Tailgaters Continue Tradition on the Hill

Family, friends and alumni gather on the hill beside the football field to watch the Blue Devils each week.

Every sporting event has its rituals. For the Maplewood Richmond Heights football team during home games, there's the dinner, followed by the team meeting and stretching out on the field. And for some long-time fans, they pull into parking spots on the ridge south of the football field to tailgate before the game starts. Some come with a soda just grabbed from Steak 'n Shake, while others set up a grill. Fans start arriving at 5 p.m. and, by gametime, the hill is buzzing with fans. "Old-school Maplewood come up, young people as well, it's just a good time," said "Grocho," a graduate from the MRH class of 1975. He predicted MRH would win by 15 in the Northwest Academy game, but admitted his prediction was conservative. The good-natured …

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MRH Crushes Northwest, Advances to State Quarterfinals

The Blue Devils advance to the Class 2 state quarterfinals, where they'll face Caruthersville (12-0) in a battle of unbeatens.

Northwest Academy was hoping to earn a little payback from its 37-7 regular-season loss against Maplewood Richmond Heights Monday night. Meanwhile, MRH simply wanted to continue its undefeated march toward a potential state championship. And the Blue Devils did exactly that. MRH (12-0) had a pivotal goal-line stand in the second quarter and followed that up with a 99-yard scoring drive that fueled the Blue Devils' dominant 34-0 shutout against the Hornets (10-2) in their Class 2 state playoff contest. Neither team got off to an ideal start as Northwest turned the ball over on its first three possessions, but MRH threw an interception in the end zone after the Hornets' second lost fumble. But senior Eric Liska's interception set up the …

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MRH Blanks Principia to Extend Season and Perfect Record

Maplewood Richmond Heights shuts down visiting Principia to continue in postseason play.

Maplewood Richmond Heights senior running back Terron Dale wants to rush for 1,000 yards and 25 touchdowns this season. Monday's game with Principia put him 92 yards and 3 touchdowns closer to that goal. Dale's 10 carries made him the leading MRH rusher as the Blue Devils stunned visiting Principia (2-9) 53-0. MRH extended their season record to 11-0 with the win. MRH junior quarterback Kahlid Hagens completed 6 of 8 passes for 106 yards for 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. Senior Nick Coulter snagged two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown. Coulter was named the defensive Most Valuable Player of the conference earlier this week. Principia surprised MRH on the opening kickoff with an onside kick, and came up with the first …

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Sports Notebook

Brentwood, MRH Begin Football Postseason Play

Brentwood will face Northwest Academy and MRH will take on Principia.

Brentwood Brentwood High School (6-3) will meet Northwest Academy (8-1) in the regional state playoff game. This is the same point in last year's season when Brentwood beat Maplewood Richmond Heights 10-7 to move on to the state finals. The team the Eagles play this year, the Northwest Academy Hornets, have been ranked in the top ten in the state in the Associated Press poll for most of the season. They've averaged 37 points each game, and allowed their opponents to score only 7.4 on average. Both of those stats led their conference. Brentwood is powered by running backs Tyler Zelt and Andrew Erby. Zelt, a junior, has carried 124 times for 791 yards, an average of 6.4 per carry. Erby, a senior, has carried 98 times for 715 yards, an …

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MRH Scores 80 in Regular Season Finale

Senior Austyn Ford leads Maplewood Richmond Heights to a blowout as the team ends their regular season.

Score 32 points and you'll win a quite a few games, but not against Maplewood Richmond Heights. Lift For Life Academy (1-5) couldn't keep up with the red-hot Blue Devils (10-0), who finished Thursday night's game with 80 points and their regular season undefeated. It was the highest score the MRH coaching staff can remember. "It was a colorful one," Head Coach Brandon Gregory said. "Against a team like Lift For Life ... they've had a rough season." After senior running back Austyn Ford scored a touchdown to put MRH ahead 60-14 near the end of the first half, the Lift For Life crowd started to have fun with the game. A fan yelled, "Hold 'em Lift For Life, you're a second-half team!" But Lift For Life couldn't hold them. Before the break, …

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Sports Notebook

Fall Programs Looking Up

Senior volleyball captain Brandi Allen leads the conference with 99 kills, and, in soccer, junior Sam Martin leads the conference with 15 goals.

Football In Brandon Gregory's first year as head coach, the Blue Devils are 7-0 overall and 5-0 in their conference. They're averaging 38.1 points a game, while giving up only 10.4. Both of those numbers lead the league. Austyn Ford leads the team with eight touchdowns and 54 tackles. They face Carnahan at home on Friday, with two more games after that before playoffs begin. See our coverage of MRH's games against Fredericktown, Perryville, St. Genevieve and Potosi. Soccer This is Chris Meyer's 14th season as head coach, and he says the numbers are up this year and last. Junior Sam Martin leads the South Central A.A. with 15 goals and four assists, including three game-winning goals. Junior John Barron is right behind with 12 goals and …

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MRH Blanks Perryville To Remain Unbeaten

With members of the undefeated Maplewood 1961 team watching, MRH stays perfect in a 55–0 romp over Perryville.

The Maplewood Richmond Heights High School band vocalist sang Journey's song "Any Way You Want It" Friday night, and that's the way the Blue Devils had it against the Perryville Pirates. MRH scored 41 points in the first half on the way to a 55-0 shutout in front of the homecoming crowd, extending its record to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in conference play. The school leads its conference in points for (255) and points against (53). Two plays after recovering a Perryville fumble following the opening kickoff, the Blue Devils stupefied the Pirates with a triple reverse with a kicker of a finish–a 50-yard pass to a totally open Marcus Taylor for MRH's first touchdown of the game. Senior Austyn Ford said the plan was to use the reverse to open up …

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Photo Gallery: Ford Leads Blue Devils Over St. Genevieve Dragons

A strong rushing attack led by No. 3 Austyn Ford gave the MRH Blue Devils the 41-18 win.

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