High school football for us in northeast Missouri wrapped up on Saturday.
Hannibal bowed out in the MSHSAA Class 4 quarterfinals. 34-21 was the final as the MICDS Rams took a 28-21 lead with :45 seconds remaining. Rams running back Graham Bundy Jr. made a spectacular catch to finish off a 16 play 80 yard drive.  Bundy iced the game with a 95 yard interception return as time expired. It looked like Gabe Worthington had Dezi Jones for a game tying TD, but Bundy flashed in front and made the play. Bundy by the way, will be playing Division I Lacrosse in college.

That game had everything broadcasters like.  Big plays in all three phases of the game. Solid officiating work and easy to read uniform numbers.  It also helped a lot that the athletic department and football staff at MICDS understood what Terry Ahern and I need for our broadcasts. That doesn’t always happen—especially with schools that don’t get a lot of radio coverage.  And everyone we encountered this season also did a great job of getting rosters, etc. to us.  That game also marked the end of Mark St. Clair’s tenure as Hannibal High School Football Coach. Much more about that in the future, but Mark goes at the top of the list of favorite coaches in 40 or so years of calling games.

Also on Saturday, Missouri buried Tennessee 50-17 in Knoxville. Tennessee has been more miss than hit in recent years and Mizzou took care of business. In the losses to Georgia, South Carolina and Kentucky, the Tigers had trouble with details. Allowing a blocked punt, a punt return, sketchy tackling and dropped passes.  When Mizzou takes care of the details, they’re solid. Not solid as in a National Semifinalist, but they’re pretty close.

With no Chiefs game on Sunday, I checked in on NFL games here and there. Pittsburgh escaped a 16-6 hole to beat Baltimore 20-16.  For quite a while, it looked like the Chiefs would get even more breathing room on the Steelers.  Philip Rivers did what Philp Rivers does in the Chargers-Broncos game. The Chargers were up 19-7 and in a position to add another score when Rivers threw an errant pass directly to Von Miller of the Broncos. Denver gained momentum and closed the gap. Broncos won on a field goal as time expired. You can depend on Rivers to throw a game and/or season killing interception. He did not disappoint on Sunday.  The Chargers schedule toughens up down the stretch with a couple cold weather games—including a Thursday night at Arrowhead. That loss to the Broncos makes it very tough for the Chargers to catch and pass the Chiefs in the AFC West.

And the Oakland Raiders won. But it was against the Arizona Cardinals.

 

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