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Lutheran North, Cardinal Ritter In Class 2 Football Quarterfinals
By Jim Wieners
While area high school football teams saw their seasons end as late as last weekend (see related article on Hazelwood Central) Lutheran High School North and Cardinal Ritter College Prep remain alive in Class Two.
Lutheran North and Cardinal Ritter are each a win away from meeting in the Semifinals Nov. 20 or 21 time to be announced. First, however, both team have home Quarterfinal games as Lutheran North plays Saturday, Nov. 14, 1 p.m. against Palmyra while Cardinal Ritter plays Friday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m. against Malden.
If both Lutheran North and Cardinal Ritter win the Semifnal game will likely be played at Cardinal Ritter. If Lutheran North loses Cardinal Ritter will likely be at Palmyra while a Cardinal Ritter loss likely sends Lutheran North to Malden. If Lutheran North and Cardinal Ritter both lose then Palmyra travels to Malden.
Semifinal winners play Nov. 27, 4:15 for the Class Two title at the Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis. Other teams in the Class Two Quarterfinals include four-time defending Champion Lamar, Mountain View-Liberty, Brookfield and Lafayette County.
LUTHERAN NORTH is seeking their third state semifinal appearance since 2002 and has not been to the state championship game since winning the 1999 Class 2A title, their fifth overall. Last year Lutheran North lost 14-7 in the Quarterfinals at Palmyra as the Crusaders lost Carl Thomas, who has 21 touchdowns, to an injury. Two years ago Lutheran North lost 70-7 to Lamar in the Semifinals.
Lutheran North, 8-4, has won seven in a row after losing to John Burroughs and started 1-4. In six of the eight wins the Crusaders have scored 50 points or more. That include Class Two, District Five wins over Northwest Academy of Law, 72-0, Hermann, 56-22 and at top-seeded Brentwood, 64-38. Brentwood was 30-3 in the last three years, losing in districts each year including two of them to Lutheran North.
Aqeel Glass threw 11 touchdown passes in Class Two, District Five including five against Hermann, four against Brentwood and two against Northwest Academy. Donovan Marshall ran for three touchdowns against Northwest Academy and three more against Hermann. This season Glass has 30 touchdown passes, Marshall has rushed for 14 touchdowns and Cameron Russell-Clemons has caught 12 touchdown passes including two per game against Northwest Academy, Hermann and Brentwood.
CARDINAL RITTER is looking for their first state semifinal appearance since they were a Class Three Runner Up in 2008. Ritter is seeking to avenge last years 47-6 home Quarterfinal loss to Malden. And Ritter, like Lutheran North, has not lost a game since losing to John Burroughs as the 10-1 Lions have won 10 in a row and won the Archdiocesan Athletic Association Large Division (4-0) in the process.
After a first round bye in Class Two, District Two due to the closing of Madison College Prep (a St. Louis Public School), Cardinal Ritter defeated Herculaneum 44-6 and Festus-based Jefferson 52-30 to reach the Class Two Quarterfinals.
Against Herculaneum Cardinal Ritter, who led 38-0 at halftime, was led in scoring by Eric Bryce and Jarred Phillips with two touchdowns each. Against Jefferson Cardinal Ritter trailed 22-14 but the Lions outscored the Blue Jays 38-8 in the second half. Jared Price scored three touchdowns, two in the third quarter while Naeem Moore scored twice in the second half.
This season Moore led the Lions in touchdowns with 23 including 19 rushing while Terrell Wess has 10 touchdown passes.
McCLUER SOUTH-BERKELEY advanced the furthest among Ferguson-Florissant District high schools finishing second to John Burroughs in Class Three, District Two after McCluer North and McCluer lost Class Five, District Three opening-round games. MS-Berkeley finished 7-5 and was 2-1 in finishing second to Class Four Quarterfinal participant Affton in the Suburban Central Conference American Division. The Bulldogs won six of their last eight games after a 1-4 start including Suburban Central American wins over Jennings, 46-10, and Normandy, 42-0. Before losing 40-14 at John Burroughs MS-Berkeley won Class Three, District Two games over Bishop DuBourg, 48-12 and Soldan-International Studies, 66-28.
