McCluer North Football Visits Kirkwood, First Of Five Straight Road Games

By Jim Wieners

McCluer North Football will not be seeing the friendly confines of home for the next five weeks and the Stars will start that road swing Friday, Aug. 28, 7 p.m. at a place where their football season ended twice, Kirkwood, defending Suburban XII Conference South Division champions.

This is the second of three straight Friday games but the game at Kirkwood is the only night game on their schedule and the only game played on artificial turf. McCluer North will have another late Friday game Sept. 4 as the Stars play a 4:15 game at University City.

After that   McCluer North will be playing in the Hazelwood School District the next three games, all in the Suburban XII Conference North Division, starting with East (Sept. 12), followed by West (Sept. 19) and Central (Sept. 26) before returning home Oct. 3 to play Riverview Gardens.

Two previous visits to Kirkwood ended McCluer North’s season. The Stars were shut out 34-0 in a 2013 Class Five, District Two semifinal game on the turf. In 2006 on grass Kirkwood, in route to a Class Five runner up finish, won their first ever state semifinal game 28-7, ruining McCluer North’s hopes for an undefeated season.

McCluer North is coming off their eighth straight season-opening loss to Jefferson City, their 10th straight overall, as the 64-34 result Aug 21 was the highest scoring game between two teams. McCluer North got a single-game scoring performance against Jefferson City by Harry Ballard with five touchdowns, three pass receptions and two rushing plays. Jefferson City plays Friday at Class Six State Champion CBC.

Kirkwood, Class Six Semifinalist last year, won their Aug. 21 opener at home 35-7 over Lindbergh. University City, who visits 1-0 McCluer South-Berkeley, won their home opener 23-14 over Hazelwood East.

By Jim Wieners

For the eight consecutive year McCluer North opens the football season by playing Jefferson City and the Stars are seeking to end a nine-game losing streak against the Jays that includes the 1988 and 1993 Class 5A State Championship Games played at the University of Missouri Faurot Field, Columbia.

However, for the first time, McCluer North will play the home opener against Jefferson City on a Friday. On Aug. 21 the Stars will have a 5 p.m. kickoff and the majority of fans that will be seating on the east side of the field will face a direct sunlight in their eyes. The game will have less than three hours of sun as it is slated to set around 7:50, give or take a minute, in the evening.

Two hours later on Aug. 21, at 7 p.m., Hazelwood Central will be kicking off the 2015 season at DeSmet Jesuit High and fortunately for those fans the sun be be behind their backs as the stands are on the west side. The Hazelwood Central players and coaches standing on the east sidelines will battle the sun in the opening minutes.

The opening weekend is contrasting as the Ferguson-Florissant District teams open at home while the Hazelwood District High School teams open on the road. On Aug. 21 McCluer officially kicks off the season at 4:15, about 45 minutes before McCluer North, as the Comets host Public High League Champion Clyde C. Miller Career Academy while Hazelwood West travels to Cedar Hill for a 7 p.m. game against Northwest High. On Aug. 22 at 1 p.m., Hazelwood East travels to University City while McCluer South-Berkeley hosts Cleveland Naval Junior ROTC.

   McCLUER NORTH-JEFFERSON CITY — McCluer North head coach Courtland Griffin lost his first two games, including to Class Six Semifinalist Kirkwood, last season but won seven of his last nine. Griffin’s inaugral season ended in a 7-4 record, was 4-1 in the Suburban XII Conference North Divison, second to Hazelwood Central, and was eliminated in the Class Five, District Two Semfinals by Webster Groves, losing 42-35.

Jefferson City was 8-4 last season including two wins over Columbia-Hickman, a win over Class Five State Champion Columbia-Battle. Jefferson City has shut out McCluer North three times has won all games by double digits and the Jays have held the Stars to 10 points or less in at least seven of the nine games played.

After the home opener the Stars will be playing five consecutive road games including Kirkwood (Aug. 28), University City (Sept. 4) and all three of the Hazelwood High Schools — East (Sept. 12), West (Sept. 19) and Central (Sept. 26). The Stars will play the final three games of 2015 before districts at home against Riverview Gardens (Oct. 3), McCluer (Oct. 10) and Lafayette (Oct. 17).

 HAZELWOOD CENTRAL-DeSMET JESUIT – Hazelwood Central, 11-1 last year, will be replacing graduated quarterback Mike Glass who led the Hawks to a 23-2 record the last two years after tranferring from Francis Howell, where he guided the Vikings to a Class Six State title game in 2012. The Hawks only losses the last two years were in the Class Six playoffs including State Champion CBC last year in the District Two Final and to Columbia-Rock Bridge in the Semifinals. DeSmet is coming off a 1-9 season including two losses to CBC. one in a Metro Catholic Conference game.

   McCLUER will be playing the first three games of the year at home, each on a Friday at 4:15 with Parkway North (Aug. 28) and Normandy Collaorative (Sept. 4) to follow Miller Career Academy who was 9-2 last year and was a Class Four, District Two Semifinalist. McCluer is coming off a 3-7 season overall and was 2-3 in the Suburban XII North.

   HAZELWOOD WEST is coming off a 2-8 season, 1-4 in the Suburban XII North. The Wildcats will play the first three games on Friday nights on the road at 7 p.m. with Parwkway South (Aug. 28) and Pattonville (Sept. 4) to follow Northwest-Cedar Hill, who was 1-9 last year.

   HAZELWOOD EAST was 5-5 last season, only the second time in school history the Spartans finished with a .500 record (was 6-6 in 2010), and was 3-2 in the Suburban XII North while University City was 2-8.