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Kirkwood Semifinal Win Ends McCluer North Football Season
BY JIM WIENERS
One loss is all it takes in post-season high school football and visiting McCluer North saw their hopes for an undefeated season, as well as a trip to St. Louis and the Edward Jones Dome, come to an end last Friday night.
Kirkwood High School, whose offense accounted for two unanswered second quarter touchdowns and whose defense accounted for a second-quarter touchdown and snuffed out two McCluer North in the second half., won 28-7 in the Class Five Semifinals. While Kirkwood players and students, among the over-capacity crowd, celebrated on the field McCluer North players, who could not shake hands with Kirkwood players, left the field and boarded the Ferguson-Florissant School District buses, located right behind the visiting teams bench and stands, to head for home.
McCluer North, who accepted their State Semifinalist trophy from Kirkwood Athletic Administrators, finished the season with an 11-1 record and a Suburban North Conference title. Kirkwood, after six Semifinal losses, heads to their first state title game, this Saturday, 6:30 at the Dome, against defending two-time champion Raymore-Peculiar. While the varsity prepares for Saturday Kirkwood (10-0) will use players from the underclass team(s) for Thursday’s annual Frisco Bell-Thanksgiving Day game, 12 noon at Webster Groves.
Raymore-Peculiar, making their fourth title game appearance in five years is not unbeaten, compared to their 13-0 championship teams in the previous two years. Ray-Pec is 9-3 but two of their losses were to Liberty, Blue Springs South (Class Six Finalist) and Jefferson City.
Kirkwood, Suburban West Conference champions, scored three touchdowns in the final 6:07 of the second quarter that broke a 7-7 tie and the 28-7 halftime lead held up through the second half.
Senior Marcus Harris threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter — a 35-yard play with 6:07 left to a wide open Dello Davis, two plays after an illegal substitution penalty on the McCluer North defense on fourth down, then a 74-yard play with 2:12 left to Kimuel Keller, who eluded a
McCluer North player before going the rest of the way untouched. Harris who completed eight out of 16 passes for 226 yards and ran the ball eight times for 60 yards “ran the ball and threw the ball extremely well,” said McCluer North head coach Jim Schottmueller.
Kirkwood’s defense took over late in the first half and came through in the second half when McCluer North attempted to cut their deficit twice. Delvon Adams intercepted a Ben Hendrix pass and returned it untouched 46 yards for a touchdown with 1:42 left in the first half put Kirkwood up 28-7. Early in the third quarter McCluer North got deep into Kirkwood territory but the Pioneers intercepted Hendrix again, this time to stop a drive, and Kirkwood stopped McCluer North a second time deep in Pioneer territory, this time early in the fourth quarter.
Schottmueller blames himself for some of the play calling. “I made some stupid calls,” he said. “It was poor play-calling on my part.”
On the other hand Schottmueller credits McCluer North for not giving up after trailing by 21 with the two second half drives that came close to scoring but could not. “They didn’t give up,” Schottmueller said, “just didn’t get into the end zone.”
Harris, in the first 2:34 of the first quarter got Kirkwood going to start from their 20 with a 39-yard pass in the second play and a 23-yard pass two plays later. Three plays later Davis ran in the game’s first touchdown, from the McCluer North 11.
McCluer North’s only score came in the second quarter with 8:17 left. Donald Woods took the ball up the middle from the Kirkwood eight and took two Pioneers with him into the end zone to tie the game at 7-7. Hendrix, despite the interceptions, completed 14 out of 24 passes for 184 yards including seven to Juan Redmond for 107 yards while Quartize Jackson ran the ball 19 times for 66 yards.
Kirkwood is the only team that McCluer North scored less than 30 points against and is one of seven teams (out of 10) Kirkwood played against, as of last Friday, scored seven points or less, including three shutouts.
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