The Missouri River Valley Conference East division is one of the better small school conferences around the Metro. Since 2010 the league has won a state title (Richmond 2010) and advancing to the state championship game two other times.
The league has changed in the past year as Richmond dropped from Class 3 to Class 2 making every team a member of that class. That makes all the head to head games usually have some importance when district time comes around.
The league has a history of playing competitive non-conference games as well and last year four of the six teams finished with winning records led by Lexington with a 9-2 mark.
Let’s look at some of the more interesting matchups in the MRVC East this season.
Week 1 – Richmond vs. Mountain View-Liberty at Southwest Baptist University
The Spartans hit the road in week one for a neutral site game with Mountain View-Liberty. Richmond is coming off a tough 2-8 season under first-year coach Nick Persell. Tradition is strong with the Spartans and a win over a MV-Liberty program that has had only one losing season in the last decade would be a great start to the year.
Week 2 – Lafayette County at Lawson
Two of the better Class 2 teams in the area meet for the second straight year. Last year Lawson handled a young Huskers squad but don’t look for Lafayette County to stay down long. Coach Steve Cook has led his team to two state championship games in the last nine seasons and Lawson will be a great early season test for the Huskers and Cardinals.
Week 3 – Wellington-Napoleon at Lexington
These schools are in different classes (Lexington 2, Wellington-Napoleon 1) but they are right down the road from each other which makes this a pretty good little rivalry game. They started a regular game back in 2011 and it has been a good contest most years. Lexington has the upper hand but it’s a spirited contest every time out.
Week 4 – Summit Christian Academy at Lafayette County
This is the fourth year of the home and home series with each team winning at home. With MRVC East conference play starting the next week this should be a good test for the Huskers and a chance to pull even with the Eagles in the series.
Week 5 – Lexington at Holden
The conference schedule opens with a battle of co-conference champs. Lexington and Holden shared the title with Lafayette County last season at 4-1 with Holden earning the head to head victory 28-22. The Eagles will look to make it two in-a-row as new coach Jimmy Tucker leads the team in his first conference battle.
Week 6 – Richmond at Carrollton
These schools are founding members of the conference dating back to 1928. No matter what the state of either program this is a game both schools look forward to. Last year the Trojans earned their first win over Richmond since 2009. They will be looking to make it back to back wins since 2008.
Week 7 – Lafayette County at Knob Noster
Lafayette County has dominated the Panthers for more than a decade. While success has been hard to find for Knob Noster the Panthers broke through with their first winning season since 2004. A win over the Huskers might be a sign that Knob Noster has truly taken a huge step forward.
Week 8 – Lexington at Lafayette County
This game has decided the conference champion along with district seeding the last few years. Look for more of the same this year. Lexington earned a 42-0 win over the Huskers last year to make it two out of the last three after a long losing streak. Will that trend continue, or will Lafayette County get back on the winning side?
Week 9 – Knob Noster at Holden
Holden earned the win last season in a competitive 52-36 contest. The Eagles and Panthers will both be looking to close their regular seasons with a win and get a huge life heading into district play.
Carrollton
8/30 @ Fayette
9/6 Westran
9/13 St. Paul Lutheran
9/20 @ Salisbury
9/27 @ Knob Noster
10/4 Richmond
10/11 @ Lexington
10/18 Holden
10/25 @ Lafayette County
Holden
8/30 Sherwood
9/6 Boonville
9/13 @ Odessa
9/20 @ Crest Ridge
9/27 Lexington
10/4 @ Lafayette County
10/11 Richmond
10/18 @ Carrollton
10/25 Knob Noster
Knob Noster
8/30 @ Versailles
9/6 Warsaw
9/13 Crest Ridge
9/20 @ Tipton
9/27 Carrollton
10/4 @ Lexington
10/11 Lafayette County
10/18 @ Richmond
10/25 @ Holden
Lafayette County
8/30 South Callaway
9/6 @ Lawson
9/13 @ Moberly
9/20 Summit Christian Academy
9/27 @ Richmond
10/4 Holden
10/11 @ Knob Noster
10/18 Lexington
10/25 Carrollton
Lexington
8/30 @ Quincy (Ill.) Notre Dame
9/6 Trenton
9/13 Wellington-Napoleon
9/20 Brookfield
9/27 @ Holden
10/4 Knob Noster
10/11 Carrollton
10/18 @ Lafayette County
10/25 @ Richmond
Richmond
8/31 Mountain View-Liberty
9/6 Frontenac
9/13 @ Pleasant Hill
9/20 @ Excelsior Springs
9/27 Lafayette County
10/4 @ Carrollton
10/11 @ Holden
10/18 Knob Noster
10/25 Lexington