Eureka High School quarterback Patrick Hutchcraft ensured the Wildcat offense was humming in the regular-season finale against visiting Pattonville High on Oct. 24.
Shaking off a sluggish start, Hutchcraft, a senior, directed two touchdown drives late in the first half and passed for four touchdowns as Eureka parlayed a 28-12 halftime lead into a 49-25 win on Senior Night.
The win helped drum up some momentum into the postseason for Eureka, which has a record of 7-2 and is seeded second in the Class 5 District 2 tournament. The Wildcats and top-seeded Kirkwood High (7-1) have byes this week. No. 4 Rolla High (4-5) hosts No. 5 Washington (3-6) and No. 3 Rockwood Summit (7-2) hosts No. 6 Parkway South (2-7) on Oct. 31 in the first round District 1 matchups.
“It’s great to get a win like this for building momentum,” Hutchcraft said. “In (2023), we had a big win that catapulted us into winning a district championship. It’s kind of the mentality right now. Play week by week, take everything seriously and go give our best shot for the team’s sake.”
Eureka took an early lead on a 4-yard TD pass from Hutchcraft to senior tight end Craig Ringe to go up 7-0. Patrick Bradley made all seven extra points, upping his season count to 41.
The Wildcats defense stepped up on the first Pattonville drive of the night as Ben Mohesky picked off Pirate QB Trevor Beckermann’s pass along the sideline and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown, making it 14-0.
Eureka’s offense misfired most of the second quarter and Pattonville (4-5) took advantage as running back Larry Martin scored on runs of 2 and 1 yards, cutting the lead to 14-12 late in the second quarter after both two-point conversions failed.
Hutchcraft and the offense went back to work. On the next drive, Hutchcraft hit Ringe on a 44-yard catch-and-run to the end zone that reenergized the Wildcats.
“It was a little 10-yard stick route and I broke that one tackle, passed the other guy and just found the end zone,” Ringe said. “It was a huge momentum play and we needed a big moment to get us going back in the right direction.”
Then, right before halftime, Kaden Klages hauled in a 44-yard deep ball from Hutchcraft, pushing the lead to 28-12. Klages led Eureka in receiving with four catches for 61 yards.
“I knew the safeties were going to come down and I just trusted my guy to go make a play in the end zone, and it worked,” Hutchcraft said.
Eureka put the game away in the third quarter with a pair of scoring drives in the first six minutes.
Hutchcraft hit Trevor Codak with a 24-yard TD pass for his fourth and final score of the game, and Curtis Harris scored on a 9-yard scamper, extending the lead to 42-12. Hutchcraft was sharp in the passing game, going 20-for-22 with 4 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Eureka head coach Jake Sumner was glad to see his offense settle in and play well after a bumpy start.
“I’m so proud of those two back-to-back drives with guys making plays,” Sumner said.
Martin led Pattonville with four touchdowns. His fourth one came on a 4-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Brandon Webb added a fourth quarter score on a 20-yard run for Eureka as he led with 60 yards rushing to pace the ground attack.
“You’ve got to get it together and you’ve got to give it that extra time to grow, and our boys will be ready to go and I’m excited to see these guys into this playoff mentality now,” Sumner said.
Eureka beats the storms for 28-0 win at McCluer
After losing by 29 points to unbeaten Lafayette (9-0) on Oct. 10, Eureka High School’s football team was hoping for a better start and victory Oct. 18 at struggling McCluer High (1-8).
The Wildcats got both.
They scored three first-quarter touchdowns and rolled to a 28-0 nonconference win against the Comets in a game shortened by severe storms.
“After the way last week went for us, it was good to get out and get a good, strong start and control what we could between the snaps,” Eureka coach Jake Sumner said.
The morning game was halted at 10:25 a.m. and declared official by game officials at 11:05 after thunderstorms moved into the area.
“It was a different game time, first time in 20 years we had to play a 10 (a.m.) kickoff and just proud of our kids for making the adjustment and plugging in,” Sumner said.
The Wildcats scored on their first drive when senior quarterback Patrick Hutchcraft hit senior tight end Craig Ringe for an 11-yard touchdown pass with 9:49 left in the first quarter. Junior kicker Patrick Bradley’s PAT made it 7-0. Ringe caught four balls for 44 yards.
On their second drive, the Wildcats scored again as Ringe found the end zone on a 3-yard run to make it 14-0 at 8:11.
A 16-yard interception return by Zane Bone set up Ringe’s second TD, putting the Wildcats in scoring position at the McCluer 25-yard line.
“We got a pick there by Bone early, and it put us in a good spot and gave us the field position where we needed it,” Sumner said.
Junior running back Brandon Webb capped the first-quarter scoring at 1:51 with a 10-yard TD run around left end, and Bradley’s third PAT made it 21-0. Webb led the Eureka running game with 35 yards on eight carries.
Hutchcraft wrapped up the scoring with 10:38 left in the second quarter on a 33-yard catch-and-run pass to senior Kaden Klages, making it 28-0. Hutchcraft completed 6-of-8 passes for 87 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Klages had two catches for 45 yards.
Grand slam in sixth lifts Flyers over Wildcats
Lindbergh High School’s softball team had left runners in scoring position in the third, fourth and fifth innings.
That was just the start of the drama.
Trailing Eureka High 2-1 in the Class 5 state quarterfinals at home Oct. 25, the Flyers loaded the bases in the sixth. Wildcats head coach Mark Mosley plucked starting pitcher Chrystal Hall out of the circle and replaced her with Paige Deakin, who excelled this season as a relief pitcher.
Lindbergh senior Kristen Cochran had been caught stealing home for the third out in the fifth inning when the bases were loaded. That was in the back of her mind when she dug into the batter’s box against Deakin.
Facing a 3-1 count, Cochran unloaded a no-doubt grand slam over the center field fence to provide the winning runs in a 5-2 comeback victory.
“I’m like, there’s runners on base and in the previous innings we hadn’t gotten the job done,” Cochran said. “So, I felt like it was now or never and this was our inning. I knew I needed to relax and not change my approach.”
Cochran had a single off Hall, who exited after pitching 5 1/3 innings, allowing 3 hits and 7 walks, and striking out 9.
“(Deakin) had a different spin so you have to adjust to that,” Cochran said. “I took a couple of pitches, got used to it and tried to focus on what I wanted.”
Mosley made the pitching change after Hall had walked the two batters before Cochran.
“They obviously had the big swing of the game,” said Mosley, who guided the Wildcats to their first district title in 10 years. “They had seen our starter three times through the lineup and we were struggling in the circle so we know we couldn’t let them see her a fourth time. Paige has been phenomenal. Credit their hitter. It wasn’t anything (Deakin) did wrong. It was a good pitch and their hitter executed.”
The Flyers improved to 22-7 and advanced to the final four for the first time since 2003. They won their only state title in 1984 under head coach Don Schuchardt. Lindbergh plays the Republic (22-14)/Raymore-Peculiar (22-4) winner at noon today (Oct. 30) in the semifinals at Meador Park in Springfield.
Eureka beat the Flyers 7-6 in September and finished the season 22-6 just one year after finishing .500.
In the District 1 tournament, Lindbergh beat Seckman High 1-0 in eight innings in the semifinals and Jackson High 5-2 in the final. The Indians had won the district the previous two seasons. Cochran said when times get tough, she can always lean on her teammates and coaches.
“We’re literally a family. We do everything together. We have sleepovers. There’s no drama. We all pick each other up. We had so much fun this season.”
Lanky Lindbergh pitcher Marlee Steiner, who entered the quarterfinals with 151 strikeouts in 112 2/3 innings, pitched a complete-game four-hitter and struck out six against Eureka.
Steiner sat down the Wildcats in order in the first inning and got the first out of the second when Addison Schneider reached first base on an error. Savanna Wylie replaced Schneider as a courtesy runner and tied the game 1-1 when Teresa Hutchcraft doubled.
Now tied, Hall responded by striking out the side in the Flyer second.
After Lindbergh stranded two runners in the third, senior Haley Deakin led off the fourth with a home run to center field to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. Schneider and Shelby Seiler singled, but Steiner fanned Hall to end the inning.
“She’s a hard worker and great kid, so I was happy for her,” Mosley said about Deakin’s homer.
Before Cochran hit the grand slam, Eureka coaches questioned the umpire’s keeping of balls and strikes during Elli Wigger’s at-bat. Mosley thought Wigger had struck out, but the umpires ruled it was a 3-2 count and Hall’s next pitch to Wigger was a ball, loading the bases. Mosley objected. The umpires conferred and Wigger stayed put at first.
“It’s unfortunate because it was a domino effect,” Mosley said. “If we had that strikeout, we would have intentionally walked their leadoff hitter (Cochran) and faced up against the next hitter who we struck out. But you can’t put it all on that one play. We had been giving them baserunners all game long and flirting with disaster and it came back to get us.”
Hall will return in 2026 as a senior and this year she had a record of 11-4 with an ERA of 1.39. She struck out 149 batters in 90 1/3 innings.
“To keep (the Flyers) down for as long as she did was a great job,” Mosley said.
“There’s only one team that gets to end with a win and unfortunately it’s not going to be us. I didn’t have a final speech prepared because I felt good about getting a victory here today. This group accomplished a lot with a conference championship and winning districts. Anytime you win 22 games that’s a heck of an accomplishment.”
Eureka freshmen compete at state golf meet
Eureka High School freshmen Skylar Mann and Macie Pickert and the rest of the field of 92 faced windy conditions at the Sedalia Country Club for the Class 4 state golf championships Oct. 20-21.
“I have this saying, ‘When it’s breezy, swing easy,’” Mann said. “About the most windy I’ve ever played and cold.”
Mann and Pickert said the first day of the tournament was about learning and experimenting on the par-70 course. Mann followed a round of 90 with a 79 and 2 birdies the second day.
“The first day was very rough,” said Mann, who shot a two-day score of 169 to finish 33rd. “Nothing clicked and I lacked confidence. The second day, I shot better.”
Pickert shot 82 the first day and was 5-over par the second round for a score of 157 and 12th-place finish. The top 15 golfers are all-state.
“The wind was completely crazy both days,” Pickert said. “I struggled the first day as I figured out where the wind was going. To really deal with it, I’d throw grass in the air and watch the flag. Watching my environment really helped me.”
Mann birdied consecutive holes the second day on 9 and 10. The ninth was a 400-yard par 5. She used a pitching wedge on the approach shot.
“Hit a good drive and a good layup, a good chip shot and hit the putt,” Mann said.
“I thought (course) was super duper tight and trouble lined both sides. You tried to hit greens in regulation and I hit my putts. The putter was a lot better the second day.”
Mann and Pickert both compete in the Gateway PGA Jr. tour during the summer. Mann said she played in the Optimist International at the Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami, a three-day tournament.
“Oh, it’s humid, hot and sticky,” she said.
Pickert plays golf with her parents almost every day at the Legends. Summer golf helped prepare Pickert for competing alongside the state’s best. Raymore-Peculiar won Class 4 with a team score of 649. Glendale senior Page Bowman was the medalist with a 1-over score of 141. Bowman’s round of 70 the second day was the only round of par in the tournament.
“I would say (par 70) was fair,” Pickert said. “The holes are pretty average. The par 3s were short. It wasn’t an easy course.”
Pickert birdied the 100-yard par 3 No. 17 both days. Both times, she used a hybrid sand wedge/pitching wedge combo club.
“The first day it was a pretty good shot and I made the putt. The second day it was close to a hole-in-one, two feet from the pin and I tapped in.”
The week before state, Pickert said she was struggling a little with her driver, but there wasn’t anything any of the golfers could do when the wind sometimes pushed tee shots left or right.
The next goal for Mann and Pickert is to be joined at state by the rest of their teammates. The top two teams in each district qualify. The Wildcats were eighth in district play.
Soccer team breaks out of scoring slump, losing streak
After scoring three goals during a six-game losing streak, the Eureka High School soccer team finally broke out of their scoring slump and whitewashed visiting MICDS 5-0 Oct. 23.
Seniors Matt Sperruzza and Tyson Sobacke scored two goals apiece and junior Jameson Foley notched the other. It’s the most goals the Wildcats scored since shutting out Hazelwood Central High 8-0 Oct. 1. Senior goalkeeper Landon Flaherty has played every minute this season and recorded his third shutout.
Eureka had a record of 4-11 going into road games at Rockwood Summit High (8-9) on Tuesday and Farmington High (12-4) on Wednesday after the Leader deadline. A win over the Falcons – losers of six straight games – would lift the Wildcats to 2-3 in the Suburban Conference (Yellow pool). Marquette (10-9, 4-1) won the Yellow pool championship.
Eureka will have almost a week to prepare for the Class 4 District 2 tournament at Parkway South High. The Wildcats are seeded eighth out of eight teams and play top-seeded St. Louis University High (18-3-2) on Tuesday, Nov. 4 in the first round. The Jr. Billikens are in the Metro Catholic Conference, and Eureka is 0-2 (Vianney, CBC) against MCC teams this season.
Volleyball falls in districts
The Wildcats play a schedule of state champions and top teams from neighboring states. It’s not for the casual volleyball player.
After a high-water mark of 11-5-1 midseason, Eureka suffered three three-game losing streaks and finished the season dead even at 15-15-1 after falling in four sets to Ursuline Academy (14-6) in the Class 5 District 2 tournament at Marquette High on Oct. 22. It’s the first time in the last five seasons the Wildcats didn’t win at least 20 matches, but they avoided their first losing season since 2011.
Highlights included five-set road victories over Oakville High and St. Joseph’s Academy and a four-set victory over Incarnate Word Academy.
Junior middle Caroline Tenholder led Eureka with 265 kills and 74 blocks. Senior setter Audrey Hackney led the team with 466 assists and serve percentage (95 percent). Sophomore Shelbi Mead was second in assists with 455. Hackney and Mead combined for 63 aces. Sophomore outside hitter Macy Berg had a team-high 39 aces.
Cross country teams prepare for postseason
The Eureka boys and girls cross country teams will compete in the Class 5 District 1 meet at the Osage Center in Cape Girardeau on Saturday.
The Wildcat girls are the defending state champions and have been led all season by senior Brooke Samuelson, who was not part of last year’s state winner. Samuelson won the Suburban Conference championship in 18:36.25 at McNair Park in St. Charles on Oct. 20. Eureka won the conference team title with 74 points.
Sophomore Claire McKinnon (sixth, 19:50.48), junior Sofia Hoerchler (16th, 20:27.79), sophomore Madison Schepis (23rd, 20:55.47) and senior Abigail Smith (26th, 21:04.10) were the other Wildcats’ scoring times.
The top two teams from each district qualify for the state championships at Gans Creek in Columbia on Nov. 7.
Webster Groves won the Suburban Conference boys race with 80 points. Eureka’s boys were fifth with 139. Parkway West High senior Wade Patten won the conference title in 16:18.53. Sophomore Andrew Perry was first across the finish line for the Wildcats in 13th in 17:14.80, with senior teammate Jackson Dalton right behind him in 17:14.85.