AAA Rivals Trinity, Ritter Meet in

Class 3 For 1st State Football Title

Ritter Has 8-6 Lead All time over Trinity

 By Jim Wieners

Trinity Catholic and Cardinal Ritter are Archdiocesan Athletic Association rivals but this season in Football the Spanish Lake-based Titans and Midtown St. Louis-based Lions did not meet this season due to playing in separate divisions and winning those titles.

However, that changes Saturday, Dec. 1, when the B (formerly small) Division champion Trinity plays A (formerly large) Division champion Ritter settle the decision. They will meet in an 11 a.m. kickoff to not only decide who is best in the AAA but also play for their first state Football title. The Titans and Lions will meet at the University of Missouri’s Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium in Columbia to decide the Class Three Championship.

This will be the third all-St. Louis state football title and the second in two days. Friday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. Ladue-Horton Watkins and Mary Institute-Country Day School play at Faurot Field to not only play for the Class Four State title but also bragging rights for the City of Ladue and Warson Road since they are only a mile and a half apart. The first all-St. Louis final was in 2005, played in St. Louis, as DeSmet Jesuit won the Class Six title 48-31 over Hazelwood Central, coached by now-DeSmet Athletic Director John Pukala.

Winning State is nothing new to Cardinal Ritter Sports but not in football as the Lions were Class Three runner up in 2008. Ritter has 12 state titles, seven in Boys Basketball, four in Boys Track and Field including last May in Class Three and one n Girls Basketball (Class Three-2008).

Since opening in Aug. 2003 Trinity has no state titles but finished second nine times including four in Boys Soccer, three in Girls Soccer and one each in Football (Class Two-2016) and Boys Track And Field (Class Three-last May). The last state titles won by Trinity’s predecessors were St. Thomas Aquinas (Boys Golf-1978), St. Thomas Aquinas-Mercy (Boys Soccer-1998) and Rosary (Girls Basketball-1998).

This will be at least the 15th meeting between Trinity and Ritter, which has an 8-6 lead but Trinity currently has a three-game winning streak. Last year the Titans, the only team to defeat the Lions, won twice including the Class Two, District Two semifinals,

Trinity (12-2) and Ritter (14-0) each played two common opponents this season, one during the season and one in the district semifinals. Against McCluer South-Berkeley Ritter won 46-6 in week eight while Trinity won 71-10 in Class Three, District Three. Against Clyde C. Miller Career Academy Trinity won 61-6 week seven while Cardinal Ritter won 61-12 in Class Three, District Two.

Trinity and Ritter each played an Illinois Metro-East team Sept. 1 at the East St. Louis Champions Classic. Trinity lost in Triple Overtime, 32-26, to Class 7A Quarterfinalist East St. Louis. Ritter won 20-12 over Class 5A Quarterfinalist Cahokia.

Leading Ritter are Mekhi Hagens, Jameson Williams, Shamel Morrow and Kailen Smith. Hagens, a junior and a transfer from Hazelwood East, threw for 4,274 yards and 52 touchdowns, nearly triple the number of touchdown passes (17) he had at Hazelwood East. Williams, a senior, has 1,486 yards in receptions for 22 touchdowns and scored 23 overall. Morrow rushed for 1,275 yards and 18 touchdowns while Smith, a senior, has 122 total tackles (71 solo, 51 assists).

Leading Trinity are Isaiah Williams, Teriyon Cooper, Alphonzo Andrews, James Frenchie and Shammond Cooper, prior to the 36-14 Class Three Semifinal win over last year’s state Champion Maryville. Williams — a senior, four-year-starter and a commit to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — threw for 2,223 yards and 23 touchdowns. He also rushed for 1,013 yards and 10 touchdowns Against Maryville Williams threw a 27-yard pass to Teriyon Cooper and ran 54 yards for another while adding a two-point conversion pass to sophomore Jonathan Joshua.

Teriyon Cooper, a junior, scored 17 touchdowns prior to Nov. 24, including 11 receiving. Cooper also ran for a pair of a pair of touchdowns while catching for another against Maryville. Andrews, a senior, rushed for 717 yards and 23 touchdowns while Frenchie, a junior, scored 14 touchdowns. Shammond Cooper, a senior, led the Titans prior to Nov. 24 with 128 total tackles (83 solo, 45 assisted) including 16 for loss and five quarterback sacks.

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us