Class 5 Preview

[STL Crusader]

I think Jackson and Webb City will be the top dogs based off what I know. Then I'd add in Battle, Carthage, Chaminade, Fort Zumwalt North, Ladue, Staley as worthy challengers. I'm from St. Louis so I could be forgetting some others including the likes of Grain Valley and Platte County. I'll also throw in Rockwood Summit from St. Louis who return a lot of starters. There's also the chance of Holt dropping down from Class 6 due to North Point High School starting their first year and taking quite a bit of Holt's enrollment in northern Wentzville.

Here's a top 5, but I could be way off...

1. Jackson
Should still have a very explosive offense returning four starters plus Eckley and Liley at wide receiver. Defense returns pretty much the whole secondary while most of the front six is going except a very promising junior defensive end. They should find suitable replaces at linebacker and the other two line positions. Jackson has a rather weak schedule IMO so they should win at least 8 games.

2. Webb City
Getting Dante Washington from Joplin is a huge addition and we'll probably see the Cardinals trying to get him the ball a bunch of times. Should have another solid running back duo of Jackson Dupree and Cade Wilson. I'm told Vaden will play QB. Their defense will probably their weaker spot, but with Coach Bailey on staff you'd think they'll be improved from last year at least. I think we'll see at least another final four appearance.

3. Ft Zumwalt North
Joe Bacon's team reloads once again. I'm very high on incoming senior QB, Chris Reckel who runs a 4.52 40-time and fits perfectly into the Panther's unique spread option offense. They actually might improve at wide receiver based on film I've seen this offseason at camps. FZN is almost always solid on defense, but tbh I don't know much who they have their. Expect another state run.

4. Ladue
Despite losing Sam M'Pemba to IMG, the Rams return most of their starters on both sides of the ball including Jared Rhodes at running back who IMO is one of the best running backs in the state. They should have a decent receiving core like always and have an exciting sophomore QB in Beau Dolan. Defense is looking strong, but are lacking at defensive end. Last year was a small blip for the Rams and expect them to be back to normal.

5. Chaminade
The Red Devils return four offensive linemen plus Cam Epps (Oklahoma State commit), but he'll switch to WR on offense. They need to replace Amar Johnson at running back who was far and away their best player. They add Epps and a Trinity wide receiver to go with Elijah Griffin who is a solid 3-year starter for Chaminade. Their defense IMO is a big question mark since they got destroyed by CBC and Jackson and graduated 7 starters.

 

[TruthSerum]

1. Jackson
Should still have a very explosive offense returning four starters plus Eckley and Liley at wide receiver. Defense returns pretty much the whole secondary while most of the front six is going except a very promising junior defensive end. They should find suitable replaces at linebacker and the other two line positions. Jackson has a rather weak schedule IMO so they should win at least 8 games.

Liley graduated. You're likely thinking of Kannen Turley who led the team in receptions and yardage last season. He will be joined by Eckley and Isaiah Davis at WR. Jackson has 2 outstanding running backs this year, Tony Williams (So.) saw a lot of action, especially in the final game, and Josh Wehrenberg (Sr.) will surprise you.
Jackson's second string defense gave up a lot of points last year, but some of those were seniors who just couldn't crack into the starting lineup. DE Tony Terry was shockingly good as a soph., tall and very fast.
You're right about Jackson's schedule, same as every year, but I'll project at least 9 wins in the regular season.

 

[STL Crusader]

Liley graduated. You're likely thinking of Kannen Turley who led the team in receptions and yardage last season. He will be joined by Eckley and Isaiah Davis at WR. Jackson has 2 outstanding running backs this year, Tony Williams (So.) saw a lot of action, especially in the final game, and Josh Wehrenberg (Sr.) will surprise you.
Jackson's second string defense gave up a lot of points last year, but some of those were seniors who just couldn't crack into the starting lineup. DE Tony Terry was shockingly good as a soph., tall and very fast.
You're right about Jackson's schedule, same as every year, but I'll project at least 9 wins in the regular season.

You're right I was thinking of Turley. I remember Williams being a solid back-up for #25 and I like the look of the senior QB coming in to replace Welker. I wasn't totally impressed by Terry based on his Hudl highlights, but many say he's the real deal and you can tell based on his size and athleticism.

I say at least 8 wins because I think they'll get challenged by O'Fallon in Week 9. You gotta remember O'Fallon heavily reloads a year after beating East St. Louis and probably should've beaten Edwardsville the week after in overtime. If you can do that with several core players returning (and gaining) then you can beat just about anybody in Missouri. Plus by that point in the season, O'Fallon will have played CBC, East St. Louis, and Edwardsville, so they'll be battle-tested while Jackson probably won't be. I'm excited for that one!

 

[STL Crusader]

North Kansas City should be a team to compete as well.

 

[TruthSerum]

You're right I was thinking of Turley. I remember Williams being a solid back-up for #25 and I like the look of the senior QB coming in to replace Welker. I wasn't totally impressed by Terry based on his Hudl highlights, but many say he's the real deal and you can tell based on his size and athleticism.

I say at least 8 wins because I think they'll get challenged by O'Fallon in Week 9. You gotta remember O'Fallon heavily reloads a year after beating East St. Louis and probably should've beaten Edwardsville the week after in overtime. If you can do that with several core players returning (and gaining) then you can beat just about anybody in Missouri. Plus by that point in the season, O'Fallon will have played CBC, East St. Louis, and Edwardsville, so they'll be battle-tested while Jackson probably won't be. I'm excited for that one!

I included the first round of “playoffs” in the regular season since all MO teams get a first round “post-season" game, which is not really post season since every team gets a 10th game before actually EARNING a TRUE post-season game.

Jackson will definitely be challenged by O’Fallon and I only saw one JV game last year, one in which they soundly thumped Fox. But those defenders looked really solid and should be a good indicator for this season. I’m not sure if Jackson JV went undefeated but they likely did.

 

[thetophat2021]

North Kansas City should be a team to compete as well.

LOTS back. How they fare up front both sides of the ball will determine how far they go in 2021. Park Hill South also returns quite a bit. Staley still getting mentioned (again assuming they don't move up) will be a huge mystery with a brand spanking new HC (Steve Rampy). I look for major improvement from Fort Osage as well (Soph heavy last year). On the other end two extremely well coached upmovers likely will come back to Earth this season (Grain Valley and Platte County).

Opening night Raytown at NKC will be my destiny................

 

[TheRealJoey]

Platte County and Grain Valley come into the season without their stellar QBs and receivers from last year.

 

[ugaboz]

LOTS back. How they fare up front both sides of the ball will determine how far they go in 2021. Park Hill South also returns quite a bit. Staley still getting mentioned (again assuming they don't move up) will be a huge mystery with a brand spanking new HC (Steve Rampy). I look for major improvement from Fort Osage as well (Soph heavy last year). On the other end two extremely well coached upmovers likely will come back to Earth this season (Grain Valley and Platte County).

Opening night Raytown at NKC will be my destiny................

nkc will be pretty stout up front on both sides.
they will be good

 

[Flint222]

Pretty good predictions.

 

[thetophat2021]

Shows how impossible (outside a very few top programs) predicting anything in this sport can be. On that note IF Webb wins tonight and Carthage is not final MO #2 in this class the State poll should be retired............

 

[hitch_and_go]

Yep. Carthage was really really good .

 

[thetophat2021]

Yep. Carthage was really really good .

Doubt I ever forget Kabance's performances in the reg season.

 

[503_Maple]

Shows how impossible (outside a very few top programs) predicting anything in this sport can be. On that note IF Webb wins tonight and Carthage is not final MO #2 in this class the State poll should be retired............

The state poll for class 2 most of the year had Lutheran 6, lmao. No way LSC isn’t 1 (ofc now) and wasn’t 2-3 even after losses throughout the season.

 

[thetophat2021]

The state poll for class 2 most of the year had Lutheran 6, lmao. No way LSC isn’t 1 (ofc now) and wasn’t 2-3 even after losses throughout the season.

Because of their record NOT who they played.

 

[503_Maple]

Because of their record NOT who they played.

Which is a goofy way to do it. I’ve always thought the state done decent at rankings a few years ago. BUT this year was puzzling more so then normal. FG was average at best and was 2 all year. Very strange.

 

[hitch_and_go]

Webb was 4-3 and never dropped out of the top 5 . They know some

 

[thetophat2021]

Which is a goofy way to do it. I’ve always thought the state done decent at rankings a few years ago. BUT this year was puzzling more so then normal. FG was average at best and was 2 all year. Very strange.

In all fairness we still had these virus reschedules/cancellations that played a part BUT I think they have a harder time with certain schools that haven't been among the top contenders.