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Hazelwood Central-Lafayette Football Game Moved To Parkway West
By Jim Wieners
For the second time in nearly six years a Hazelwood Central road football game is being moved to a neutral site because the opponent’s home field is going from grass to artificial turf and the installation will not be completed for Central’s game.
Friday, Aug. 28, Hazelwood Central will be traveling to Parkway West to play a 7 p.m. game against Lafayette. The trip to Parkway West will be a little bit shorter for Hazelwood Central than to Lafayette because Parkway West is 6.7 miles east of Lafayette and both schools are located on Clayton Road. Lafayette is one of four Rockwood School District high schools to have artificial turf being installed, Summit’s artificial turf field is not complete while Eureka and Marquette are installed and in use.
On Sept. 17, 2010 Hazelwood Central had to play Kirkwood at Oakville and traveling to Oakville was a much longer trip, from deep North County to deep South County. Like Oakville, Parkway West has an artificial football field. All four Parkway high schools as well as the two Mehlville District high schools, Mehlville and Oakville, have artificial turf for football fields.
Hazelwood Central has already played on an artificial football surface Aug. 21 and the Hawks won in a rout at DeSmet Jesuit, 40-6. DeMontez Clark, who scored seven touchdowns last year as part of the “running back by committee” to fill in for the injured Kevin Batt, ran for two first quarter touchdowns and added another in the third quarter. Lafayette, meanwhile, traveled south on Missouri 109 that same night to try out the new Eureka turf and Lafayette was hammered 35-13 by the defending Suburban West Conference-American Division champions, who will play on the Hazelwood Central grass in the Hawks’ home opener on Sept. 5 at 1 p.m.
HAZELWOOD WEST AT PARKWAY SOUTH, PATTONVILLE — Hazelwood West will be playing two more 7 p.m. Friday night football games on the road, on artificial surfaces, before playing on their home grass Sept. 12 against Riverview Gardens. This Friday the Wildcats will be playing at Parkway South then a week later, on Sept. 4, will be headed to Pattonville Stadium to take on the Pirates in a battle of former Suburban North Conference rivals.
Hazelwood West has also played on artificial turf and, like Central, was successful. Playing the rural country of Cedar Hill the Wildcats overcame an 8-0 first quarter deficit to defeat Northwest 28-8 by scoring 28 unanswered points in the final three quarters, including 22 in the second half. Marquiaun Williams and Canaan Brooks each ran for a touchdown and each ran for a two-point conversion.
Also that same night Parkway South was shut out 27-0 at Oakville while Pattonville, who plays Friday at Lindbergh, routed Seckman 55-7 in Imperial.
HAZELWOOD EAST HOSTS WEBSTER, VISITS OAKVILLE — Hazelwood East will get to play on artificial turf but that will be for the next road game as the Spartans will be playing in their home opener Saturday, Aug. 29, 1 p.m. against Webster Groves. Then on Sept. 4 Hazelwood East will be playing their only Friday game and the only game on turf at a 7 p.m. kickoff at Oakville, who is at Eureka, Friday.
Hazelwood East managed to get their season opener on the grass in University City in one day, Aug. 22, unlike last year where they played the game two days in a 23-day span. However, University City, who led last year’s game before it was suspended due to heat and lost 23 days later, won over the Spartans, 23-14. Webster Groves, like Hazelwood East, plays on grass and the Statesmen were whitewashed Aug. 21 by visiting Francis Howell, 42-0.
