Blog

BY JIM WIENERS

Defending Class Six State Champion Hazelwood Central, Defending Class Five State Champion Hazelwood East, McCluer North and Riverview Gardens are four of the eight Suburban North Conference teams that will start the 2009 football season on the road while Hazelwood West and McCluer will open at home with conference games.

Hazelwood Central, who also shared the Suburban North Conference title with Hazelwood West, will visit University City Saturday at 12 noon while Friday at 7 p.m. Hazelwood East visits CBC, McCluer North travels to Jefferson City and Riverview Gardens travels to Jackson, Mo. Hazelwood West, the other Suburban North co-champion, hosts conference rival Pattonville Saturday, 1 p.m., while McCluer opens conference play Friday, 4 p.m., hosts Ritenour.

Also this Friday Trinity Catholic opens with an Archdiocesan Athletic Association game Friday, 7 p.m., at Lutheran St. Charles County while on Saturday, 1 p.m., Lutheran North hosts Clayton and McCluer South-Berkeley plays Sumner at Soldan.

Hazelwood Central (5-2 Suburban North, 12-2 overall) is ranked ninth in the preseason USA Today Super 25 Midwest region, University City (6-6) was a Class Four Sectional qualifier, Hazelwood East (4-3, 11-3), ousted 2008 champion Waynesville in the Class Five Quarterfinals while CBC was 4-6. McCluer North (3-4, 6-6) was a

Class Six Quarterfinalist, Jefferson City was a Class Six Semifinalist, Riverview (2-5, 5-5) defeated Jackson East and West while Jackson, a Class Five Semifinalist, also lost last year to Central and East.

Hazelwood West (5-2, 7-3), lost three out of their last four after opening last year with six straight wins while Pattonville (1-6, 4-6), a Class Six Semifinalist in 2007, debuts Steve Smith as their new head coach. McCluer (4-3, 8-4) was a Class Five Sectional qualifier losing only to Waynesville and the three Hazelwood schools while Ritenour (4-3, 5-5) had wins over McCluer North and East.

Trinity Catholic (2-4 AAA, 2-8 overall) lost to Class Three runner up Cardinal Ritter last year, Lutheran North (2-3 ABC League, 4-7) was a Class Three Regional Qualifier while McCluer South-Berkeley (2-3 Suburban East Conference, 9-4) was a Class Three Quarterfinalist.

On Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. Hazelwood West visits Ritenour in a Suburban North game, Trinity hosts John F. Kennedy in an AAA game and Hazelwood Central travels to Columbia-Rock Bridge. On Sept. 5 at 1 p.m. McCluer North hosts McCluer and Riverview hosts Pattonville in Suburban North games while in non-conference games Hazelwood East hosts DeSmet, Lutheran North visits Westminster Christian Academy and McCluer South-Berkeley hosts Imagine College Prep.