By Fred Liggett
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The host DeSmet Spartans enter at just 7-5. The Class 6, District 2 Champions lost to teams located in four different states. Springfield Ohio, IMG Academy in Florida, East St. Louis in Illinois and a pair of teams in the St. Louis metro area. Both CBC and St. Mary’s came away victorious against the Spartans. The Spartans may have finished first in their district but in a five team metro Catholic conference finished second. CBC was the conference champion this year and remain alive in the state playoffs. Should the Spartans win against the Broncos the victory would mean a trip to their third state title game in the last four years.

The Spartans won all three of their district playoff games on the road and now welcome the opportunity to return home and play in front of their fans. Last week the Spartans hit the road far enough to leave the St. Louis metro area. The Spartans visited Columbia Rock Bridge and beat the Bruins 44-21 to advance to this semifinal round game. The winner of this game plays in the Class 6 state title game in Columbia on Saturday, Nov. 26. Of the four semifinalists from last season three of them are back to play in this round again in 2022. CBC, Liberty North and Lee’s Summit North have all completed the hard task of getting back this stage in the state playoffs.

Some names that Broncos fans will want to know for Friday night’s game include Cannon and Cotton. The Spartans leading scorer is QB Christian Cotton with 17 touchdowns this season good for 102 points. Wide Receiver Demetrion Cannon has five touchdowns and is a sure bet to be targeted a lot by Cotton. A DB named Elijah Thomas has six touchdowns on the year thanks to his work of being a two way player. Should the game with the Broncos be a close one the Spartans can depend on Place Kicker Ethan Wehmuller. The junior kicker has four field goals and 24 PAT’s to his record so far in 2022.

The Lee’s Summit North Broncos are back in the semifinal round a spot they enjoyed advancing to in 2021. Last season at this time the Broncos were also traveling to the St. Louis metro area this time it was to play Christian Brothers College HS. The Broncos had a lead for a majority of the game before CBC pulled out a hard fought win. Now the Broncos, at 11-1, are looking to go just one step further in the state playoffs. The Broncos are the Class 6, District 3 Champions and enjoyed playing two out of three district playoff games at home. The district title game was a road trip for the Broncos last week but they enjoyed the 24-10 final score from Nixa, Mo.

Whoever wins under the bright lights on this Friday night at DeSmet’s LaBarge Stadium they will have to wait till Saturday to find out who they will play for a state title. This due to Liberty North the District 4 champion playing CBC on Saturday, Nov. 19. The Broncos and Spartans semifinal game is set for kickoff at 7 p.m.