Class 4
1. St Mary's
2. Smithville
3. Lincoln College Prep
4. West Plains
5. Hannibal
As far as Class 4 goes, here’s my take for next year.
Class 4 overall has been down with the departure of Webb, and the success factor pushing Helias up and just overall, Class 4 has been extremely top heavy for a hot minute. Most teams outside of the Top 5 don’t even have a shot.
I think Class 4 is going to be even more down next year outside of the top 5-6 teams.
St Mary’s is obviously going to be a heavy favorite, barring any transfers, injuries, etc.
IF Smithville is returning a lot then I would say they are right behind St Mary's, but still not in their league.
when it comes to Hannibal, just having Williams is going to keep them in the mix in Class 4 as far as being a top 5 team is concerned.
is Helias going to drop back down? I feel like with as much as they lost from last year, it’s pretty remarkable that they ended up 9-2 (albeit with a lower quality schedule) with their only losses coming to the Class 4 runner up in Week 1 and the Class 5 runner up in districts
Now when it comes to West Plains, they’re losing probably their best overall two-way player in school history in Connor Lair and not their best, but their most productive QB in a season by season average in school history, losing 4 Offensive Lineman, their 6’6 wideout, and probably 6-7 defensive starters.
BUT, the cupboard is not bare. They’re returning probably the most athletic player in the conference in Heston Miller. He’s 6’2 190lbs and ran a 4.35 40-yard dash this summer and an 11.1 in the 100m last year as a soph.
He had 41 carries for 464 yards(11.3 Ypc) and 6 TDs & 42 receptions for 751 yards(17.9 ypr) and 10 TDs this year. He is also the career receiving leader for WP and will add to it next year.
He’s going to be leaned on a lot more next year as a Senior. He needs to be more physical when carrying the rock and he was also the main problem this year with dumb taunting penalties and what not and extra curriculars after the play. They’re going to need him to not only lead by example with his play on the field, but with how he conducts himself in between snaps as well.
A kid I’m really excited about for next year is Watson Hafer. He is a WR/TE type and was 6’3 200lbs this year as a Junior with a little more room to grow. Kid can flat out play. He can catch, hit and he had 9 pancake blocks as a receiver/tight end this year. Ended the season with 17 catches for 296 yards and 5 TDs.
Then there’s Garrett Mahan. He’s 6’6 230 lbs and they used him in the backfield this year as well as out wide some. He didn’t have much production, but I expect him to be utilized quite a bit more next year.
WP always reloads on the defensive side of the ball, there are no shortage of hard-nosed physical kids on that team. And they always seem to find some kind of back to replace the guys from the year before, though they have some big shoes to fill this year.
Biggest thing for them is going to be replacing a very dynamic QB who also started all year at safety and replacing their veteran offensive line.
The loan returner in the trenches will be their center Magnus Sanders at 6’1 350lbs.
Aiden Simpson looks to be their starting QB next year as a Senior, outside of Kenslow, he took the most snaps this year. It’ll be interesting to see if Perkins decides to go with a younger QB to develop.
I figure WP will go 7-2 or 8-1 in the regular season, they tend to lay at least one egg a year in conference play, and as far as districts go, I just don’t see a scenario where they end up in a district they can get beat in. I fully expect WP to be back in the quarters next year for the 3rd year in a row and 4 out of the last 5 years.
Question is whether or not they will finally get to host a playoff game or is MSHSAA going to mess around the district numbers again and make this three years in a row they have to go on the road for the playoffs.
The Zizzers have only lost 2 home games in the last 4 years.
Overall they’ve went:
2018: 12-1 (lost @ State Champ Ladue in QF)
2019: 9-2 (laid an egg in districts)
2020: 10-2 (lost by 6 @ state champ Helias in QF)
2021: 10-2 (lost by 9 @ state runner up Hannibal in QF)
