Missouri enters football playoff finals

After swallowing up Durron Neal's fumble at the DeSmet Jesuit 42-yard line with 1:08 left in Saturday's 20-14 Class 6 semifinal win over the Spartans, Hazelwood Central (Florissant) senior defensive lineman Tim Holmes relayed a request to the Rockhurst (Kansas City) football team and its fans.

"Let's have fun and play some football," Holmes said after the Hawks secured a bid in Saturday's 6:30 p.m. Class 6 championship game at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis opposite the Hawklets. "KC…everybody knows about KC. They are good ball clubs over there. They can play some football. They are big, they are strong and they are fast. We just gotta get out there and go to work."

In the early going, Hazelwood Central looked like it may run away from the Spartans after building a 20-0 advantage at the half on Tra Brown's 1- and 24-yard scoring bursts, as well as a 57-yard hook-up between Hawk signal caller Jamaal Flowers and Kevin Short with 31 seconds left in the opening half.

But DeSmet Jesuit demonstrated why they were considered to be one of the big class favorites in August. The Spartans got back to within one score after Neal hit Ricky Spratley for a 7-yard score with 5:45 left in the third quarter and Oregon recruit Malcolm Agnew added a 6-yard run later in the quarter.

The Spartans had one final opportunity to tie the game or win with an extra point when Holmes saved the day.

"It was basically a situation where we had to pin our ears back and go," Holmes said as the Hawks were celebrating their 15th semifinal win in 15 tries. "He fumbled and I was in the right spot to make the right play, so that's what I did.

"They came out to play (in the second half). They were jacked up. It was 0-0 at halftime; both teams knew that…all teams that play sports know that. You just gotta come out and get after it."

For the game, Brown rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries and scored once for the Hawks and Flowers delivered through the air, completing 11 of 15 passes for 201 yards and a score. Neal ran the ball 15 times for 98 yards for DeSmet.

Saturday's title game will feature two 13-0 squads and a matchup pitting the top two football teams in Missouri's biggest class. Rockhurst enters the battle at No. 1, while Hazelwood Central owns the last two championship trophies.

In order to set up the No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle, top-ranked Rockhurst had to get by seventh-ranked Fort Zumwalt West, and did so 42-6 Friday.

The Jaguars reached the Rockhurst 35- and 34-yard lines on their first two possessions. But Hawklet linebacker Scott Herring's interception and 70-yard return to pay dirt ended the first threat, and a stop on downs thwarted the other. Rockhurst scored on its second possession after Noah Pearl raced 61 yards to the Jaguar 1, allowing quarterback Frank Arbanas to build a 14-0 advantage from there.

Pearl, Jordan Walker and Arbanas then scored from 3, 14 and 14 yards out in the second quarter to build a 35-0 advantage at intermission. Pearl finished the game with 132 yards and a pair of scores on 15 carries for coach Tony Severino.

Click here to view MaxPreps' Missouri football playoff brackets.

CLASS 5
No. 1 Webster Groves vs. No. 3 Lee's Summit West
The defending champion Statesmen have won 27 straight football games, including a 28-0 blanking of Kirkwood last weekend. The Statesmen scored one touchdown in each quarter on a 5-yard run by Marquis Clemons, a 24-yard catch by A.J. Farrar from Rayshawn Simmons, Jason Meehan's scoring reception from Clemons covering 84 yards and Ben Arnold's 15-yard catch from Clemons.

The Titans made their way into the championship after edging sixth-ranked Staley 17-14. In order to punch their ticket to the finals, however, Lee's Summit West had to come from behind with seconds remaining. Brandon Smith saved the day when he reeled in a 28-yard strike from Luke Knott with 52 seconds remaining.

CLASS 4
No. 2 Webb City vs. Warren County (Warrenton)
Unranked Warren County cashed in on previously unbeaten Sikeston's generosity Saturday, winning 28-21 over the Bulldogs. Trailing 21-6, the Warriors scored the final 22 points. Austin Black scored two straight touchdowns in the second half to tie the score at 21-21. Then with 3:55 left Scott Lathrop scored from 9 yards out after Warrenton recovered a bad snap on an attempted punt. With less than a minute remaining, the Bulldogs recovered a fumble and ran out the clock.

Webb City continued its dominating performances and belted No. 8 Harrisonville 35-8. The Cardinals led just 7-0 at intermission. But Maddison Johnson's 48-yard touchdown run on Webb City's opening possession of the second half started the snowball rolling.

CLASS 3
No. 2 Burroughs (St. Louis) vs. No. 3 Richmond
Although a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup couldn't materialize in the finals, No. 2 vs. No. 3 is pretty close. Neither team has lost yet this season. Burroughs made the title game after upending fifth-ranked Bowling Green 16-14. Meanwhile, Richmond knocked off top-ranked Cassville 23-21 in the semifinals.

Bowling Green's 14-10 advantage with less than three minutes remaining was short lived when Sam Van Doren scored from a yard out following an 18-yard completion to Grant Wallace at the Bowling Green 1-yard line. Richmond edged the two-time defending champion Wildcats 23-21, ending Cassville's 27-game winning streak. Richmond's Trent Dial grounded the second half kickoff into a Cassville player giving the Spartans possession. Eight plays later Gabe Vandiver scored on a 6-yard run to boost Richmond's advantage to 23-14 and the Spartans held on.

CLASS 2
No. 1 Penney (Hamilton) vs. No. 2 Maplewood-Richmond Heights
After winning the championship in Class 1 a year ago, Penney has its sights set on the Class 2 title. The Hornets have looked more than impressive in the playoffs so far, but so has Maplewood-Richmond Heights. Penney made its way into the title game by knocking off fifth-ranked Macon 47-28. Maplewood-Richmond Heights bettered unranked Lamar 33-19. Terron Dale paced the Blue Devils with three second-half touchdowns.

With a little more than 6 minutes remaining in Penney's semifinal win, Macon was moving the chains. But Jaylund Powell picked off Macon signal caller Dylan Perrin's pass to end the threat. The Hornets drove to Macon's 33-yard line but faced 4th-and-10. Dylan King scored from there to give the Hornets an insurmountable advantage.

CLASS 1
No. 4 Valle Catholic (Ste. Genevieve) vs. No. 2 Westran (Huntsville)
Fourth-ranked Valle Catholic, which upended top-ranked Concordia 44-13 in the semifinals, brings one loss into this contest, while Westran goes to battle with a perfect mark. Valle Catholic, last year's runner-up, jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead and never looked back. Westran, meanwhile, picked off three Jacob Beckemeyer passes in the fourth quarter to secure its 26-0 semifinal win. Tyler Hunt rushed for 160 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries in the game.

8-MAN
No. 2 Mound City vs. No. 4 St. Joseph Christian
Seven Worth County turnovers allowed Mound City to avenge an earlier season loss and make its way into the 8-Man championship football game with a 42-6 whipping. Thanks to the miscues, Mound City scored three times in the final five minutes of the first half to take a 36-0 lead at intermission. The Panthers are set to take on St. Joseph Christian, which knocked off Miami (Amoret) in the other semifinal. These same two teams have battled in the finals the past two seasons, with Mound City winning both.