Webster Groves seniors miss out on Turkey Day game; Lift for Life prepares for long trip (2024)

Sean Patrick Keegan knew what was coming.

Still, the Webster Groves High senior linebacker and tight end felt helpless as he watched the final minutes of Kirkwood’s 45-35 win over Jackson on his computer Friday night.

The Kirkwood win meant that the Pioneers remained alive in the Class 6 state title chase.

Most importantly to Webster Groves, it also meant that Keegan’s senior season was over one game too early.

“My teammates and I were watching and there was nothing we could do,” Keegan said. “We started to get sad.

“It just is what it is.”

Webster Groves is slated to end its campaign with a Thanksgiving Day battle against rival Kirkwood in the traditional battle for the Frisco Bell.

The series, which began in 1898, is the longest in the country west of the Mississippi River.

But thanks to Kirkwood’s triumph, the Turkey Day game will now feature junior varsity squads of freshmen and sophomores. The Kirkwood varsity team is gearing up for a state semifinal affair at 1 p.m. Saturday at Nixa.

So instead of ending his high school career on Turkey Day in front of the usual overflow crowd, Keegan will be on the sidelines watching a battle between underclassmen from both schools.

The Statesmen (2-7) would have been heavy underdogs against Kirkwood (9-2).

“We were looking to go out and shock the world,” said Keegan, who is also the team’s punter.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder won’t get that chance now.

“You’re upset, but you’re not upset at anyone,” Keegan said. “It’s just the way things happened.”

The annual game has been played without varsity teams in the past, including seven times since 2002. The last time was in 2012.

If one of the schools is still alive in the state playoffs, the contest is shifted to sub-varsity status, like this year’s contest, which will be played at noon Thursday at Moss Field.

The series has been played continuously every year with few exceptions, one of those was the COVID-19 year of 2020.

Kirkwood has won the last 10 games, the longest winning streak in the history of the series.

Keegan and his teammates were looking forward to snapping that run.

The news that the game would be played without varsity players hit Webster Groves coach Connor White hard as well.

He sent out a group text to his seniors explaining the situation moments after the Kirkwood win. White said pushing the send button on the message was extremely difficult.

“They have been practicing the last three weeks just for that game,” White said. “It’s not that we’re breaking new ground here because it’s happened before. But it still (stinks) for those guys who won’t get to play in a game like this for the last time.”

The Statesmen struggled the second half of the season after a promising 2-2 start and lost their last five games by a combined 166-44.

Keegan was hoping to salvage something from the disappointing season with an upset of Kirkwood.

“No matter how bad the season goes, you win that final game against Kirkwood and it makes a lot of people happy,” White said.

The contest takes on extra importance to Keegan and several of his fellow seniors. Keegan is still hoping to play college football and has gotten limited attention. He looked at the game as a last-ditch chance to turn the heads of universities across the country.

“I really just wanted to go out there and play with these guys I’ve grown up with one more time,” Keegan said.

Webster Groves’ last game was a 42-7 loss at Cape Girardeau Central in the opening round of the Class 5 District 1 Tournament on Nov. 1.

White is trying to look at the positive side of a difficult situation.

“It’s an awesome opportunity for some of our underclassmen to get to be a part of this tradition that we have,” White said.

White said his JV players will still enter the contest with the same intensity as past games. He expects the fans to still treat the game with the reverence that it deserves.

“All things considered, it’s still Turkey Day,” White said.

Hawks prepare for long road trip

Lift for Life senior defensive back Kameron Hurst decided to take a look at the map to see where the Hawks were going for the first state semifinal football game in school history.

He chuckled when he saw that Seneca is located in the very southwestern part of the state, just six miles from the Oklahoma border.

“So what if it’s a long way,” Hurst said. “Long trips don’t bother us.”

Apparently.

Lift for Life will take its 8-5 record down Interstate 44 to face Seneca (12-0) at 1 p.m. Saturday with a trip to the Class 3 state championship game on the line. The Newton Country school is located 309 miles from the Lift For Life campus in downtown St. Louis near the Soulard neighborhood. It should take a little over five hours to make the excursion.

“We’ll be fine,” Life for Life coach Tony Woolfolk said.

The Hawks do not have a home field and are used to foreign environs. They even flew to face All Saints Academy of Fort Worth on Sept. 12.

Yet the trip this weekend could be an arduous one.

Hurst played a key role in the Hawks’ 50-12 triumph Saturday over previously undefeated Dexter at Mehlville High, which is Lift For Life’s adopted playoff home.

He scored on a pair of interception returns to trigger a strong defensive effort.

Hurst got the ball rolling with 31-yard interception and return for the first score just 92 seconds into the game. He then highlighted a run of 32 unanswered points with a 69-yard interception for a score in the third stanza.

Senior quarterback Mikey Gerdine hit on 8 of 9 passes for 131 yards and two scores as the Hawks broke open a close game with a 24-point third-period explosion.

“I told people at the beginning (of the season) that we could do this,” Woolfolk said. “We’ve always been fairly optimistic.”

The winner of Saturday’s game will take on the winner of the other semifinal affair between Blair Oaks (11-1) and Maryville (9-4) in the state championship game at 11 a.m. Dec. 7 at Faurot Field in Columbia.

De Smet takes charge on road

They are called the “turnover shades.”

When a De Smet player records a key turnover or special teams play, that individual gets to temporarily put on a special, colorful set of sunglasses upon returning to the sidelines.

Sophomore Jayden Jackson got the honor Saturday.

Jackson blocked a punt and then scooped it up for a 19-yard touchdown to highlight the Spartans’ 28-14 win at Rock Bridge in a Class 6 state quarterfinal in Boone County.

The heads-up play highlighted a three-touchdown outburst in the second quarter that decided the outcome.

“I thought I looked good,” Jackson said of his brief time with the turnover shades.

A picture was taken to commemorate the occasion.

“It couldn’t have gone better,” De Smet coach John Merritt said. “He came right across the face of the punter and took it right off his foot.”

Explained Jackson, who also starts in the defensive backfield, “At first, I didn’t think I was going to get there. Then it my hit arm and I got it.

“A great feeling.”

The play gave De Smet a 21-0 lead.

The Spartans (10-2) will host Liberty (9-3) of Kansas City at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon with a berth in the state championship game on the line. Kirkwood plays at Nixa (12-0) in the other semifinal.

The winners meet for the state championship at 7 p.m. Dec. 6 at Faurot Field in Columbia.

Senior quarterback Dillon Duff, who is bound for Kansas State, turned in a strong effort against Rock Bridge. He hit on 28 of 43 passes for 307 yards and one score. His 37-yard TD strike to Nathan Hatcher was part of the second-quarter outburst. Duff also ran for a score.

“We do show up well on the road,” Merritt said. “When you have a real good defense, that always helps.”

Senior defensive lineman Quincy Byas led the charge with seven tackles and key sack in the fourth period that short-circuited a drive by Rock Bridge (10-2). Byas is bound for Eastern Michigan University.

De Smet has won four in a row after a 28-3 loss to Cardinal Ritter on Oct. 18.