'22 Boys Postseason #3 (11-1)

Vol 2. Edition 3 (11-1–22)

The calendar has turned to November and in just a few short weeks the season will crown four champions. The month starts with one of the busiest nights of them all - Tuesday of District week is always full on the schedule, which means 70 games spread across all four classes and all parts of the state. This is also a taxing night on referees with already thin crews spread thinner throughout. Be mindful of that when it comes to your support tonight from the bleachers - the games don’t go on without them!

A beautiful Halloween night saw the Class 1 tournament officially kick off with all five #4 seeds (Fatima, Canton, Knob Noster, Cameron and Cole Camp) winning handily. Those five advance to take on #1 seeds - all on short rest as all play again tonight - with Fatima likely having the best shot at taking out a #1 in a difficult D4 that the Comets host. Father Tolton (2nd overall in C1) and Fatima locked up in an OT match last year in this very game that Tolton escaped. The other semi has last year’s D4 winner Borgia (5) vs. a very capable, if not unpredictable, MMA (18) team. Borgia enters as one of the hotter C1 teams, so a competitive evening will be on tap in Westphalia tonight. Actually, all eight districts in C1 have action tonight with D1, D2 and D6 opening play with the 4/5 game and 3/6 games in the bigger districts. All the others will be semifinals so in just two short days C1 will be whittled down quickly. The closest semi pairing tonight is D7 with Lone Jack (20) and Green Ridge (21) only separated by .02 in the MPR. The D3 semis should also be tight battles with 1 seed Duchesne (22) and 4 seed Canton (25) only separated by .30, while 2 seed Winfield (12) and 3 seed STEAM (14) are only .08 apart. This district is one of the ones where the seeds went against MPR, so we will see how Duchesne’s strength of schedule plays out.

Class 2 -Arguably the best game of the night was the C2 D4 semi between top seed Fulton (21) and 4 seed Helias (31). We thought this might be a good one and it didn’t disappoint. Helias jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first half before Fulton stormed back to tie early in the second. The two teams raced back and forth for the next 40+ minutes before a Helias goal with just minutes left in the first OT secured the upset and sent the Crusaders into the finals against Southern Boone (24) tomorrow night. SBC got an early goal and cruised to a 4-0 win over host Mexico. In D8 3 seed St. Pius (KC) (32) knocked out 2 seed Bishop LeBlond (15) 1-0, setting up a championship against heavily-favored Excelsior Springs (7) who cruised by 4 seed Chillicothe 5-1. In D5 top seeds Logan Rogersville and Osage had no problems in their semis, setting up the expected title bout there. Boonville snuck past St. Paul Lutheran 1-0 in an OT thriller to advance, while 3 seed Sacred Heart also moved on. Both teams have a quick turnaround with semis tonight. Marshall (2) awaits Boonville, while Sacred Heart is actually favored in MPR over 2 seed Odessa. The small-school Gremlins depth will be on display tonight.

Razor thin margins separate tonights C2 D1 action in Perryville, which should make for a great night in arguably the most competitive C2 district statewide. 1 seed Affton (6) takes on 5 seed Bayless (8) and only a slight edge in MPR (.07) to Affton. The other semi has 2 seed Saxony Lutheran (13) and 3 seed Perryville (10), with the teams virtually dead even in MPR (.01 edge to Perryville). Saxony got the 2 seed by virtue of a 1-0 win in penalties earlier. Don’t be surprised if OT is played at some point in Perryville tonight. In other action, C2D2 semis are tonight in sort of an unknown district. Collegiate School (11) and Principia (19) are the top seeds. D7 also opens play with only top seed Harrisonville (18) off this evening due to a bye. Barstow (9), Oak Grove (12) and Center (14) all have higher MPR scores than Harrisonville and should advance to determine if that seeding was correct.

Class 3 took Monday off, but is back in full force this evening with all 8 districts seeing semifinal play. After tonight, we will be down to the final 16 in C3, so a lot on the line this evening. In D1, the two Cape teams eye a rematch with Notre Dame (12) the top seed over Central (9) due to a regular season win, but will have to get by DeSoto (44) and Farmington (14), respectively. D2 has the two of the state’s top teams in the class in opposing semis tonight. Webster Groves (1) (+1.45) and Rockwood Summit (3) (+.90) are heavy favorites over Lutheran South and Parkway West. The D3 semis are intriguing, as well. The last two Class 2 champions (Whitfield (2) and MICDS (34)) square off in one, while familiar foes Ladue (6) and Clayton (11) are in the other. Ladue has topped all three of those teams in the regular season, but one was Pk’s (Clayton) and Whitfield was only 2-1 in the regular season finale. Signs point to a Whitfield/Ladue final but Clayton is only .25 behind in MPR and that penalties loss is still fresh. D4 has two Zumwalt schools (East - 1 seed and South - 2-time defending champ) hoping for a rematch in the final, but Holt and Hannibal look to break through. East is a .49 MPR leader over Holt, while Hannibal is actually ahead of South by .26. The Pirates don’t get to play much in that area and are looking for a signature win over one of the state’s best programs as of late. D5 poses long-time rivals Glendale (4) and Springfield Catholic (15) as the favorites in those semis. Rolla (22) could give Catholic (+.26) some issues as the Irish struggled down the stretch. Camdenton is the Glendale challenger tonight and heavy underdogs (-1.09). D6 has, by the numbers, the weakest group, but that also makes it a highly-competitive district. Top seed Webb City (38) plays Grandview (45), while Belton (29) and Willard (33) are nearly even in the other semi. In D7 play, Raytown South’s big upset of 2 seed Grain Valley leads them to a match with favored Jeff City (+.52). Top seeded St. Michael’s (10) plays last year’s semifinalist Van Horn (18) in the other in what looks to be the closer semi. D8 has heavy favorites KC East (7) and Platte Co. (5) against upstarts Kearney (27) and Pembroke Hill (24), respectively. Both of those teams earned upset wins in a wild Saturday at Pembroke Hill.

C4 D5 had a busy night in Nixa, where all four top seeds advanced. Waynesville was the 4 seed and slightly behind (.11) 5 seed Neosho, but the Tigers live on after a 3-1 win. This district takes the night off, but all the others see action this evening.

D1: Top seed Lindbergh (16) vs. 4 seed Oakville (23) and 3 seed Vianney (6) vs. 7 seed Jackson (44) in the other. No doubt the Griffins aren’t looking past Jackson - or at least they shouldn’t based on Jackson’s postseason magic over the past few years. Jackson squads are known for grinding and keeping it close until a break happens, but Vianney is a huge (+.98) favorite. Lindbergh also holds a slight edge (+.11).
D2: The state’s top team resides here. DeSmet is a big favorite to reach the finals over Eureka (28) and meet up with fellow MCC member CBC (7), who faces 6 seed Kirkwood (39), a big winner from Saturday.
D3: Almost the same setup here as MCC’s SLUH (3) and Chaminade (2) are heavy favorites to advance over Francis Howell North(31) and last year’s surprise John Burroughs (20). There’s always the danger in looking ahead and just about everyone has players who can make a difference in C4, but expect a SLUH-Chaminade rematch later this week.
D4: A couple of upsets Saturday have opened the door for potentially smoother paths for Liberty (Wentzville)(11) and traditional power St. Dominic (18) to meet again, but Ft. Zumwalt North and Timberland are fresh off big wins and no team has been consistently dominant in the area this year.
D6: Rockhurst (4) is a big favorite (+.74) to make another district final in tonight’s semi against Ray-Pec (26). Local rivals Lee’s Summit (10) and Lee’s Summit West (22) pair off in the other with LS having a slight advantage that won’t take into account two teams with players who know each other well.
D7: When you combine a Columbia heavy district and a Blues Spring heavy district, one could expect tonight’s semis to have been the forecast. Rock Bridge (24) is the 1 seed despite having to forfeit 12 games right before the tourney started. The Bruins were a top team all year and didn’t miss a beat in Saturday’s 8-0 drubbing of Truman. RB plays Blue Springs South in a semi, with South (37) also rolling to an opening 8-0 win over Battle. RB is only favored by .32, but that is with the forfeits included, so this one may not be as close as it seems. In the other semi, 2 seed Hickman (19) has a slight edge (+.31) over host Blue Springs (35). This game could be one to watch tonight. Hickman would love nothing but another chance at RB after getting knocked off in last year’s semis as the top seed, while Blue Springs eyes a second surprise trip to the final four after topping RB 3-0 in the finals.
D8: Status quo so far in D8, but tonight could change that. Top seeded Liberty North (9) has Staley (40), while the two Park Hill schools meet up in the other one. Park Hill (21) has the 2 seed, but Park Hill South (12) the MPR advantage (+.23). Another local game played on a neutral field (Oak Park) that should provide some tense moments.