Missouri prep football notebook: Shorthanded Joplin survives scare but could be at full strength this week

By Chris Geinosky and Jon Walker

Kicker Joe Ipsen, who plays both football and soccer for Joplin, has been slowed by an injury in recent weeks. He returned to the field just in time to boot a game-winning, 28-yard field goal that lifted the Eagles to a closer-than-expected, 24-21, double-overtime victory Friday, Oct. 29, in the first round of Class 6 District 3 play.

“It was nerve-racking,” Ipsen admitted to the Joplin Globe. “It was a hard thing for me to come out and do. I have been out for two weeks and haven’t kicked a ball for two weeks.”

Fortunately, Ipsen was available to play the role of hero. According to local media reports, Joplin – the No. 11 team in the SBLive Missouri Top 25 – played without several starters last week due to suspensions from an off-the-field incident the day before the game.

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The Joplin School District released the following comment on the suspensions:

“We are aware of an incident that took place at Joplin High School on Thursday evening. As we take all the allegations very seriously, we are in the process of investigating the incident. Appropriate actions have been and will continue to be taken. Law enforcement has been involved where appropriate.”

Sophomore backup quarterback Hobbs Gooch, who made his first career Friday night start in place of superstar Always Wright, did just enough to lead the Eagles to the season-saving victory last week. Gooch completed 8-of-18 passes for 90 yards, but most importantly, he tossed a pair of touchdown passes to Terrance Gibson. Running back Drew VanGilder rushed for 120 yards on 31 carries.

Joplin (9-1 overall record), the No. 2 seed in the district, led the game 21-7 at halftime, but No. 7 seed Lee’s Summit (4-6) tied it up with two Alex Benassi touchdown passes – the first a 73-yarder to Landon Shepherd in the middle of the third quarter and the other a 7-yarder to Devin Andrews with five minutes left in regulation.

In the first overtime, Joplin failed to score after a fumble, but Lee’s Summit missed a potential game-winning 32-yard field goal. Then in the second OT, Ipsen provided the only points of the extra session.

Thanks to the win, Joplin sets up another battle of the Eagles with Central Ozark Conference rival Nixa in the district semifinals this week. In the regular season matchup between the teams back in Week 2, Joplin came out on top of a 28-25 decision.

What will happen in round two? Which players will be on the field? Only time will tell. As of Friday morning – 12 hours before kickoff – the availability of the suspended players was still unknown according to the Joplin Globe.

- Chris Geinosky

Brentwood wins on final play to face top-seeded Monroe City in district semifinals

There were 22 seconds remaining in the Class 1 District 2 first-round matchup when Brentwood was staring in the face of the offseason.

The Eagles — who planned on refraining from throwing the ball due to quarterback struggles — sent their offense back onto the field down 36-30 to Louisiana. They had one timeout, making the situation manageable, but it was a situation they never wanted, or expected, to be in.

Brentwood running back John Clay scored his fourth rushing touchdown of the game with 8;22 left in the game, giving the Eagles a 30-12 lead. And that’s where things went south, as Louisiana rattled off 24 unanswered points to take the aforementioned advantage.

But with six seconds and 45 yards to go, there was an answer too soon be provided.

Brentwood quarterback Trenton Mitchell dropped back to pass and heaved the desperation pass downfield, where wideout Nick Phillips reeled in the pass at the 10-yard line before dragging a defender into the end zone with him. The Eagles, who have only made two extra-point attempts this season, elected to try a 2-point conversion.

They were successful, as Clay bulldozed his way across the goal line to give the Eagles a 38-36 win.

“I was just thinking I did not want it to go into overtime,” Clay told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We need to get in some way, somehow. By any means, get in. That’s what I was thinking.”

“We never stopped believing we could win,” Clay added.

- Jon Walker

Top-ranked CBC vs. No. 5 De Smet highlights high-profile list of district semifinal matchups

Ever since the district assignments were released back at the start of the season, this looked like it would be the game of the year in St. Louis. It’s just happening one week earlier than expected.

Christian Brothers College, the No. 1-ranked team in the SBLive Missouri Top 25, and No. 5 De Smet Jesuit have been tabbed as the best two teams in the St. Louis area this season. They will meet in the Class 6 District 1 semifinals this week, and there’s no misunderstanding what’s at stake – the winner keeps their state championship aspirations alive while the loser will check in their pads.

“You know what time it is,” De Smet head coach Carl Reed told the St. Louis Post Dispatch after his team’s district first-round victory against Kirkwood. “We’re the best two teams in the state even though we’ve got to play early. It doesn’t matter whether you play them in the district championship, the first round or the championship game, loser goes home and winner holds it up. At the end of the day we knew this game was coming, and we’ve got to be ready for it.”

CBC (9-1 overall record) and De Smet (8-2) know each other well. When the Metro Catholic Conference rivals lock horns later this week, it will mark the eighth head-to-head matchup between the elite programs in the past four years – meeting in both the regular season and postseason in each of the last four seasons.

De Smet, the Class 6 state champion in 2019 and state runner-up in 2020, had won four in a row against CBC before the Cadets’ 44-29 victory back in Week 3 this season, which snapped the Spartans two-year run as Metro Catholic league champs.

CBC quarterback Patrick Heitert had a career night rushing the football in the first matchup this season, rushing for 131 yards and four touchdowns and has been fantastic all season. He has a pair of top targets in Jeremiah McClellan (33 receptions for 805 yards) and Ayden Robinson-Wayne (39 catches for 505 yards). De Smet dual-threat quarterback Chris Cotton has also put together an impressive year.

- Chris Geinosky

Parton runs wild during Pacific’s record-setting night against Affton

Pacific senior running back Makai Parton has had his fair share of success this fall, tying the school record by scoring six touchdowns in a single game — twice.

He did it a third time, too, as the third-seeded Indians beat Affton 81-0 in the first round of the Class 4 District 2 Tournament.

Parton finished with 197 yards rushing and six touchdowns on a mere 12 carries, bringing his season totals to 1,910 yards and 34 touchdowns, and helping the Indians to a 40-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. Pacific led 74-0 by halftime.

Now, the Indians will square off against second-seeded Union, a team that handed them a 49-22 loss Sept. 17. When they travel to face the Wildcats this Friday, they’ll be looking to have the last laugh.

- Jon Walker

Crosstown rivalry games take center stage in Class 6 District 4 semifinals

Interestingly enough, two of the top games in Kansas City this week feature crosstown rivalry games. \The Class 6 District 4 semifinals feature No. 1 seed Park Hill South vs. No. 4 Park Hill and No. 2 Liberty North vs. No. 3 Liberty.

The game in Liberty takes center stage, and this marks the third postseason matchup between the local schools in the five years. This will be the ninth all-time meeting between the Eagles and the Blue Jays since the rivalry started in 2016.

Liberty won the first three games head-to-head of the series, including a district victory in 2017. However, North has won four of the past five games since then, including last year’s high-profile district championship game, 28-10.

Liberty North (8-1 and ranked No. 3 in the SBLive Missouri Top 25) had to survive a scare from Blue Springs in a two-seed vs. seven-seed, first-round matchup last week. The Eagles trailed for portions of the first half and then had to hang on for a 34-31 victory that required a defensive stand in the final minute.

Meanwhile, Liberty (7-3) played its best game of the season last week in a 48-0 beat-down of Columbia Rock Bridge. The Blue Jays, who have been this ranked this season but suffered losses to three ranked teams in Liberty North, Lee’s Summit North and Raymore-Peculiar, fired on all cylinders in all three phases in the first round and now carry momentum into the semifinals.

As for the other rivalry game, top-seeded Park Hill South (10-0) has been plugging right along all season. Park Hill (5-5) has been up and down but has an explosive-enough offense to make this one interesting.

Despite the fact that these two schools are separated by only seven miles and share a district stadium, the football teams have not met head-to-head on the gridiron since 2017.

- Chris Geinosky

Maryville and Trenton ready for first meeting in 13 years

The Maryville football team never usually knows what to expect from MSHSAA. Two years ago, the Spoofhounds were in Class 2. Last year, they made it all of the way to the Class 3 title game before losing to Blair Oaks.

They’re back in Class 2 this year, and it sets up a Class 2 District 7 matchup between Maryville and Trenton that’s been 13 years in the making.

Maryville was able to cruise to a 49-28 win over the Bulldogs Dec. 10, 2008, and the top-seeded Spoofhounds are hoping to emulate that performance this Friday.

They’ll enter the matchup after a first-round bye week, one that accompanied the seven-team district’s top seed.

Trenton is on the heels of a first-round win over Brookfield, a 28-6 routing that was good enough to advance to the semifinals.

“They put together a good season. They’re playing well right now, and they got a good win last week — a convincing win — against Brookfield,” Maryville coach Matt Webb said.

But Webb isn’t ready to go home and stay there, yet. He isn’t ready for it to be basketball season at Maryville High School.

Instead, he’s hoping to play for a district title next week.

“Really, it’s kind of the finality of the season. It’s a feeling of win or go home,” Webb said of the postseason. “There’s that added incentive to just kind of do it and do everything you have to do as an individual and a teammate.

- Jon Walker