The Second Half: Week 7 in Jefferson County Football

Halftime is where Week 7 was decided. Hillsboro was tied 7-7 in the second quarter at De Soto on the Live Stream STL broadcast and won 56-13. Farmington and St. Pius X were scoreless into the second quarter on the Live Stream STL broadcast, and Farmington won 41-20. Kirkwood was tied with Fox 21-21 late in the third and scored the last 14. Festus held last year's Class 4 runner-up to 12. The Live Stream STL crew's game notes said it: the good teams adjusted at halftime and pulled away. The one exception was the closest game on the board — Eureka led Ladue by four going to the fourth quarter, was tied at 37 after a field goal with 35 seconds left, and lost on another one in overtime. Seven weeks are gone. Two remain before the districts. This is the second half.

Week 7 by the numbers

• 49-6 — the score from the moment Hillsboro and De Soto were tied 7-7 in the second quarter, on the Live Stream STL broadcast, to the final horn.
• 218 — receiving yards on eight catches for Seckman's Nick Weidler, in Brody Kube's first game at quarterback since the opener. It is the eighth-best receiving game in the area this season on the Post-Dispatch honor roll, and a school record by the Leader's count.
• 3 — interceptions returned for touchdowns by Northwest in the first half against Jennings: Braydon Jones 40 yards, Cohenn Stark 35, Kaler Moore 35.
• 145 — passes Eureka's Zac Kem has thrown this season without an interception, by the Post-Dispatch database's count. Eureka lost anyway.
• 9 of 9 — Sam Kerley's passing line at Grandview, for 160 yards and two touchdowns.

Festus: 21-12, five straight, and into the poll

Festus 21, Hannibal 12, in the first game between the schools in the Post-Dispatch's records, which reach back to 1999, and the Tigers' narrowest win of the season. It is also the one game on the board without a box score: neither school had posted one by Tuesday, and no outlet has published a quarter line, so the scoreboard is the story. It says a Hannibal team averaging 27 a game, by MaxPreps' count, was held to its second-lowest total of the season, and that Festus, 0-2 after Sept. 4, is 5-2 with five straight wins and 57 points allowed in the five. The win moved Festus into the Missouri Media poll at No. 8 in Class 4 and moved Hannibal out of it. Both ended last season against Kearney; this fall, only one of them is ranked.

Hillsboro: from 7-7 to 56-13

"Our main focus on defense is stopping him," Aiden Fleming told the Leader before the game, meaning Cannon Kisner. Then Hillsboro stopped him. It was 21-13 at halftime, by MaxPreps' quarter line, and 35-0 after it: Hillsboro 56, De Soto 13. Kisner, who had thrown two interceptions all season, threw two in three attempts — Auston Ross returned one 76 yards for a touchdown and Preston Ross returned the other 34 — and, though he ran for both De Soto touchdowns, was held to 77 yards on 14 carries a week after his 216. Fleming went 13 of 20 for 224 yards and three touchdowns, one a 25-yarder to Jadyn Rice, and has now thrown 86 passes this season without an interception; Alec Fleming caught two passes for 102 yards. Rice ran 11 times for 97, scored twice on the ground and once on the catch. Hillsboro had 425 yards; De Soto had 164. The Hawks are 6-1, finished league play 3-1 two weeks after the Festus loss took the title away, and have outscored their last two opponents 97-13. De Soto is 3-4. Last October the Dragons walked into Hillsboro and won 26-21; this was the answer.

Farmington 41, St. Pius X 20: 323 rushing yards weren't enough

St. Pius X had outscored its previous five opponents 306-26. Farmington, No. 9 in Class 5, came to Fr. Dalton Memorial Stadium, and the first quarter ended 0-0 on the Live Stream STL broadcast; per the Daily Journal, St. Pius X's 14-play, 87-yard opening drive was stopped on fourth down at the 11. The Lancers ran 65 times for 323 yards, attempted four passes and owned the ball — per the Daily Journal, Farmington's offense was on the field for less than four minutes of the first half. It was 13-13 anyway, because Josh McCarthy — Farmington's linebacker, an Iowa State commit — caught a 41-yard touchdown pass and returned a kickoff 85 yards. The teams traded turnovers on the first two plays of the third quarter, and then A.J. Robbins threw a 63-yard touchdown to Chase Owens, per the Daily Journal, for a 20-13 lead Farmington kept. Robbins finished 12 of 22 for 264 yards and five touchdowns by the Daily Journal's count, and Farmington won with 12 net rushing yards. Cody Shaver carried 29 times for 140 yards and two touchdowns — a strong night for anyone else and his lowest of the season; he had not been held under 148 in six games, and his 1,481 yards now sit second in the area. Brody Ervin ran 28 times for 159 and intercepted a pass. The Lancers are 5-2 — their first loss since Week 1 at Gibson Southern, Ind. — Farmington is 6-1.

Jefferson 43, Grandview 0: nine for nine

Sam Kerley did not throw an incompletion at Grandview. Aiden Kentch carried seven times for 138 yards — 19.7 a carry — and Evan Botkin caught five passes for 96 and a touchdown, Kollyn Waters two for 54. Jefferson gained 408 yards on 29 plays, had five sacks (Chase Young two) and 10 tackles from Brandon Crader. The Blue Jays are 5-2 and 5-0 in Quad County play, with 189 points scored and 33 allowed in the league, and they have now answered last October's 33-30 loss to Grandview by the widest margin in the series since a 49-0 win in 2021. Grandview is 0-7, has lost eight straight dating to last season, and has been outscored 295-40.

Seckman: Kube is back, and Weidler went for 218

Seckman 40, Hazelwood East 6, on Thursday, and the first thing to know is that Brody Kube played quarterback — his first appearance since breaking his collarbone in the Aug. 28 opener, per the Leader, an absence that ran through Cohner Baer's two starts and Jaxon Jablonski's three. Kube threw 12 passes, completed nine for 264 yards and three touchdowns, and eight of the completions went to Nick Weidler, two of them for touchdowns of 30 and 77 yards. Logan Harris caught the other scoring pass from 46 yards. Jablonski went back to running back and carried 11 times for 58; Trey Conner ran for two short touchdowns; Elliot Burris made 11 tackles and recovered a fumble. Seckman is 6-1 and 2-1 in the Suburban Red.

Northwest: three pick-sixes before halftime

Northwest 69, Jennings 0, and it was 35-0 after one quarter. Cohenn Stark scored five touchdowns — runs of 45, 2, 6 and 11 yards on six carries for 72, and a 35-yard interception return — and he wasn't the only one taking it back: Braydon Jones and Kaler Moore had the other two, one in each quarter. It was 63-0 at halftime, by a defense that has allowed 63 points all season. Northwest is 6-1 and 3-0 in the Suburban Orange, where Oakville is also 3-0.

Eureka: 37-37 with 35 seconds left, and then Ladue

Ladue 40, Eureka 37, in overtime, and Eureka did almost everything right. Zac Kem went 16 of 18 for 192 yards and two touchdowns and ran 28 times for 174 and another; Riley Major caught five passes for 126, including the 41-yard touchdown that opened the scoring; Eureka finished with 492 yards and led the unbeaten Rams 31-27 after three quarters. The Post-Dispatch counted 10 lead changes. The numbers that beat Eureka were small ones. Ladue scored with 10:44 left to go up 34-31; Kem answered with a 6-yard run at 6:27, but the extra point failed, and 37-34 instead of 38-34 meant Gavin Bader's 31-yard field goal with 35 seconds left tied the game instead of leaving Ladue a point short. In overtime Bader kicked a 26-yarder, and Eureka's possession ended on a fumble. Eureka is 5-2, its four-game winning streak over; Ladue is 7-0.

Fox at Kirkwood: tied in the third, then 14 straight

Fox led 13-7 late in the second quarter at Kirkwood and was tied 21-21 with 3:19 left in the third after Jacob Edwards's 13-yard run and Jude Pribish's two-point conversion. Kirkwood scored the last 14 — Benji Rice from the 3 with 1:35 left in the third and from the 5 with 5:07 left — and won 35-21. Ryan Joggerst carried 19 times for 106 yards and Fox's first touchdown; Pribish ran 21 times for 81 and completed Fox's only pass of the night, a 46-yarder to Nehemiah Glanville. George Kidd caught two passes for 106 yards for Kirkwood, one a 70-yard touchdown. Fox is 3-4 and still has not beaten Kirkwood in seven meetings in the Post-Dispatch's records; Kirkwood is 5-1.

Quad County: 413 more for Herculaneum

Herculaneum 46, Bayless 18, and Herculaneum ran for 413 yards a week after running for 404 — Luke Smith 133 on nine carries, Chase Luebbert 93, Conor Hedrick 89 and two touchdowns on five. It was 14-0 in the first quarter on the Live Stream STL broadcast. The oddity was the ball on the ground: Bayless was credited with five fumble recoveries and still lost by 28, because Gavin Feltmann returned an interception 79 yards, Luebbert intercepted another, and Bayless managed 50 passing yards. Herculaneum is 4-3 and has won three straight by a combined 130-26; Bayless is 2-5.

St. Vincent 49, Cuba 6, and the Indians are 4-0 in the league with 168 points scored and 13 allowed. Neither school posted a box score; MaxPreps called it a season high and an eighth straight home win. St. Vincent is 6-1. Potosi 44, Perryville 21: Carter Pyatt ran 25 times for 333 yards — third on the Post-Dispatch honor roll this season — and Potosi ran for 503 as a team. Perryville is 3-4. And Crystal City lost 20-6 at Duchesne; Kolton Adams threw for 42 yards, and the Hornets are 1-6.

Windsor at North County: the slide reaches five

North County 48, Windsor 14, and it was 35-8 at halftime and 48-8 after three. The Raiders threw four touchdown passes and ran for three, and no name is attached to any of them, because North County has not posted a box score all season. Windsor's side reads 191 yards on 37 plays and one completion, Jett Black's 44-yard touchdown to Nolan Lawrence. The Owls have lost five straight, allowing 228 points in the slide, and finished 0-4 in the league; North County has won 12 straight in the series. Windsor is 2-5, North County 3-4.

Around the Suburban

Oakville scored 63 on Clayton with 22 rushing attempts — Jackson Oettle's two went for 109 yards — and recovered six fumbles, three by Andrew Ziegler; Oakville is 6-1. Rockwood Summit led Riverview Gardens 35-0 at halftime and won 35-14 on five takeaways; Summit is 4-3. And Pattonville, a week after its loss at Ritenour, scored 67 on Hazelwood Central, with a blocked-punt touchdown, a safety and a 90-yard kickoff return among them, to go to 6-1.

The three we circled, graded

• Hannibal at Festus — We called Hannibal the first opponent in a month built to argue with the Festus ground game. Final: Festus 21-12. Grade: no box score exists to say how hard it argued; Festus won by nine.
• Hillsboro at De Soto — We said Hillsboro arrives off a shutout and De Soto off its best defensive night of the year. Final: 56-13. Grade: Hillsboro's held De Soto to 164 yards; De Soto's allowed 49 of the next 55 points after 7-7.
• Eureka at Ladue — We flagged a 6-0 Ladue averaging 45.5 a game against a quarterback who hadn't thrown an interception in 127 attempts. Final: Ladue 40-37, overtime. Grade: he still hasn't, by the database's count, and it took overtime to settle.

Week 7, the whole board

• Thursday — Seckman 40, Hazelwood East 6
• Festus 21, Hannibal 12 · Hillsboro 56, De Soto 13 · North County 48, Windsor 14
• Farmington 41, St. Pius X 20 · Jefferson 43, Grandview 0 · St. Vincent 49, Cuba 6
• Herculaneum 46, Bayless 18 · Potosi 44, Perryville 21 · Duchesne 20, Crystal City 6
• Northwest 69, Jennings 0 · Kirkwood 35, Fox 21 · Ladue 40, Eureka 37 (OT)
• Oakville 63, Clayton 0 · Rockwood Summit 35, Riverview Gardens 14 · Pattonville 67, Hazelwood Central 0

Helmet stickers

• Nick Weidler, Seckman — 218 receiving yards, a school record by the Leader's count, the week his quarterback came back.
• Cohenn Stark, Northwest — five touchdowns, four on six carries and one on a 35-yard interception return, all in the first half.
• Sam Kerley, Jefferson — 9 of 9, 160 yards, two touchdowns, and the county passing lead.

Where the races stand

• Mississippi Area Red Conference, final: Festus 4-0, Hillsboro 3-1, North County 2-2, De Soto 1-3, Windsor 0-4.
• Quad County: Jefferson 5-0, St. Vincent 4-0. Jefferson has one league game left, St. Vincent two; if St. Vincent beats Grandview on Friday, Oct. 23 at Jefferson is winner-take-all. Herculaneum 3-2, Perryville 2-2.
• Suburban Orange: Northwest and Oakville are 3-0 and meet Oct. 23 at Oakville. Suburban Red: Ritenour 3-0, then Seckman, Pattonville and Parkway North at 2-1. Suburban Yellow: Eureka 3-0, Kirkwood 2-1.
• Missouri Media poll, Oct. 12: St. Pius X slips from No. 5 to No. 7 in Class 3; Farmington rises from No. 9 to No. 7 in Class 5, where Ladue is No. 6 and Eureka No. 9; Kirkwood is No. 9 in Class 6; St. Vincent holds at No. 8 in Class 2, Valle Catholic at No. 3.
• MSHSAA district points, two weeks out: Hillsboro leads Class 4 District 1 at 44.29, Sikeston 44.18, Festus 43.57 — a seed decided by hundredths. Northwest, Oakville and Seckman are second through fourth behind Jackson in Class 6 District 1. St. Pius X, Eureka and Farmington are top seeds in their districts; Fox is second in Farmington's, Jefferson second to Valle Catholic in Class 2 District 2.
• The passing race: Kerley 1,098, Adams 950 — a lead of 30 a week ago, 148 now.

Week 8: three we've circled

• Friday — Hillsboro at Farmington: two 6-1 teams, both top seeds in their districts, and the one with less margin is Hillsboro, whose district lead over Sikeston and Festus is measured in hundredths, so the points from a win over a Class 5 No. 7 would matter. Farmington's only loss is 47-0 at Jackson, the No. 1 team in Class 6, and it just beat St. Pius X by three touchdowns. Farmington leads the series 12-4 in the Post-Dispatch's records, but the last meeting was Hillsboro's 57-0 playoff win in 2022.
• Friday — Ritenour at Seckman: Ritenour controls the Suburban Red at 3-0 after beating Pattonville and Parkway North in consecutive weeks; Seckman is 2-1 with this game and Parkway North left. It is the first Seckman-Ritenour meeting in the Post-Dispatch's records, and Seckman arrives with its quarterback back and a receiver coming off a school record.
• Friday — Festus at Poplar Bluff: Festus has not beaten Poplar Bluff in the Post-Dispatch's records — 0-3 since 1999, the last a 34-10 loss in 2017 — and the Mules are 1-6 on a four-game slide. That reads like a mismatch until you remember Poplar Bluff beat Hillsboro 30-21 at home last October, and that Festus is third in its district by less than a point.

The rest of Friday, all at 7 p.m. unless noted: Fredericktown at Windsor; Fredericktown has won the last two meetings, 41-38 at Windsor and 39-22 at home; De Soto at Potosi, a week after Carter Pyatt's 333 yards — Potosi won 40-14 last year; Ste. Genevieve at Jefferson, which Ste. Genevieve has won four straight years; St. Vincent at Grandview; Cuba at Bayless (6 p.m.); Crystal City at Malden; St. Clair at North County; Webster Groves at Northwest, a year after Northwest won 42-35 at Webster; Oakville at Mehlville; Riverview Gardens at Fox; Eureka at Lafayette, which beat Eureka 35-6 last October; Rockwood Summit at Kirkwood, which is 11-0 in the series; St. Pius X at Vianney (the Post-Dispatch's schedule says 7, MaxPreps says 6); and Parkway North at Pattonville (6 p.m.). Saturday at 1 p.m.: Herculaneum at Perryville. Districts open Oct. 30.

For the record: last week this space called Kamden Yates' 341 the top rushing game on the Post-Dispatch honor roll; it is now second, behind the 467 Roxana's Mekhi Shorter ran for on Friday. Cannon Kisner's De Soto career rushing-touchdown record, which we attributed to the Live Stream STL crew, has since been confirmed by the Leader: 24, set at Fredericktown on Oct. 2. Three counts differ this week and we went with the database: Brody Ervin ran 28 times for 159 in the Post-Dispatch, 27 for 129 in the Daily Journal; Seckman's final is 40-6 in the Post-Dispatch and the Leader, 40-7 on MaxPreps and KJFF; Nick Weidler's yardage is 218 in the database, 216 in the Leader. And one caveat on Zac Kem's clean sheet: the Leader's account of the Marquette game includes a Eureka interception returned for a touchdown that the database does not charge to Kem, so his zero is the database's zero. Festus had not posted its Hannibal box score as of Tuesday.

County coverage runs all season in partnership with Live Stream STL, which broadcasts these games live. Catch up on the Week 4, Week 5 and Week 6 recaps and the season preview that framed it all. Athlete development, as always, by M4P — Movement 4 Power.

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