yards, nearly 300 on the ground, per the Southeast Missourian, and scored in every quarter, while Windsor's passing game went 2 of 8 for 10 yards. That's two straight weeks allowing 47 or more after a 2-0 start. Black (598 yards) and Kuda (585) rank 10th and 11th in the St. Louis area in rushing, both above 13 yards a carry, so the offense has a floor. The defense needs one. Windsor goes to De Soto on Friday; the Dragons have won the last two meetings.

St. Pius X barely needed the ball

St. Pius X 54, Park Hills Central 0, and the first half was bookended by pick-sixes: Harrison Ray returned one 34 yards on Central's first snap, and Brody Ervin took one back 92 yards as time expired to make it 47-0, per the Daily Journal. The Lancers turned five takeaways into 33 points and ran 22 offensive plays all night, for 395 yards. Cody Shaver carried nine times for 170 yards and two touchdowns. Evan Eckrich completed three passes for 123 yards, and all three went for touchdowns, two of them to Ervin. Shaver is at 854 yards on 52 carries, 16.4 a carry; his 94 points lead the St. Louis area, and he trails Highland's Carter Harris for the rushing lead by nine yards on 55 fewer carries. The Lancers have outscored their three Missouri opponents 203-8, the Missouri Media Poll moved them from No. 7 to No. 5 in Class 3, and Friday brings a trip to the Bootheel, at Caruthersville.

Northwest lightened Stark's load

A week after Cohenn Stark ran or threw it 63 times in a home loss to University City, Northwest handed it to him three times at Mehlville. Every one was a touchdown — 42 and 50 yards in the first quarter, 8 in the second — and the Lions led 35-0 at halftime on the way to 35-6. The more telling number is eight: Northwest ball carriers, for 323 yards, 92 of them from Chase Belcher on 10 carries. Stark went 3 of 6 for 76 yards, two of the completions to Jeremiah Clines for 70; Clines added a sack and nine tackles. Northwest is 3-1 and on the Post-Dispatch large-school bubble, and McCluer North visits Friday.

St. Vincent settled a debt

Herculaneum beat St. Vincent 28-13 last fall. St. Vincent remembered: 42-7, and the defending Quad County champions are 4-0 without allowing more than seven points in a game. Herculaneum ran for 173 yards but completed two passes for five, with an interception, and has lost three straight since its 42-0 opener. The Missouri Media Poll moved St. Vincent from No. 9 to No. 7 in Class 2, and on Friday it goes to No. 2 Valle Catholic. Elsewhere in the league, Perryville got back to .500 with a 35-14 win at Bayless, Jefferson's next opponent.

A hundred seasons, and a first win in this one

Crystal City 44, Confluence Prep 16, at home, and the centennial season has a win in it — the same way last season got its first, against the same opponent in the same week, 42-16. The six-game losing streak is over, and the 44 points are more than the Hornets scored in their first three games combined. Kolton Adams threw three touchdown passes, and the defense took the ball away four times: interceptions by Evan Conn, Tristyn Munton and Alex Parham, and a fumble recovery by Elias Miller. Parham also caught six passes for 80 yards. The ground game still isn't there — 53 yards on 33 carries — so Adams, a sophomore, is still the offense. Crystal City visits Veritas Christian on Friday, a week after Veritas won 40-22 at Grandview. Grandview's 22 points were its season high by 16: Max Moore ran for 91 yards, and Christian Volner completed all three of his passes for 86 yards and a touchdown.

Fox won the yardage. Ladue won the game.

Fox outgained Ladue 257-250, ran 47 times for 230 yards and lost 27-14. Ladue needed 38 snaps to gain its 250, Fox 53 to gain 257 — 6.6 yards a play to 4.8. And the difference was the play the yardage doesn't count: 14 seconds after Jude Pribish's 8-yard run cut it to 10-7 late in the first half, KJ Sutton returned the kickoff 68 yards for a touchdown. By the Post-Dispatch's box score, Fox also threw an interception and lost a fumble while Ladue didn't turn it over. Pribish carried 23 times for 131 yards and both Fox touchdowns, and Ryan Joggerst made 13 tackles. Ladue is 4-0, No. 7 in the Post-Dispatch large-school rankings and No. 8 in Class 5; Fox, 2-2, goes to Seckman.

Eureka blanked Summit for three quarters

Rockwood Summit, which beat Festus on opening night, lost 22-7 at home to Eureka and didn't score until the fourth quarter. McCoy Brown, who threw six touchdown passes the week before, went 8 of 16 for 108 yards, and the Falcons' only touchdown was his 14-yard throw to Kobi Barton. Zac Kem went 18 of 29 for 198 yards and two touchdowns, ran 15 times for 94 yards and a third score, and still hasn't thrown an interception this season. Eureka is 3-1, No. 8 in the Post-Dispatch large-school rankings and newly No. 10 in Class 5, and Kirkwood, No. 3 in the Post-Dispatch large-school rankings, visits Friday. On Saturday, Oakville ran for 383 yards and handed McCluer North its first loss, 39-16; Jackson Oettle had 190 and two touchdowns, his third straight 150-yard game.

The three we circled, graded

• Seckman at Pattonville — We flagged two 3-0 teams and a Seckman team that might be on its third quarterback. Final: Pattonville 35-0. Grade: right about the quarterback, and the quarterback was the game.
• Herculaneum at St. Vincent — We said something gives. Final: St. Vincent 42-7. Grade: something gave, and it wasn't St. Vincent.
• De Soto at Festus — We noted Festus won it 33-0 a year ago. Final: Festus 36-8. Grade: chalk, and the Tigers' defense wrote it.

Week 4, the whole board

• Festus 36, De Soto 8 · Hillsboro 45, North County 13 · Jefferson 27, Cuba 0
• St. Vincent 42, Herculaneum 7 · Perryville 35, Bayless 14 · Crystal City 44, Confluence Prep 16
• Saxony Lutheran 52, Windsor 20 · Veritas Christian 40, Grandview 22 · Pattonville 35, Seckman 0
• Ladue 27, Fox 14 · Northwest 35, Mehlville 6 · Eureka 22, Rockwood Summit 7
• St. Pius X 54, Park Hills Central 0 · Saturday — Oakville 39, McCluer North 16

Week 5: three we've circled

• Friday — Festus at Hillsboro: the only two teams in their Mississippi Area Football Conference division without a league loss, in a game the Daily Journal says likely decides the title. Hillsboro is 4-0 and plus-131; Festus is 2-2, but 83-14 in league play and 2-0 in Quinnten O'Brien's starts. Hillsboro won 12 of 13 meetings from 2015 through 2023. Festus has won the last three by a combined 95-21, the latest 41-0 in last November's district playoffs.
• Friday — St. Vincent at Valle Catholic: No. 7 at No. 2 in Class 2. St. Vincent has allowed 14 points in four games; Valle has beaten Rockwood Summit 42-7 and Park Hills Central 56-7. St. Vincent won this game 24-7 in 2024, its only win in the series since 2007, and lost it 42-7 last year.
• Friday — Fox at Seckman: Fox won 14 straight in this series from 2007 through 2020. Seckman has won the last five. This time the Jaguars bring a quarterback question, and Fox brings a run game that just put up 230 yards on a ranked team.

Grandview plays at Perryville on Thursday. The rest of the Friday slate: Windsor at De Soto, Jefferson at Bayless (Jefferson is 5-0 all-time in the series), Herculaneum at Cuba, North County at Lutheran St. Charles, McCluer North at Northwest, St. Pius X at Caruthersville, Crystal City at Veritas Christian, Kirkwood at Eureka, Rockwood Summit at Lindbergh and Parkway South at Oakville.

For the record: checking this week's numbers against the Post-Dispatch's database turned up errors in earlier recaps, now fixed in the archive. On opening night Parker Perry threw for 338 yards, not 331; Kamden Yates caught eight passes for 220 yards and ran for 60, 280 yards from scrimmage, not 280 receiving; and the fourth quarter of Summit-Festus produced 51 points, not 53. North County's win over De Soto in Week 3 was its 11th straight in the series, not the 10th. Seckman's win at Lindbergh extended a road winning streak to 12, not five. Dupo beat Bayless 26-14 in Week 1, not 24-16. And Seckman's running back is Jaxon Jablonski, not Jaxson.

County coverage runs all season in partnership with Live Stream STL, which broadcasts these games live. Catch up on the Week 1, Week 2 and Week 3 recaps and the season preview that framed it all. Athlete development, as always, by M4P — Movement 4 Power.

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