The time sure does fly, doesn't it. Kids grow fast, former players are 50 and it just keeps flying.
State championship predictions
- Thread starter cardsfan200306
- Start date
Class 1 - Adrian has seemed to improve over the back end of the season.
Class 2 - Fair Grove's win over Strafford convinced me they got a shot.
Class 3 - Seneca dominated a down big 8 this season, don't think that will be enough to top BO.
Class 4 - Class 2-sized Lutheran.
Class 5 - PC. I like their initials, and I saw them on the Today show.
Class 6 - Nixa starts a Springfield football renaissance.
Class 2 - Fair Grove's win over Strafford convinced me they got a shot.
Class 3 - Seneca dominated a down big 8 this season, don't think that will be enough to top BO.
Class 4 - Class 2-sized Lutheran.
Class 5 - PC. I like their initials, and I saw them on the Today show.
Class 6 - Nixa starts a Springfield football renaissance.
Yes, Blair Oaks is a team that has been blessed with great coaching for the past 20 years and a program built from the ground (4th grade) up (Freshman - Seniors). They are a school built around a family community culture with families where the grade schoolers and the middle schoolers play pickup games while watching their older brothers play on the big field. The students learn in middle school the same plays that are taught at the high school level and taught the full culture at that age of doing their job, getting better everyday, and being a role model for their school, team-mates, and young kids no matter the age.
A lot of the big contributors over the past few years are young brothers of now alumni who played years before them. They always want to get better and continue a tradition of what their brothers before them have left. It shows in their preparation, in their lifting, their overall knowledge of the game, and overall their drive to always want to improve.
When you have that kind of deep culture and drive in a program then it is so much easier to have success as often as that program has had over the past 2 decades.
After all that preparation you then throw in a group of coaches, not just Coach Lepage that have the same drive in teaching, developing game plans, reviewing film and you have a very good chance at success being 1-0 on the week.
2 players that are out are 2 of what was the main offensive targets of the QB. They were returning all staters. 1 was a transfer from Southern Boone. Even though they are now done for the season the depth on the offensive side of the ball has made to where Blair Oaks could continue be successful. Blair Oaks does not run personnel on both sides of the ball if at all possible, which also helps.
They have a dynamic offense where they can beat a team through the air or just ground and pound and play keep away.
The defense which this year is now their strength since most of their defense was underclassman the year prior. They are well coached, physical upfront, and will take away what ever the other team does best. Most of the time its the run. If you like the run and only throw when you absolutely have to then you are not going to be successful against BO.
I know I wrote a lot and if your still reading well good for you because I probably would have stopped myself. 1 last thing, Blair Oaks prepares by playing and scrimmaging against great competition. They now currently play 2 out of conference teams every year like clockwork, Maryville which has been played in several different locations over the past few years but now are played in house. The other team is Lutheran North which has became a slight rivalry between the 2 schools ever since not only Blair Oaks playing them in post season play but playing some of the other St. Louis private schools in past few years such as Cardinal Ritter, St. Mary's. Blair Oaks played Cardinal Ritter not long ago when Luther Burden was on the CR team in Semifinal action in St. Louis. Not only did Blair Oaks win but BO defense never allowed Luther Burden to be the reason that CR would win. Blair Oaks played so many times against St Louis private schools over the past 6 years and never lost until 2023 and this year in 2024 when Lutheran North improved, greatly. They might have D1 talent but what lacked was great coaching and a full well rounded team. Last year Lutheran North's defense lived and died by their speed and it worked. In 2024, to go along with defense they improved on the offensive side of the ball from being mainly a running team to a dynamic passing offense that was complemented by their running game and speed. This also led them to eventually beat their older brother Cardinal Ritter later in the season.
Now you know who Blair Oaks is and why they get talked about so darn much. A program built right from the ground up. A program hated by many who have to deal with them yearly.
Seneca will have their hands full this weekend but it will be a close game, a low scoring game from 2 great defenses good enough to slow down 2 great offenses. A must see if you can see it in person, or online if you can't travel to Columbia.
Big 8 was down? Could it be Seneca is really good? Most of the lower tier teams were competitive. Three teams reached the Q finals. Two in their respective class championship, including a four loss team. Also calpreps shows the Big 8 as the 8th strongest conference in the state. I would say the exact opposite of what you said is true, or you are holding the Big 8 to an incredibly high standard.
If that happens BO should throw away their playbook and start over from scratch next season as something defnitely did not work against an evenly matched opponent. In other terms, There will not be any turbo clock in the class 3 final.
Indians by at least 35
Its going to be epic
Class 1. Adrian. They would be going for B2B if they were in this class last year!
Class 2. I think FG finally beats Lamar
Class 3. Best game of the weekend! I think Seneca gets it done!
Class 4. That "team" from STL
Class 5. It's PC's to lose
Class 6. Nixa and they will be just as good next year!
Class 2. I think FG finally beats Lamar
Class 3. Best game of the weekend! I think Seneca gets it done!
Class 4. That "team" from STL
Class 5. It's PC's to lose
Class 6. Nixa and they will be just as good next year!
Helias crosses the neutral zone before the play starts to block the would be game winning chip shot FG from a kicker who’s already hit from 40+ earlier in the game.
There. I fixed it.
Kane is dealing with demons! That or just drinking too much before noon..............
Class 1. Adrian
Class 2. Lamar
Class 3. Seneca
Class 4. LN
Class 5. Heart says Helias but head says PC
Class 6. Nixa
Class 2. Lamar
Class 3. Seneca
Class 4. LN
Class 5. Heart says Helias but head says PC
Class 6. Nixa
I’d go with your head by 3-4 TDs
HHS is actually talking smack about a HS kicker missing a 47 yard FG and making a 42 yarder and a 30+.
No I fixing your statement that he was no doubt going to make that field goal. He had missed one earlier. That is not talking smack on the young man, that was providing context to your post. No more that saying our QB was only 5 for 19 or whatever he was for the game. I know we got away with the offsides call, but we will never know how the game would have ended if the call was made. He may have made it, he may have missed it. There was still plenty of time on the clock and Helias had two timeouts. You can keep taking your pot shots at Helias if it makes you feel betterr, but life is to short for me to keep replying to them.
tried to go pull up the exact scenario and it has interestingly been removed. it has obviously caused quite a stir among some folks lol. Here is what I can tell from the few clips i can find. The ball was on the 5 yd line which means its minimum going to the 2.5 and less than a XP. was it goal to go or would that have been a 1st down i dont know but its clear that shouldnt have happened. the refs this year (from the games ive been to ) have been the worst ive seen in a long time and sadly have had cleaner games in pee wee than some of the shit ive seen
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I’ll have to try later just for curiosity’s sake.
If I get the same thing, whether it was done by MSHSAA or Helias, that’s some shady sh!t
im gonna be the asshole and request a refund over it so it hits em in the pocket book. that is bought material not rented
8-Man Archie
C1 Adrian
C2 Lamar
C3 Blair Oaks
C4 Lutheran North
C5 Platte County
C6 Nixa
C1 Adrian
C2 Lamar
C3 Blair Oaks
C4 Lutheran North
C5 Platte County
C6 Nixa
Asshats actually gave the refund. They hellbent on not leaving that bad performance out there
man that's some shady stuff.
Bet if it was a public school they wouldn't do that.
Helias will now have to move up to Class 6. They are really going to have to step up their recruiting!
They are barely class 4 right now. I suspect their enrollment may 'dip' a bit so that class 5 will be their max.
correct they are today.
They are very close to the class 3 cutoff and they can drop enrollment really easy.
Cutoff is 513 and they are at 538 enrollment.
This year. Their enrollment is barely Class 4. It would not take hardly anything for it to change to Class 3 enrollment threshold next year. They are at 535 and over the past 4 years it has been as low as 504 and as high as 535. 504 would be a Class 3 enrollment.
I understand that classification can be tough but I have tried as much as I can to simplify it for us on here. Once again champ factor is done off raw enrollment and then the class cutoffs are set once all the champ factor teams are in place.
With that being said raw enrollment cutoff was 491 the 513 you see is after champ factor moved teams.
Helias has only had 1 year at the low 500s the past 4 years including this one are as follows 535,504,553,and 562.
Can they get under this years maybe but the cuts will have to be tuition paying kids as the scholarship kids are always the athletes and DEI number boosters. Noone wants to cut tuition paying kids.
The 2 bump is a minimum 2 year then they drop 4 points and will be based off what they do to finish this year and going forward
Another interesting piece is looking at how that will align districts. Obviously will make hickman and rock bridge happy as adding helias will give them 3 of 5 teams in the JC Columbia area. I know vianney is dropping to C4 So 1 of the stl teams can slide from D4 to D2.
I see their enrollment growing or staying steady. During the Covid year(s) money got tight for some people and they tried to save money any way they could and private education was one of the cost cutting measures. I think that 504 year has a lot to do with it.
Numbers have been growing since the big donation that lowered tuition in 2016. And with the continued disaster that is JCPS, I agree with you, I think they will only grow.
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