The Jefferson R7 football team has an exciting opportunity to play one of the historically great programs in the Show Me State to open District play.
The Blue Jays are the fourth seed in Class 2, District 1, and that means they will host number 5 seed John Burroughs at 7 p.m. this Friday. The Bombers own nine State Championships, the most recent was as a Class 3 school in 2015, and feature alumni that include current Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. The private college preparatory school in Ladue competed at the Class 4 level the past two seasons. The football program was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
The 2022 edition is not one of the Bombers’ vintage powerhouse squads though, sitting at 4-5 on the year. It is the lowest scoring John Burroughs squad since 2017 at 21.1 ppg.
Running back Brandon Biggs can be a significant threat for the Bombers’ offense. The Senior has rushed for 783 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s gone for over 100 yards on four different occasions and scored five of his seven touchdowns in two of the final three regular season games. Sophomore Dylan Macon has broken the 100-yard mark on two occasions and scored five touchdowns in a single game against Lutheran South.
Burroughs has utilized three different quarterbacks. Sophomore Max Steinbach has been the most productive with 381 yards and has both of the team’s touchdown passes.
Linebacker Ian Bennett, who stands at 6’4″, leads the team in total tackles.
Jefferson enters district competition playing its best football of the season. The Blue Jays shook off a 1-3 start to win four of their last five, including an impressive regular season finale last week over St. Vincent, which entered the game as a state ranked program in Class 1.
Running back Sean Usery has been a force for the Jefferson offense. The Senior is just nine rushing yards shy of 1,000. He’s also had a nose for the goal line with 13 touchdowns on the season.
Kole Williams has emerged as a threat at quarterback in the second half of the season. He has nine passing and three rushing touchdowns.
Wide receiver Nate Breeze has a penchant for the end zone as well, similar to Usery in the running game. Breeze has 12 catches on the season, but eight have gone for touchdowns. He also likes to catch passes from the opposing quarterback with a team-leading three interceptions.
Sam Stokes leads the charge for a defense that carried the team early in the season. He has a team-best 76 total tackles. Konnor Armstrong has been the best at getting to the opposing quarterback with three sacks.
The Bombers and the Blue Jays meet this Friday night at 7pm with the winner moving on to the second round of District play, with a trip south to play top seeded New Madrid County Central on November 4th.
Good luck Blue Jays!
