Top 25 Missouri high school football rankings (10/18/2023)

Liberty North at Lee's Summit West highlights final week of regular season

Cody Thorn | Oct 18, 2023

The regular season wraps up this week with many conference titles having already been decided. But there are still some intriguing matchups on the schedule for Week 9.

Liberty North will face Lee’s Summit West in a Top 25 showdown. Blair Oaks faces Southern Boone with the Tri-County Conference title on the line. Seneca will face Nevada with Seneca attempting to lock up an undefeated Big 8 Conference title.

SBLive Missouri Power 25 high school football rankings

PREVIOUS RANKINGS: PRESEASON | AUG. 30 | SEPT. 7 | SEPT. 14 | SEPT. 20 | SEPT. 27 | OCT. 4 | OCT. 11

Missouri high school football rankings

October 18, 2023

1. Lee's Summit North (8-0)

Previous rank: 1 Last week: Def. No. 18 Lee’s Summit West 28-21

With city bragging rights on the line, the Broncos needed a late score to escape with a close win against the visiting Titans. Quarterback Elijah Leonard passed for 214 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Isaiah Mozee and scored the game-winning touchdown with less than 3 minutes to play.

Next game: at Park Hill (4-4), Oct. 20

2. Liberty North (7-1)

Previous rank: 2 Last week: Def. Raymore-Peculiar 38-0

Playing without recent Southeast Missouri State commit JaCorey Love, MicahJo Barnett stepped up and ran for four touchdowns in the win vs. the Panthers.

Next game: at No. 20 Lee’s Summit West (7-1), Oct. 20

3. De Smet (7-0)

Sophomore running back Jayden McCaster is leading the Spartans with eight total touchdowns this season and averaging 7.1 yards per carry.

Next game: vs. Edwardsville (Illinois) (7-1), Oct. 20

4. Cardinal Ritter (8-0)

Previous rank: 4 Last week: Def. No. 10 Hillsboro 34-21

The quarterback duo of senior Antwon McKay Jr. and junior Carson Boyd combined for five touchdown passes and 400 total yards in a win over ranked Hillsboro.

Next game: at St. Louis University High (5-3), Oct. 20

5. Nixa (8-0)

Previous rank: 5 Last week: Def. Republic 31-28

The Eagles locked up the Central Ozark Conference title with a win on a last-second field goal by Jordan Cribbs. Next up is the Backyard Brawl with Ozark for bragging rights in Christian County.

Next game: at Ozark (1-7), Oct. 20

6. CBC (6-2)

Previous rank: 6 Last week: Def. Warren Central (Indiana) 47-3

Five players reached the end zone last week in the road trip to Indiana. The defense allowed just 10 points in the Cadets' last two games and junior cornerback Zakiese Smith returned an interception for a touchdown last week.

Next game: Idle

7. Rockhurst (7-1)

Previous rank: 7 Last week: Def. St. Louis University High 40-22

In a battle of Catholic schools from opposite sides of the state, the Hawklets improved to 3-0 against SLUH. OL/DL Andrew Sprague helped the offense rack up 366 yards and he added two tackles and a TFL on defense.

Next game: at Oklahoma City Patriots (4-3), Oct. 20

8. St. Dominic (8-0)

Previous rank: 8 Last week: Def. MICDS 36-19

Thomas Pulliam ran for 206 yards and added an interception to help the Crusaders snap a five-game losing streak against the Rams.

Next game: vs. Westminster (4-4), Oct. 20

9. Lutheran North (7-1)

Previous rank: 9 Last week: Def. Lutheran St. Charles 62-0

The Crusaders posted their third shutout of the season with a win over the Cougars. QB Dakarri Hollis returned after missing the Maryville game — North's lone loss on the season — and ran for touchdown and passed for another.

Next game: at St. Mary’s (1-6), Oct. 20

10. Francis Howell (5-2)

Previous rank: 11 Last week: Def. Francis Howell Central 55-28

The reigning Class 5 champion Vikings have now won five in a row and the only two losses this season were by a combined 10 points. The win over the Spartans last week was the 15th in a row in that series.

Next game: at Rock Bridge (7-1), Oct. 20

11. Grain Valley (7-1)

Previous rank: 12 Last week: Def. William Chrisman 61-16

After falling behind early, the Eagles rattled off 55 points in a row to pick up a conference win and secured no worse than a share of the Greater Kansas City Suburban Conference White Division title.
Next game: at Raytown (1-7), Oct. 20

12. Blair Oaks (7-1)

Previous rank: 12 Last week: Def. Hallsville 49-0

The Class 3 top-ranked Falcons will face No. 10-ranked Southern Boone for the conference championship this week. The Falcons posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2019.

Next game: vs. Southern Boone County (7-1), Oct. 20

13. Hillsboro (7-1)

Previous rank: 10 Last week: Def. By No. 4 Cardinal Ritter 34-21

The Hawks lost a showdown with unbeaten Cardinal Ritter on Saturday and were limited to 208 yards of total offense — 192 of that on the ground. Hillsboro faces a Poplar Bluff team that has won four in a row.

Next game: at Poplar Bluff (5-3), Oct. 20

14. East Buchanan (8-0)

Previous rank: 14 Last week: Def. Mid-Buchanan 38-6

The Bulldogs will have a chance to lock up another KCI Conference title and could do it with an undefeated run for the second year in a row.

Next game: vs. Lawson (2-6), Oct. 20

15. Lamar (7-1)

Previous rank: 15 Last week: Def. Cassville 41-7

The No. 1-ranked team in Class 2 will look to extend its win streak to five in a row to close the regular season. The Tigers play a winless Hollister squad that has never beaten Lamar since joining the Big 8 Conference.

Next game: vs. Hollister (0-8), Oct. 20

16. Jackson (7-1)

Previous rank: 16 Last week: Def. Holt 48-20

The Indians have now won seven in a row since losing their season opener against Edwardsville (Illinois). Quarterback Adrian Fox ran for three touchdowns in the first half against Holt and finished with 136 yards rushing and 194 yards passing.

Next game: at Festus (6-2), Oct. 20

17. Lebanon (8-0)

Previous rank: 17 Last week: Def. Camdenton 34-26

The Yellowjackets won the Ozark Conference title with last week's win over the Lakers. WR Kyle Eidson caught nine passes for 156 yards and scored twice in the win.

Next game: at Rolla (3-5), Oct. 20

18. Rockwood Summit (8-0)

Previous rank: 19 Last week: Def. McCluer North 47-6

If the offense keeps on putting up points like it normally does, the Falcons should surpass 400 points for the season this week. Summit is churning out nearly 45 points per game and has had five games with 40 or more points.

Next game: at Parkway West (4-4), Oct. 20

19. Nevada (7-1)

Previous rank: 20 Last week: Def. Monett 48-0

The Tigers bounced back from their loss against Lamar with a shutout win against Monett, the second shutout for the defense this season. The No. 7-ranked team in Class 4 will face Class 3 No. 2-ranked Seneca and have won the past two meetings.

Next game: at No. 22 Seneca (8-0), Oct. 20

20. Lee's Summit West (7-1)

Previous rank: 18 Last week: Def. by No. 1 Lee’s Summit West 28-21

RB Quincy Torry had 115 yards and three touchdowns for West, scoring a pair in the first half and then one with 8:19 left to play that helped tie the game with No. 1-ranked Lee’s Summit North at 21-21. Now, the Titans have to face second-ranked Liberty North.

Next game: vs. No. 2 Liberty North (7-1), Oct. 2

21. Helias (7-1)

Previous rank: 21 Last week: Def. Sedalia Smith-Cotton 63-0

The Crusaders ended CMAC play by giving up only 45 points in six games, not far off the 38 points the Class 4 state championship squad allowed in the 2020 season.

Next game: at Vianney (2-6), Oct. 20

22. Seneca (8-0)

Previous rank: 22 Last week: Def. McDonald County 38-14

RB Jackson Marrs ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns in the win over McDonald County and added two receptions for 115 yards.

Next game: vs. No. 19 Nevada (7-1), Oct. 20

23. Oak Park (8-0)

Previous rank: 23 Last week: Def. St. Joseph Central 44-43

Travon Pankey and Evan Braxton did it again for the Northmen, rallying Oak Park from a two-score deficit in the fourth to stay undefeated. Braxton had the game-tying touchdown and Pankey had the previous score that pulled Oak Park within six.

Next game: vs. Fort Osage (5-3), Oct. 20

24. South Shelby (8-0)

Previous rank: 24 Last week: Def. Centralia 48-14

South Shelby earned a share of the Clarence Cannon Conference title by beating previously undefeated Centralia. Now the Cardinals will have a chance to post an undefeated regular season — which they haven't accomplished in more than at least a decade.

Next game: vs. Palmyra (2-6), Oct. 20

25. Maryville (7-1)

Previous rank: 25 Last week: Def. Savannah 39-20

Maryville scored on its first four drives to set the tone and secured at least a share of the Midland Empire Conference crown. The balanced offense ran for 194 yards and passed for 200 against a Savannah team that had previously only lost to No. 14 East Buchanan.

Next game: vs. St. Joseph Lafayette (1-7), Oct. 20

- Cody Thorn | latsch@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveMiz

Published Oct 18, 2023

CODY THORN

Cody Thorn is a veteran journalist who covers high school sports across the state of Texas and Missouri. He is based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and has covered sports and news since 1999.