Missouri High School Football 5A State Championship Game Preview Fort Osage Indians vs Chaminade Red Devils

Written by Charlie Beuttel 
Twitter: @charlie_cds3

It’s championship week in Missouri as two one-loss teams, Fort Osage (12-1) and Chaminade (12-1), have advanced through a tough bracket to battle for the 5A state title.

Both teams won their semifinal games in blowout fashion as Fort Osage destroyed 5A defending champion Battle 49-12 and Chaminade beat Carthage 43-19.

Fort Osage will travelling from Independence, a suburb of Kansas City, east on I-70 to St. Louis for the matchup while Chaminade is in St. Louis so their fans won’t have to travel far to cheer on the Red Devils.

Fort Osage scores just over 35 points a game but put up 49 in their semifinal game last week. The star of the Indians offense is senior dual-threat quarterback and Kansas State commit, Skylar Thompson (6’3″, 195 pounds). Thompson has thrown for 1,874 yards and 21 touchdowns while rushing for 894 yards and 18 more scores. Another offensive weapon is sophomore running back Isaiah Iloilo (6’2″, 220 pounds). Iloilo has 1,081 rushing yards and nine touchdowns this season.

The Indians give up just 15 points a game this season and limited Battle to 12 points last week. There are stars all over this defensive unit but two of the leaders include senior linebacker Jesse Reser (6’2″, 175 pounds) and senior defensive tackle Simanu Thomas (6’0″, 260 pounds). Reser leads the team with 117 total tackles and 10 sacks while Thomas has 76 tackles and also has 10 sacks.

Chaminade scores 40 points a game this year and relies heavily on their rushing attack. The Red Devils put up 350 rushing yards in their win last week over Carthage. The leaders of this offense include junior quarterback Michael McGovern (6’1″, 185 pounds), junior athlete Darius Daies (5’9″, 190 pounds), and junior running back Damon Bonds (5’11”, 180 pounds). Last Friday, McGovern threw for 119 yards and a touchdown after completing 5-of-10 passes, Bonds ran for 120 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, and Daies ran for 51 yards a touchdown.

The Red Devils give up 17 points a game and the leaders of this defensive unit reside in their secondary. Defensive backs Taylor Jeffries (6’0″, 191 pounds) and Roderick Campbell (5’11”, 180 pounds) have the athleticism to break up or pick off any opponent’s pass. Campbell has already committed to Northwestern.

It will be exciting to watch who will come out on top in this anticipated matchup for the Missouri 5A state championship.

Photo credit:  prepskc.com; Fort Osage QB Skylar Thompson throws a pass against Blue Springs