Missouri high school football district championships roundup (11/11/2023)

Several upsets highlighted Missouri high school football action

It was a wild and unpredictable night of high school football throughout Missouri on Friday, highlighted by a matchup of last year's Class 6 and Class 5 champions and the state's top-ranked team suffering its first loss of the season.

Six undefeated teams in the SBLive Missouri Power 25 rankings – No. 1 Lee's Summit North, No. 8 St. Dominic, No. 17 Lebanon, No. 18 Rockwood Summit, No. 22 South Shelby and No. 24 Seckman – suffered their first losses of the season in district championship games.

Elsewhere, No. 5 De Smet, No. 6 CBC, No. 11 Grain Valley, No. 13 Hillsboro and No. 21 Oak Park emerged with close wins to claim district titles and advance. 

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See: Missouri football playoff brackets, Missouri football scoreboard (11/10/2023), Missouri football Top 25 scoreboard (11/10/2023) and Missouri high school football news.

ROCKHURST 24, LEE'S SUMMIT NORTH 21

The No. 7 team in the SBLive Missouri Power 25 rankings, Rockhurst (10-1) got a late touchdown run from Aidan Ryan for the go-ahead score and then held off Lee's Summit North (10-1) to win the Class 6 District 6 title – the Hawklets' first district championship since 2018. 

Rockhurst will now host fourth-ranked Nixa (11-0), a 56-34 winner over rival Joplin in the District 5 title game, in the Class 6 quarterfinals on Friday.

Lee's Summit North, which got three touchdowns from running back Tanner Howes, has been the top-ranked team in the SBLive Missouri Power 25 rankings since the preseason and was one of the favorites to win Class 6 this season after finishing as the runner-up to CBC a year ago.

CBC 28, FRANCIS HOWELL 27

The Class 6 District 2 heavyweight showdown between two-time reigning Class 6 champion CBC and Francis Howell, last year's Class 5 champ, lived up to the billing with a back-and-forth battle that came down to the final buzzer.

Sixth-ranked CBC (9-2), playing without injured Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah McClellan, got a big game from junior standout Corey Simms (two TD catches and a fourth-down conversion to set up the game-winning score) and a big stop from sophomore outside linebacker Cortlaan Collins on a 2-point conversion attempt with 4:50 remaining.

No. 10 Howell (9-3) got two touchdown runs from senior running back Maddox Duncan. The Vikings overcame a 21-7 deficit to tie the score early in the fourth quarter. Howell went for 2 after senior quarterback Adam Shipley's 66-yard touchdown run late in the fourth, and a penalty before the point-after kick attempt, but Shipley was stopped by Collins short of the goal line. 

DE SMET 19, ST. LOUIS U. HIGH 13

Fifth-ranked De Smet (9-1) emerged with a tough Class 6 District 3 title game win against Metro Catholic Conference rival St. Louis University High (7-5) behind two touchdown runs from junior quarterback Dillon Duff, two field goals from Ethan Wehmueller and a stingy defensive effort.

The Spartans advance to the Class 6 quarterfinals and they will host Rock Bridge (9-2) on Saturday. Rock Bridge defeated Troy Buchanan 38-7 in the Class 6 District 4 championship game. 

SLUH senior quarterback Marco Sansone connected with sophomore wide receiver Zach Allen for a pair of touchdown passes. Sansone finished the season with 29 touchdown passes to go along with seven rushing TDs.

ZUMWALT NORTH 27, ST. DOMINIC 17

Fort Zumwalt North (8-4) overcame a four-point deficit at halftime to win the Class 5 District 4 championship and hand eighth-ranked St. Dominic (10-1) its first loss of the season. 

The Panthers got strong performances from running backs Chaun Robinson and Jayden Burleson.  

Robinson, a junior, carried 26 times for 173 yards and two touchdowns. Burleson, a freshman, ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. 

St. Dominic, which finished as the runner-up in Class 4 a year ago, had won 15 of its last 16 games. 

GRAIN VALLEY 27, PLATTE COUNTY 25

No. 11 Grain Valley led No. 25 Platte County 24-0 at halftime, lost the lead in the fourth quarter and then needed a late field goal and an interception to secure the Class 5 District 8 championship.

Senior running back Ty Williams (272 rushing yards and three TDs on 24 carries) had another big day for Grain Valley (10-1), fueling the team's strong first half with three touchdowns. Senior kicker Ben Drinkwater kicked a field goal late in the first half to extend the lead to 24-0. 

Platte County (9-3) rallied behind sophomore QB Rocco Marriott, who ran for two TDs and threw a touchdown pass. Marriott put the Pirates ahead 25-24 with 8:42 remaining on his second TD run.

Grain Valley answered with a field goal from Drinkwater with 4:42 left and then secured the victory with a clutch interception from junior defensive back Aaron Barr with 1:01 remaining.

REPUBLIC 35, LEBANON 32

Republic used a strong second half effort to earn a thrilling three-point road win to capture the Class 5 District 6 title – the Tigers' first district championship in 18 years. 

Republic (10-2) advances to face visiting No. 19 Helias (10-1), which defeated Capital City 41-6 in the district championship on Friday. 

No. 17 Lebanon (10-1) had won 14 of its last 15 games. The Yellowjackets are now 31-5 since the start of the 2021 season. 

EUREKA 35, ROCKWOOD SUMMIT 17

Sophomore running back Trevor Codak scored five touchdowns – four rushing, one receiving – to lead Eureka to a 35-17 win in the Class 5 District 2 championship against previously-unbeaten No. 18 Rockwood Summit. 

Eureka (8-4) has now won four straight games and Codak has been one of the catalysts. Against Summit, the sophomore ran for 162 yards and four TDs in 20 carries and caught a 69-yard touchdown pass. 

Summit (10-1) entered the game averaging 46 points per contest but was limited to a season-low 17 points by Eureka's defense. The Falcons are now 33-4 since the start of the 2021 season. 

HANNIBAL 55, WARRENTON 32

Notre Dame-bound running back Aneyas Williams ran for 331 yards and four touchdowns as Hannibal, the No. 3 seed in the Class 4 District 4 tournament, ran past fourth-seeded and previously-unbeaten Warrenton. 

Hannibal (11-1) will go on the road to face Lutheran North () in the Class 4 quarterfinals on Friday. Warrenton, which knocked off top seed Parkway North in the semifinals, finishes its season at 11-1 after going 7-20 combined in the previous two seasons.  

Corey Simms leads CBC past Francis Howell in Missouri Class 6 District 2 championship game

MISSOURI CLASS 6 SCORES

MISSOURI CLASS 5 SCORES

MISSOURI CLASS 4 SCORES

MISSOURI CLASS 3 SCORES

MISSOURI CLASS 2 SCORES

MISSOURI CLASS 1 SCORES

Top 25 Missouri high school football rankings (11/8/2023)

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- Nate Latsch | latsch@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveMiz