Blog

By Jim Wieners

Two weeks remain in High School Football prior to District Playoffs and Hazelwood East now focuses on finishing at .500 or above for the 37th consecutive year after two straight losses dropped the Spartans to 3-2 in the Suburban North Conference, 4-3 overall and perhaps out of the running for the Suburban North title.

Friday, Oct. 18, Hazelwood East heads to Ritenour High’s Moore Field for a 7 p.m. game against a 6-1 Husky team (4-1 SNC) who has won two straight over the Spartans at Gorzynski Field. Last Saturday, Oct. 12, East held visiting Hazelwood Central to a season-low 27 points but the Hawks held the Spartans to a season-low 14 points as Central defeated East, 27-14.

Meanwhile Ritenour, who lost at Hazelwood Central (42-27) on Sept. 28, has rebounded with a win over McCluer, 33-12 at Moore Field on Oct. 5, then went to Pattonville Stadium a week later, Oct. 12 and won 41-38 in overtime. Ritenour saw a 38-20 lead evaporate in the fourth quarter on a pair of Tyrone Eastern touchdown runs and a pair of two-point conversion runs as the Pirates tied the game at 38-38 but the Huskies won the game in overtime on an 18-yard field goal by Khalil Levin.

Since Hazelwood East began playing Ritenour around 1976 the Spartans have usually dominated and most of the time the Spartans have defeated Ritenour in a lot of consecutive years. Recently the Huskies now have won over the Spartans the last two years in a row but the last time East and Ritenour played at Moore Field the Spartans rolled over the Huskies 48-6 on Oct. 9, 2010.

MEANWHILE four other Florissant Valley area teams will be spending Week Eight at home starting Friday at 7 p.m. as the Trinity Catholic Titans host the Lutheran North Crusaders in a non-conference battle of 3-4 teams. Three other area teams play Saturday, Oct. 19 in 1 p.m. Suburban North games as Hazelwood Central (5-0 SNC, 7-0) hosts Riverview Gardens (1-4, 3-4), the McCluer North Stars (3-2, 4-3) host the McCluer Comets (0-5, 1-6) and the Hazelwood West Wildcats (2-3, 3-4) host Pattonville (2-3, 2-5)

TRINITY CATHOLIC-LUTHERAN NORTH — Trinity Catholic, who is in the middle of a three-game home-stand, wrapped up Archdiocesan Athletic Association Small Division play (2-2) with a 41-6 loss to O’Fallon Christian, which have now have won two straight AAA Small Division titles. Lutheran North, who was 2-3 in the Metro League, has now won three straight games after opening the season with four straight losses. Last Saturday the Crusaders won their regular-season home finale over Principia, 49-7.

HAZELWOOD CENTRAL-RIVERVIEW GARDENS — Hazelwood Central may have scored the fewest points this season last Saturday but had their best defensive effort in the 27-14 win at Hazelwood East by allowing the fewest points in a game this season. A win over Riverview will assure the Hawks of no worse the a share of first place in the Suburban North but combine that with a Hazelwood East win at Ritenour then the Hawks will secure their second straight Suburban North title outright. Quarterback Mike Glass led the Hawk scoring attack against the Spartans last Saturday by passing for two touchdown and running for another while place-kicker Brendan Kocurek booted two field goalsLast Saturday the Rams lost at home to McCluer North, 37-31.

McCLUER NORTH-McCLUER — Going into the battle for the red, blue and silver football, the McCluer North Stars have narrowly escaped with one-point wins over Lindbergh and Hazelwood East, winning by seven over Hazelwood West and, last Saturday, won by six (37-31) at Riverview Gardens.. McCluer, meanwhile, has lost five in a row including last Saturday at home to Hazelwood West, 22-6, and the Comets currently hold the red, blue and silver football after winning last year‘s game.

HAZELWOOD WEST-PATTONVILLE — For the first time since 2009 the Hazelwood West Wildcats are on a wining streak of more than a game after their 22-6 win last Saturday at McCluer thanks to a pair of second-half touchdowns by Terrence “TJ” Dominick that broke a scoreless tie. The Wildcats have more wins this season (three) than the three previous seasons combined (two). Pattonville has lost the last two games after winning the previous two. In the last four games the Pirates, who had five touchdowns