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Hazelwood Central, Rockhurst (Both 13-0) Vie For Class 6 Title
By Jim Wieners
Two 13-0 high school football teams enter the Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, for a 6:30 game, Nov. 27, to decide the Missouri Class Six Championship but only one team leaves with an undefeated 14-0 record.
Hazelwood Central is making their 15th state title game appearance, counting the 1972 game as Hazelwood High, the most by any Missouri High School while Kansas City-Rockhurst is in their 14th, second in all-time appearances. Central has won or shared five state titles including the Hazelwood Class 4A co-championship in 1972 with Kansas City-Southwest and is seeking to become the sixth high school to win three straight after coming off back-to-back state titles. Central also owns a record they would rather relinquish and that is most times as runner up (nine) and four of them were to Rockhurst, starting in 1981.
Rockhurst is in a three-way tie for third in titles shared or won (eight) with John Burroughs, who is playing Richmond for the Class Three title Nov. 26, and Webb City, who is playing Warrenton for the Class Four title before the Central-Rockhurst game. Only Sainte Genevieve-Valle (nine), who is playing Westran for the Class One title Nov. 26, and Jefferson City (10) have won more. On the other hand Rockhurst shares second place in runner up finishes (five) with McCluer North and Sumner and Rockhurst has lost to Sumner (twice-1973, 1982) as well to McCluer High (1969), Hazelwood East (1989) and Mehlviille (1999), whom the Hawklets defeated in 2007.
This will be the first time these two teams have met since 1987 and the first time that both teams meet with unbeaten records. This will be the sixth time Hazelwood Central goes to the title game unbeaten but is 1-4 losing to Jefferson City, in 1977 and 1978, and Rockhurst, in 1983 and 1986, while the 1985 win over Lee’s Summit competed the school’s only undefeated title season. Rockhurst has only four undefeated seasons — 1971, 2000, 2002 and 2007.
Hazelwood Central head coach Rich Nixon has never faced Rockhurst as a Hawk coach while Hawklet head coach Tony Severino has been with six of the eight championship teams, starting in 1983 and has won three times over Hazelwood Central, all coached by John Hotfelder.
HAWKS SHUT DOOR ON DeSMET, KEEP SEMIFINAL RECORD INTACT-Two Tra Brown touchdowns and four takeaways, two fumble recoveries and two pass interceptions, by the Central defense helped the Hawks secure a 20-14 Class Six Semifinal win at home Nov. 20 over DeSmet. Brown, who ran the ball 27 times for 130 yards, scored two first-half touchdowns, each after DeSmet turnovers. But the Hawks needed more and they got it when Jamal Flowers hooked up with Kevin Short for a 57-yard touchdown pass with 31 seconds until halftime to increase the lead to 20-0 despite the missed extra point.
DeSmet, who was trying to avenge a 20-19 Hawk win on the same field Aug. 28, “pinned their ears back,” Nixon said, in the second half and scored two third quarter touchdowns, a seven-yard Durron Neal to Ricky Spratley pass and a six-yard Malcolm Agnew run. The game was still in doubt in the fourth quarter until 1:08 left, and no time outs left for DeSmet, when Tim Holmes recovered a Neal fumble.
“I’m pleased with the output of our team,” Nixon said. “It’s been a pressure-packed roller coaster of a season (especially with eight of the 13 games won were by a touchdown or less). Bill Parcells (former National Football League head coach) says it best: ‘You are what your team is.’ (So far) This is the most compete team we’ve had.”
ROCKHURST ENDS SEASON FOR FORT ZUMWALT WEST-After avenging eliminations to Blue Springs South (2008) and Blue Springs (2009) with playoff wins this year, Rockhurst did to Fort Zumwalt West, Nov. 19, what Hazelwood Central did to first-time semifinal opponents (Fox in 2008 and Oakville in 2009) by sending them home for good. Rockhurst, which is on the Kansas State Line, sent Fort Zumwalt West back to O’Fallon with a 42-6 romp as Frank Arbanas and Noah Pearl each ran for two touchdowns.
Rockhurst has seven NCAA Division I Bowl Subdivision players on the defensive line, including linebackers, Nixon said, and the Hawks will have to make do with a bunch of “rag-tag” Division II players.
