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Fort Zumwalt West All Set For Quarterfinal Football Rematch With Rival Francis Howell

Jaguars have defeated Vikes 34-28 in last two meetings, including last year's state quarterfinal showdown at Zumwalt West.

MSHSAA CLASS 6 FOOTBALL QUARTERFINALS – GAME PREVIEW

Fort Zumwalt West Jaguars (9-2)  vs.  Francis Howell Vikings (8-3)

Friday, Nov. 11, 20117 p.m. – Francis Howell Stadium

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WELDON SPRINGS – On a night when the MSHSAA Class 6 football playoffs will take center stage on the Missouri state high school sports landscape, the game of the night is perhaps one of our area’s best football blood rivalries, with the Jaguars taking on the hated Francis Howell Vikings.

The two GAC South rivals have a long history of big-time ballgames against one another, including several league championship-caliber contests over the last few years, and last year’s phenomenal state quarterfinal game at West’s Hoekel Stadium, which the Jaguars won 34-28.

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This season, and especially on Friday night, the stakes are just as high, with the winner advancing to next weekend’s state football semifinals – just one step away from the Show-Me Bowl state championships at the Edward Jones Dome over Thanksgiving weekend – while the loser will be sent home for the winter.

Despite being the road team, West, which beat Howell 34-28 earlier this season, and won the GAC South championship, will come in as the favorite tonight, and is considered by some, the best team in the state. The team's only losses coming against No. 1-ranked CBC and nationally-ranked Bentonville (AR).

Quarterback Drew Hare, with 2,507 passing yards and 25 touchdowns, which both rank among the top 6 totals for any signal-caller in the area, leads a Jaguar squad that averages 40.3 points a game and is ranked No. 3 in Missouri Class 6.

Hare’s top weapons include senior running back Ray Harris (770 rushing yards, 636 receiving yards) and 31 total touchdowns, and senior wide receiver Kyle Echols (46 catches for 861 yards and 13 touchdowns), both of whom rank among all area leaders in total yards and receiving yards.

Defensively, the Jags are led by impressive linebacker prospect Matt Fazio (102 total tackles) and behemoth defensive end Tanner Day (63 tackles, 10 quarterback sacks).

For Howell, it’s hard to imagine any area quarterback has played better than West’s Hare has, but senior Eric Siebenshuh probably has, with 2,672 pass yards and 28 touchdowns this season.

Only one quarterback in the area has two 1,000-yard receivers to throw to, and that’s Siebenshuh, with standout senior Corey King (70 catches for 1,054 yards and nine touchdowns) and explosive Alex Strong (44 catches for 1,174 yards and 14 touchdowns), whose whopping 26.7 yards per catch average is tops for every receiver in the area.

On defense, linebackers Tim Thomas and Calvin Munson both rank in the top 20 amongst area tacklers, with 143 tackles for Thomas and 119 total stops for Munson, while end Joshua Brown is fifth in the area with 12 quarterback sacks.

On paper, the matchups are incredible and just seem to set up a classic night of football at Francis Howell High.

SPECIAL NOTE -- Fans attending the game are being asked to get there early.

Kickoff is set at 7 p.m., but the folks at Francis Howell are expecting record crowds for what might be the biggest home game in Viking football history tonight.

Friday night is also Opening Night for Francis Howell High School’s fall theatre production, so there will be even more traffic heading to the campus grounds around 7 p.m. than usual.  

And with only one road, Highway 94, leading in or out of campus, school officials are asking fans to arrive early, carpool, or even use one of several satellite parking sites and shuttle to the game, via a free shuttle service Francis Howell will have set up for tonight.

We at Patch.com ask all fans to check back in with our site late tonight for full coverage of what figures to be an epic football showdown between Fort Zumwalt West and Francis Howell.

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