It was a busy week in the coaching ranks as two schools filled their vacant positions in football and basketball as John Merritt takes over the De Smet football program and Jay Blossom comes out of retirement to take the helm with the Principia basketball program. Fort Zumwalt West swept a doubleheader this week to take control of the GAC conference while the St. Louis University High School boys’ volleyball team continued their winning ways.
It’s time to get caught up with the week’s edition of the Friday Fast Break.
Merritt takes over at De Smet after being the head coach at John Burroughs since 2013. He also has been a part of the Bombers Track and Field staff since 2015 and coach the girls’ basketball team for a few years as well. Merritt led the Bombers to the Class 3 state title back in 2015 and has won many honors as a head coach. Merritt has seen many of his players at Burroughs excel in the college and professional ranks.
“Teaching and learning are vital parts of my life. I am an educator. My platforms of choice are the social studies classroom and the football field,” stated Merritt in the school’s press release. “The Xs and Os are fun, but I am about relationships, education, human interaction, and commitment to others and self. Those are the lessons that I try to teach daily.”
On the court, Blossom comes out of retirement to take over a Principia boys’ basketball program that was 3-19 this past season. Blossom was the head coach at Webster Groves until 2019 and led the Statesmen to three state titles. He has been an assistant with the Webster Groves girls’ program for the past two years, aiding head coach Josh Spuhl. One of the attractions for Blossom at Principia is the brand new state-of-the-art facility that will open this summer. Another reason is the challenge of building a program from the ground floor. Joining Blossom on the sidelines with be his longtime assistant at Webster Groves Scott Stallcup.
Photo Credit – St. Louis University High School
In boys’ volleyball action, The Jr. Bills ran their winning streak to 10 matches with a 3-0 victory over Vianney Tuesday night in their annual Paint It Pink night. SLUH won the first set 26-24 and then took a tightly contested second set 25-21. The Jr. Bills closed out the match with a 25-23 win in the third set to put their record at 10-0 on the year. Phillip Bone and Michael Yemm paced the Jr. Bills attack with 12 kills each while George Henken handed out 32 assists in the win.
On the diamond, Fort Zumwalt West won a pair of games over Howell to take a two-game lead in the GAC South Division and improve their record to 20-6 on the year. In the Jaguars’ 5-4 win to start the week, Daniel Wissler had three hits and an RBI while Ryan Ulm drove in two runs to pace the West attack. In the second game against the Vikings, West scored two runs in the fifth and a run in the sixth to earn a 4-2 victory. Kenton Deverman threw a complete game and gave up four hits while striking out 10 batters to give the Jaguars a sweep of Howell.
The girls’ lacrosse season is in full swing in the area and Clayton improved to 5-2 on the year with an 18-3 victory over Incarnate Word this past Wednesday night. In the win, Paige Rawitscher scored 10 goals to lead the Greyhounds. In the game, she also scored her 200th goal in her career, which is an outstanding accomplishment.
In the pool, the Lindbergh Invite started Thursday night at Kirkwood and will continue this weekend with the top teams in the area taking part. One of the big games in the tournament will take place Saturday afternoon at 3:25 p.m. as Parkway West takes on SLUH in a battle of two of the top programs in the area.
Also taking place this weekend is the finals of the Fred Lyons track and field meet at Parkway North and the Fort Zumwalt North Invite taking place as well. On Saturday, Ladue will host its annual track and field meet.
In boys’ volleyball action, Parkway Central will play host to many of the area’s top teams in the annual tournament as the volleyball season is starting to wind down.
Jim Powers has been covering prep sports in the St. Louis area for 15+ years and a part of the Missouri State High School Activities Association Championship Broadcasts for the past 11 years. Powers is also a part of the Fox 2 Verlo Mattress Prep Zone Friday nights at 10:10 during the football and basketball seasons. If you have a prep sports story, please contact Jim at japowers2421@yahoo.com. Follow Jim at @hssportscaravan
