It’s the quarterfinal round of the Missouri State Championship Tournament! This Friday, November 19th, the Class 3 District 1 Champions, the Central Park Hills Rebels, will be challenging the Class 3 District 2 Champions, the St. Mary’s Dragons. Each team is fresh off an impressive district tournament, with both schools dominating the championship game.
The Central Rebels are currently on an incredible nine-game winning streak, which started all the way back in week three of the 2021 season. This 10-1 Park Hills squad is red hot, and would love to keep the party going with a victory over the Dragons. However, St. Mary’s is just as hot, as they’re also on an identical nine-game winning streak with a 10-1 record, and also haven’t tasted defeat since week two.
Besides just the identical records, these two teams have remarkably similar numbers through 11 games. Central has the edge in points scored per game with a whopping 55.2 average. St. Mary’s has averaged less at 42.7, but that is still an incredibly high scoring percentage. Defensively, the Rebels have allowed 14.1 points per game, but the Dragons have the edge here allowing just a mere 9.8 points per game.
In more commonalities, both teams have an identical 4-1 Home record, as well as an identical 3-0 Away record. These teams did not face any common opponents this season, and in fact, have never faced each other. So history will certainly be made this Friday.
Last week, the Rebels relied on Quarterback Jett Bridges and Running Back Dayshawn Welch to get it done. Bridges passed for an incredible 320 yards, which included four touchdowns. He also rushed for two more touchdowns himself, while Welch had nine carries for 81 yards and a touchdown, and also caught two passes for 75 yards and an additional score. They will be the lynchpins in the assault against the Dragons.
As for St. Mary’s, the Rebels will have to find a way to contain all-world talent, Kevin Coleman. To say he is their entire offense would be unfair to Jamal Roberts, who rushed for 567 yards and had 11 total touchdowns, but stopping Coleman will be the key. He ran for 327 and four scores, averaging 9.6 yards per carry, and caught 25 passes for 649 and 11 TDs. Oh, and by the way, he passed for 86 yards and a pair of scores as well, and added another four touchdowns on special teams. The kid is a beast, and he certainly needs to be the focus of the Rebels’ game plan.
It’s all even on paper, but this Friday, November 19th, the season is on the line as only one team can advance. The Park Hills Central Rebels will battle the St. Mary’s Dragons to see who moves on to the semifinals, and who goes home. Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m.
Good luck Rebels!
