Another regular season over too soon.
It really did end in the blink of an eye.
These next few weeks will be tough. Not only will it be tough for hundreds of teams across the states of Missouri and Kansas, but for writers like me, who love covering high school football.
Every year at the beginning of August, I make a list.
On that list are teams I want to see before the end of the regular season.
This year, I got to see several of those teams.
The first being, Liberty North.
The Eagles are flying. After opening the season with a 27-20 loss against Lee’s Summit North, the Eagles have rattled off eight straight wins.
You know what’s impressive about that? In those eight games, the Eagles defense has been dominant.
Just how dominant, you ask?
For starters, Liberty North allowed 66 points in its final eight games of the season. Sixty-six. The vaunted defense pitched three shutouts and allowed 20 or more points just one other time.
The second team I wanted to see this season was Rockhurst.
The Hawklets are officially back.
Yes, Kansas City, they are back. Not in the Texas Longhorn way, either. They are officially back.
Rockhurst being good again is good for the Metro and you can’t tell me otherwise. The Hawklets are 8-1 heading into the playoffs where a matchup with Lee’s Summit North potentially awaits.
The eight wins is the most Rockhurst has tallied under fourth-year coach Kelly Donohoe, and the most they’ve won since 2018, when the Hawklets won 11 games with the great Tony Severino walking the sidelines.
The final team on the list was Maryville.
The Spoofhounds make the trek to Kansas City during the regular season every year, whether it’s to play St. Pius X or Harrisonville.
I covered Maryville religiously when I was in college at Northwest Missouri State.
Every week I would follow the team around northwest Missouri. It was the first “beat” I covered in my journalism career when I first started working for PrepsKC in college.
When I covered the Spoofhounds, they were a ground and pound, run the ball down your throat kind of team.
Now, they throw the ball — don’t worry, they still run the ball effectively — but the passing game is what sets them apart.
Maryville enters the playoffs with a chance to make it to Columbia, however, they’ll have a few hurdles in its way, the first being Pius in a potential district championship in a few weeks time.
The second hurdle will be Odessa.
If that’s the case, sign me up for that matchup.
