The top two teams in the area each won conference matchups this past weekend to take control of their respective leagues while the Eureka girls’ volleyball team took care of business at the Gateway Classic. Plus, the St. Charles boys’ and Cor Jesu girls’ cross-country teams led many of the top area teams at the Fox Invite this past Saturday.
Let’s catch up on all the weekend events with today’s Monday Morning Wrap-Up edition.
CBC took control of the Metro Catholic Conference with a 41-28 victory over De Smet to start things Friday evening as the Cadets moved to 4-1 on the year and 3-0 in the league. The Cadets raced out to an early lead in the first quarter as Jeremiyah Love and Ralph Dixon each scored to make the score 14-0. The Spartans answered following the second CBC score as Demetrion Cannon grabbed a 70-yard pass from Christian Cotton to cut the lead to 14-7. CBC extended the lead in the second quarter as Jeremiah McClellan and Love each scored on touchdown passes to push the advantage to 28-7. Love scored his third touchdown of the evening with a 67-yard dash to the endzone early in the third quarter to give CBC a 35-7 lead. De Smet started to mount a comeback as DJ White caught a 14-yard scoring strike from Cotton and Christian Cotton scored his second touchdown of the night from 42-yards out to cut the deficit to 35-21. The Cadets put the game out of reach midway through the fourth as Dylan Van found the endzone from three yards out to give CBC a 41-28 lead. Love finished the night with 119 yards on 17 carries with two scores while adding another 96 yards on three catches with a touchdown to pace the Cadets. Christian Cotton led the Spartans offense with 224 yards through the air and added 101 yards on the ground as De Smet fell to 2-3 on the year and 2-1 in the conference.
East St. Louis used a four-touchdown second quarter to defeat O’Fallon 60-21 in a battle for the top of the Southwestern Conference Saturday afternoon. The Panthers grabbed the early lead midway through the first quarter as Jalen Smith caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Colt Michael to give O’Fallon a 7-0 lead. It was all East St. Louis after that as the Flyers scored the next 44 points as Dejerrian Miller and Larevious Woods each scored twice while TaRyan Martin and Antwon Hayden both found the endzone in the span to help the Flyers pull away for the win. Robert Battle threw for 250 yards and three scores while adding another 115 yards on the ground to lead the Flyers, who improved to 3-2 on the year and 2-0 in conference play. Chris Caldwell paced the Panther attack with 88 yards on the ground and a touchdown while Michael threw for 133 yards and a pair of touchdowns as O’Fallon dropped to 4-1 on the season.
Photo Credit – Eureka High School
On the Volleyball court, Eureka showed why they are one of the top teams in the area as the Wildcats swept Marquette 2-0 to claim the Gateway Classic at Oakville Saturday. Eureka breezed through pool play with a perfect 6-0 mark and then dispatched Howell and Incarnate Word in straight sets to move into the final against Marquette. The Mustangs finished third in the pool and needed to defeat Visitation, Nerinx Hall, and Oakville to advance to the championship match. The Wildcats won the first set over Marquette 25-13 and took home the title by winning the second set over the Mustangs 25-18. The Wildcats improved to 16-1 on the season with their perfect record over the weekend.
The St. Charles boys’ cross-country team scored 82 points and held off St. Louis University High to claim the title at the Fox Invite held at Arnold City Park this past Saturday. The Jr. Bills scored 95 points to earn second place while Fox placed third with 102 points with Clayton and Seckman tied for fourth with 108 points. Nate Maples led the Pirates by winning the individual crown in a time of 16:23.40 while Sam Shipp of Fox was second with a mark of 16:36.00. Andrew Thompson from Clayton was third in a time of 16:45.10 with Jason Shaw of Fox placing fourth in a mark of 16:47.70.
In the girls’ race at the Fox Invite, Cor Jesu placed three runners in the top five spots to claim the team title with 29 points while Clayton earned the second spot with 41 points. Seckman finished third in the team chase with 90 points while St. Dominic earned fourth with 104 points. Adie Luna paced the Chargers by winning the individual race in a time of 18:47.20 while teammate Mary McKenzie earned the second spot with a mark of 19:00.30. Sophia Pelligreen placed third with a time of 19:19.90 with Cor Jesu’s Maria Luna grabbing the fourth slot in a time of 19:34.30.
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
