It was Week #8 of high school football's regular season, but it was Week #1 in District play. Every team in Missouri started last Friday night with a clean slate, as only the final 3 games of the regular season will determine who makes the playoffs. Again this season, two teams from each district will move on to the post-season.

Biggest win of the week has to go to the Mexico Bulldogs. Mexico beat rival Fulton in the Highway 54 Bowl. Going into the final three weeks, we thought Fulton would be the favorite to win this district championship. Mexico, just 1-6 heading into the rivalry game, pulled off a 14-7 win. The Bulldogs will be heavily favored to make it 2-0 in districts this week facing MMA. The other game in this district featured a North Callaway 48-6 homecoming win over MMA. This was a special night for Thunderbirds head coach Mike Emmons, who was given a surprise reception after the game. Hundreds of his former players returned to honor Emmons, who is in his 20th season as the T-Birds head coach.

Other big wins that caught our eye in week 8 included a Blair Oaks blowout victory over South Callaway. We had a great time with our Mike Kehoe Football Friday Night Previews at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. at Blair Oaks. Great work by the Falcon band and cheerleaders and our good friends who make the great BIG burgers at Blair Oaks. We were really expecting a fairly close game, but the hometown Falcons won 42-0. Tim Otto had another huge game scoring 5 touchdowns. Blair Oaks has won 8 straight district titles. In that time, they haven't lost a district game!

Southern Boone also won big! The Eagles hammered Hallsville 50-0 on the home field in Ashland. Southern Boone will play South Callaway this week. The winner will likely join Blair Oaks in the playoffs.

The Helias Crusaders escaped with a 21-6 win in Marshall.  Helias remains #2 in the Class 4 state poll at 8-0. It looks like the district title will come down to a road game at Hannibal to end the season. The Pirates won big over Kirksville 42-0. Helias will celebrate homecoming this Saturday night, welcoming the Tigers from Kirksville.

Jefferson City High rolled to a big 56-6 win at Troy. The Jays are still unbeaten against every team not named Rockhurst this season. The Jays are back home this week to face Fort Zumwalt West, a team that narrowly beat Hickman last Saturday.

The Rock Bridge Bruins gave it a good fight, but fell to 7-1 Liberty by a 35-20 count.   Rock Bridge had a 20-14 lead before the visiting Blue Jays scored in the final seconds of the first half. Rock Bridge is 4-4 but has to go on the road for its final two games against Blue Springs South and Blue Springs. Once again this is one of the toughest districts in the state.

Number one ranked Centralia made it a perfect 8-0 on the season, opening district play with a 42-6 win over Wright City. Their next opponent, Montgomery County edged past rival Hermann 14-6.

The Versailles Tigers are back at .500 after a decisive win over rival Eldon. The Tigers put up 57 points, ending a four game losing streak. Versailles had won it's first 3 games of the season. The other game in this district matched Osage and California. The Indians from Osage won 32-14 over the Pintos. That win put Osage in a good position to advance to the playoffs.

One local team fell from the ranks of the unbeaten this week. The Sedalia Smith-Cotton Tigers lost a district opener to Harrisonville 34-7. The Tigers fall to 7-1, but still hope to win out and make the playoffs.

The Camdenton Lakers began district play with a close 16-14 win over Waynesville. That could help Camdenton earn another trip to the post-season. The other game in that district, featured the Rolla Bulldogs 8th straight win. Rolla remains unbeaten and ranked in the Class 5 poll. The Bulldogs beat Lebanon 42-12.

Westran continued a fine season with a 64-0 win over Slater. The Hornets are 7-1 on the year. In other Class 1 action, the Tipton Cardinals are still unbeaten at 8-0. Tony Braby continues to do things right at Tipton. Not only does he win games, but he does it with class. The Cardinals opened districts against an undermanned Sacred Heart team from Sedalia that suited up only 12 players. Sacred Heart has had to forfeit other games this season due to lack of players. After Tipton built a 27-0 lead in the first quarter, Brady pulled his starters and gave his backups a chance to play the rest of the game. Tipton finished the final 3 quarters with mostly freshman. The Cardinals ended up winning 33-18. In a game where Sacred Heart's players could have left demoralized, Braby gave them a chance to find some success, while giving many of his own players a great chance for playing time. Football and sports can teach us all great lessons in life. My vote for teacher of the week goes to Tony Braby.

Looking forward to week #9! We'll see you on another Football Friday Night!