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Suburban 12 North Conference Begins With Hazelwood Central-McCluer
By Jim Wieners
When Courtland Griffin is a McCluer North student in the late 1990s the Suburban North Conference was a nine-team league and Riverview Gardens was a 1998 Class 5A State Football Champion.
Today McCluer North is part of the Suburban XII (12) North Conference with Riverview, McCluer and the three Hazelwood District High Schools — Central, East and West. Among the other three schools Pattonville and Ritenour are now part of the Suburban XII South and Normandy is in the Suburban Central American (not ‘A’) with McCluer South-Berkeley and Jennings.
Friday, Sept. 12, at 4:15 McCluer High hosts Hazelwood Central in the inaugural game of the Suburban XII North. Saturday, Sept. 13, at 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. (if high school seniors need to take ACT or SAT tests) McCluer North hosts Hazelwood East while Hazelwood West visits Riverview Gardens. All games in the next four weeks after will be played on Saturdays at, likely, 1 p.m. including Sept 20 as Hazelwood Central hosts Riverview Gardens, Hazelwood East hosts McCluer and McCluer North hosts Hazelwood West.
Meanwhile Trinity Catholic will be playing the next four Friday nights at 7 p.m. including three in the Archdiocesan Athletic Association Small Division. Friday, Sept. 12 Trinity hosts an AAA Small Division game against Lutheran St, Charles County then on Sept. 19 the Titans have a non-conference visit to St. Charles High, a former Suburban North team that left the conference in the mid-1970s and is now in the Gateway Athletic Conference North Division.
Griffin sees no difference in football talent among conferences. “Everybody got the same talent everyday” Griffin said after the Stars 22-20 home win Sept. 6 over University City. “There’s talent everywhere (regardless of conference).”
HAZELWOOD CENTRAL — The Hawks improved to 3-0 with wins over two Rockwood District Schools located off Missouri Highway 109, 35-12 over visiting Lafayette on Aug. 30 and 23-21 at Eureka in a game that was moved from Sept. 5 to Sept. 6 because of thunderstorms and lightning. Mike Glass threw for two touchdowns against Lafayette and ran for three more including two against Eureka. Kevin Batt scored two touchdowns against Lafayette but also suffered a broken foot while Brendan Kocurek kicked three field goals against Eureka including the game-winner from 33 yards out with 3:56 left in the fourth quarter.
McCLUER is now 1-2 after splitting the last two road games against teams nicknamed “Vikings.” The Comets were shut out 14-0 Aug. 29 at Parkway North while winning their first game on Sept. 6, 40-6 at Normandy, now a collaborative high school.
McCLUER NORTH, which is in the middle of a five-game home stand and will be playing the next three weeks against the Hazelwood Schools, is 1-2 after splitting the last two games. The Stars lost Aug. 30 to Kirkwood, 18-14 then on Sept. 6 McCluer North gave Griffin his first win as the Stars won 22-20 over University City. DeMonte Morris was the key scorer for the Stars in the last two weeks. Morris ran for three touchdowns including two against University City and ran in two-point conversions three times including twice against University City.
HAZELWOOD EAST split the last two weeks as the Spartans fell Aug. 29 at Webster Groves, 32-6, but came back home Sept. 6 and defeated Oakville 34-7 as Tyrone Johnson threw three touchdown passes including two to Rajai Perkins.
HAZELWOOD WEST is also 1-2 after losing at home to Parkway South, 46-24 on Aug. 30, and to Pattonville, 50-0 on Sept. 6. Hazelwood West and Pattonville were Suburban North rivals until last year.
TRINITY CATHOLIC is 1-2 overall, 0-1 in the AAA Small Division after losing the last two close games. The Titans lost at home 18-14 Aug. 29 to Duchesne and lost the AAA Small Division opener at O’Fallon Christian 27-26 in a game that was moved from Sept. 5 to Sept 6 due to stormy weather. Darion Bolden caught a touchdown pass and ran for another against Christian as the Titans led 26-6 with 4:45 left in the second quarter but O’Fallon Christian scored 21 unanswered points and won the game with 2:03 left.
