With the regular season winding down, I have started looking toward the playoffs.
You can’t blame me I know many of you have. It was a huge topic at the Lee’s Summit, Liberty North game on Friday.
Many of those in attendance at the game were asking me about the Rockhurst game.
Why?
Rockhurst entered Friday’s game against Christian Brothers seventh in Class 6, District 4 standings — you know the same district as Liberty North, Raymore-Peculiar, Park Hill and Lee’s Summit West, just to name a few — after they defeated the defending champs, the Hawklets moved up to fourth. That doesn’t bode well for the rest of the district.
Even though the Hawklets are 5-3, they have traditionally come on at the end of the year and with legendary coach Tony Severino retiring at the end of the season, you can almost guarantee Rockhurst will do anything to keep its season alive.
As things stand right now, Liberty North and Raymore-Peculiar will get the top two seeds in District 4. Park Hill and Rockhurst would be the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds. Again, a lot can change this week.
Park Hill closes out the season with a tough game against Blue Springs, while Rockhurst travels to Jefferson City.
If I had to pick one team to come out of this district, it’ll probably be Liberty North. The Eagles play fundamentally sound football. They don’t make mistakes. They are talented and have played one of the toughest schedules in the state. And, as I stated above, don’t sleep on the Hawklets. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they came out as the victor.
Class 4, District 8 is also going to be one to watch. As things stand right now, Lincoln College Prep holds the No. 1 seed — three points clear of Smithville.
Platte Co. holds the No. 3 seed, with Excelsior Springs checking in at No. 4.
What makes this district so exciting is the pedigree of teams. Kearney has a history of making runs late in the season. Platte Co. and Smithville are traditionally good.
Lincoln Prep is 8-0. They’ll be tested on Friday when they face Class 2 Summit Christian Academy, who is also undefeated. Even with a loss on Friday, the Blue Tigers will most likely still be the No. 1 seed.
Predicting this district is hard. Smithville, Platte Co. and Lincoln seem like the logical picks. With that being said, I’ll stick to my guns. I’ve seen Lincoln twice this season. They are athletic and have speed across the board.
The Blue Tigers will rely on their relentless rushing attack to beat the best teams. Why? Because I’ve seen them wear teams down.
Finally, we get to the toughest district in any class, not just the metro, but the state.
Enter Class 2, District 8.
Ah, yes, this district, is the district of death.
Maryville, Lathrop, Lawson and Richmond are holding down the top four seeds.
The Spoofhounds, despite being 6-1, will be the No. 1 seed regardless of what happens on Friday. Maryville has improved a lot since the beginning of the season.
Matt Webb has his team rolling. Lathrop — who played second fiddle to Blair Oaksr a season ago — will present the toughest challenge for Maryville. For all intent and purpose, this game could determine who hoists the trophy at Missouri’s Faurot Field at the beginning of December.
With that being said, I’m taking Maryville. They seem to have figured things out.
