Advertisement

St. Pius X shut out in championship game for Missouri Class 3 high school football

This wasn’t the outcome St. Pius X expected in its second straight appearance in a Missouri state-championship game for high school football.

Overwhelmed from the jump with no answer for St. Mary’s quarterback Caron Spann, the Kansas City school lost 56-0 to its St. Louis opponent in Saturday’s Show Me Bowl for the Missouri Class 3 state title at Faurot Field in Columbia.

It’s not the most lopsided state-final shutout in Missouri history — Lamar beat Blair Oaks 69-0 in 2012 — but St. Mary’s (12-1), a first-time state champ, led 42-0 at halftime.

St. Pius’ season ends with a record of 12-2. The Warriors, who lost 6-3 to Lamar in last year’s Class 2 title game, had beaten Cardinal Ritter 21-20 in the semifinals last weekend to reach Saturday’s Class 3 finale on the University of Missouri campus.

Doing damage repeatedly with his arm and his legs, Spann had a hand in just about every score the Dragons posted on Saturday. The final St. Mary’s touchdown came with about 12 minutes remaining in the game.

The outcome brought to a close the Kansas City schools’ appearances in this season’s football state finals.

Last weekend, Liberty North lost to Christian Brothers College in the Class 6 championship game. Drexel won the 8-man title Thursday and Smithville claimed the Class 4 crown Friday.

On the Kansas side of the state line, Blue Valley Northwest (Class 6A), Mill Valley (5A) and St. James (4A) each won championships late last month.