Bennett Durando
Sports Columnist
Not many teams can or will enter the Missouri state playoffs with as much confidence as Webster’s football team.
After a loss to Class Six power Francis Howell to start the season, these Statesmen have rid a six game win streak to finish the regular season. They earned a first round bye and an automatic trip to the district semifinals tonight, on what could be St. Louis’s coldest Halloween since the 1930s.
However, the road to the Dome will be anything but a walk through the park for Webster. Tonight’s opponent is another Class Five top 10 school in McCluer North. A win would likely match the Statesmen up with Ladue for the district championship, who hasn’t looked too shabby either this year.
One can only guess which teams will be the survivors once it’s down the state’s Elite Eight, but if Webster does take the district title, a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal with Jackson would be the most likely possibility for that stage.
In the State semifinal another could rematch could be waiting, this one against Parkway Central. The winner of Central and Fort Zumwalt East tonight would be the favorite to go through to the semis. Zumwalt North also is in that pack.
Then there’s the hallowed trip to the Dome, where any of 16 teams could be a potential opponent of Webster’s if they could reach the State Championship. Among the powerhouses on the right side of the state bracket are Fort Osage and Winnetonka.
Webster will have their hands full just in the district playoffs, with McCluer North and Ladue both sitting on the large school area rankings bubble. Tonight Webster looks to begin that path to the Dome, with a tough McCluer North team and a bitter cold Halloween Night as the first challenges standing in their way.
