Missouri: Rome commits to Nebraska

While he admitted it wasn’t easy to change his mind, Columbia-Rock Bridge defensive end Chase Rome has decommited from Oklahoma State and announced his decision to play football for Bo Pelini at Nebraska.

The Bruins senior told the Cowboys in March that he was going to play football in Stillwater. Last week, he informed the Big 12 South school that he had changed his mind.

"This all just happened in the last week or so," Rome told HuskersIllustrated.com last week. "The first time I went up there and left, I thought it was a cool tradition from a surface-value point of view. The more I learned about it, the more I liked it and I could even see myself there. Then I started feeling comfortable with the coaches. High school football is a grind in itself, and then there is college … it’s like my head coach said, you have to be happy with the people around you since you’ll be fighting (with them) and playing hard."

Rome has led the Bruins to a 4-3 mark so far this season, against a brutal schedule, heading into this weekend’s district action. The four-star prospect will probably begin his college career at defensive end. Rome’s father Wade told the Columbia Missourian that there were plenty of reasons for his son’s change of heart.

"There were a multitude of reasons (for the switch)," Wade said. "Nebraska is strong academically, and they’ve been sending linemen to the NFL for a long time. They’ve built a steady relationship with him. Oklahoma State is a hell of a program, but he just felt that was a better place. It’s about the next four years and the next 40."

Girls tennis: Liberty has stranglehold on league title

Winning Suburban Big Seven conference tennis titles is considered an honor for the Liberty girls tennis team. It has also become a tradition. Since 2004, the Blue Jays have swept 36 straight conference matches, and secured all six conference titles along the way.

"It’s been a long journey," Liberty coach Doug Davis told the Liberty Tribune following last week’s 8-1 decision over Blue Springs. "There’s been some nail biters and some calm seasons. It’s just hard to do. For six years, we’ve been perfect, and that’s just so hard to do in high school athletics. Every sport can relate to it. You are bound to have a down match. You are bound to struggle and slip up. We’ve been able to avoid that for six years.

"It’s a tradition. It’s not talked about; they care a lot about it. That adds a lot of pressure, and the girls should get a lot of credit for it. It adds a lot of pressure."

Football: Gutierrez pays visit to Orrick

Looking to lighten the burden of carrying a 36-game winning streak, and extending it, Orrick coach Pat Richard turned to an area athlete that could relate to his Bearcat football team.

Kansas City Chiefs third-string quarterback Matt Gutierrez, who started three years at California prep football power De La Salle, spent 30 minutes with Richard’s team Tuesday discussing his experiences during the Spartans' national-record 151-game winning streak.

One part of Gutierrez’s message that struck a chord with Richard was when he responded to a question by a player by telling the team that if they focus on the things they can control, the wins will follow.

"It gives us stuff to discuss tomorrow morning at weight training and today at practice," Richard told the Kansas City Star following the discussion. "There’s little things he said that struck me, and I’m sure struck them."

Orrick, 7-0 this season, has not lost since a 39-20 loss to eventual champion South Shelby in the 2006 Class 1 quarterfinals of the Missouri state playoffs.

Missouri’s top performances

Rushing

Trent Davis of Wright City rushed for 466 yards and 6 touchdowns on 42 carries in a 42-20 win over Orchard Farm…Seckman’s Tyler Fisher rushed for 285 yards on 29 carries in a 41-26 win over Cape Girardeau Central…Zach Hildebrand of Marshfield rushed for 263 yards and 4 touchdowns on 25 carries in a 41-0 win over Buffalo…Plattsburg’s Jordan Hartzell rushed for 258 yards and 4 touchdowns on 30 carries in a 41-39 loss to West Platte…Marcus Buchanan of St. Charles West rushed for 244 yards and 2 touchdowns on 29 carries in a 14-10 win over Duchesne…Chaminade’s Rob Standard rushed for 243 yards and 5 touchdowns on 42 carries in a 49-7 win over St. Louis University High…Cole Shepherd of West Platte rushed for 220 yards and 3 touchdowns on 26 carries in a 41-39 win over Plattsburg.

Passing

Lavon Meeks of Riverview Gardens completed 14-of-29 passes for 407 yards and 5 touchdowns in a 36-32 loss to Columbia-Rock Bridge…Vianney’s Dalton Hewitt completed 21-of-27 passes for 349 yards and 6 touchdowns in a 48-35 win over Christian Brothers…Cody Todd of Pleasant Hill completed 23-of-30 passes for 302 yards and a touchdown in a 62-35 loss to Grain Valley…Washington’s Justin Hinni completed 19-of-24 passes for 280 yards in a 40-21 win over St. Charles…Trey Hill of Hazelwood East completed 10-of-15 passes for 261 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 32-14 win over Ritenour…Burroughs’ Sam Van Doren completed 8-of-13 passes for 257 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 42-7 win over Lutheran South…Kolton Peavey of Bolivar completed 12-of-20 passes for 247 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 61-12 win over Reeds Spring.

Receiving

Grant Wallace of Burroughs caught 5 passes for 216 yards and 2 touchdowns, scored on a pair of runs and returned a punt 48 yards for another score in a 42-7 win over Lutheran South…Riverview Gardens’ Dawan Ferguson caught 4 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown in a 36-32 loss to Columbia-Rock Bridge…Walter Powell of Hazelwood East caught 5 passes for 167 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 32-14 win over Ritenour…Parkway West’s Trevor Parsons caught 6 passes for 161 yards in a 27-10 win over Rockwood Summit…Ryan Bencomo of Clopton-Ellsberry caught 7 passes for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 42-40 loss to Cuba…Raytown South’s Darien Bruster caught 8 passes for 151 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 47-21 win over Belton…Andrew Townsend of Smithville caught 6 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown in a 45-13 win over St. Joseph-Benton.

Below are the latest Missouri high school football rankings, including the rank, team, record (in parenthesis), offensive points scored, defensive points allowed and the team’s previous ranking.

Class 6

1. Hazelwood Central (7-0) 230 62 1
2. DeSmet Jesuit (7-0) 318 81 2
3. Rockhurst (5-2) 166 134 3
4. Blue Springs (6-1) 297 102 5
5. Liberty (6-1) 264 69 6
6. Jefferson City (5-2) 243 138 4
7. Lindbergh (7-0) 180 74 8
8. Hazelwood West (6-1) 259 125 7
9. Howell (6-1) 188 86 -
10. Columbia-Rock Bridge (4-3) 161 172 -

Class 5

1. Fort Osage (7-0) 236 62 1
2. Webster Groves (6-0) 192 82 2
3. Park Hill (6-1) 216 95 3
4. Rolla (7-0) 274 110 4
5. Lee’s Summit West (5-2) 198 142 5
6. Parkway North (5-1) 221 27 6
7. Timberland (6-1) 239 82 7
8. Parkway Central (6-1) 172 60 8
9. Raytown South (4-3) 207 78 10
10. Nixa (5-2) 158 118 -

Class 4

1. Webb City (7-0) 296 97 1
2. Staley (7-0) 263 82 2
3. Jefferson City-Helias (7-0) 288 73 3
4. Smith-Cotton (7-0) 294 74 4
5. Kearney (5-2) 262 58 5
6. Harrisonville (6-1) 240 104 6
7. MICDS (6-0) 258 113 7
8. Normandy (6-1) 212 130 8
9. Carthage (6-1) 256 138 9
10. Sikeston (7-0) 279 38 10

Class 3

1. Cardinal Ritter (7-0) 314 54 1
2. Monett (7-0) 217 63 2
3. Potosi (7-0) 288 88 3
4. O’Hara (6-1) 262 139 4
5. Logan-Rogersville (6-1) 215 96 5
6. Cassville (6-1) 236 94 6
7. Chillicothe (6-1) 227 74 7
8. Cameron (6-1) 201 105 8
9. Mountain Grove (6-1) 245 86 9
10. Bowling Green (7-0) 272 82 10

Class 2

1. Centralia (7-0) 362 43 1
2. Clark County (7-0) 282 29 2
3. Maryville (6-1) 134 96 3
4. Carrollton (6-1) 239 49 4
5. Fair Grove (7-0) 257 50 5
6. Hogan Prep (6-1) 286 104 6
7. Warsaw (7-0) 287 130 7
8. Lawson (6-1) 175 100 8
9. Lafayette County-Higginsville (7-0) 271 109 10
10. Principia (6-1) 246 126 -

Class 1

1. Orrick (7-0) 290 51 1
2. Penney (7-0) 337 46 2
3. Tipton (7-0) 228 79 3
4. Valle Catholic (7-0) 292 79 4
5. Wellington-Napoleon (6-1) 256 99 5
6. Marceline (7-0) 228 80 8
7. Westran (6-1) 275 126 7
8. Greenfield (6-1) 243 76 6
9. Miller (6-1) 224 113 9
10. Thayer (5-1) 219 118 10