MRH Sophomore Wins 200-Meter Sprint at State, Close to State Record

Essence Brewer was also third in the 400 and fourth in the 100.

A Maplewood Richmond Heights sophomore sprinter stunned her coaches and shocked the field. Essence Brewer won the 200-meter sprint, took third in the 400 and fourth in the 100 at the MSHSAA state track championships on Saturday in Jefferson City. She was ranked seventh in the 200, but led the whole way, according to coach Cheryl Carmon. “It was beautiful,” Carmon said. “I expected a top three, but for her to win first by so much–it wasn’t even close–was impressive. She went out and just got it.” Carmon said Brewer set new school records and personal records in all three races. In the 200 she dropped her personal best by half a second. She also missed the state record by nine hundredths of a second. The state record was 25 and 5 hundredths …

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MRH Appoints New Athletic Director and HS Football Coach

Rich Nixon, who won two state championships at Hazelwood Central, has been hired as head football coach and athletic director at MRH.

Maplewood Richmond Heights football didn't go with out a coach for long. Two-year, but highly successfull head coach, Brandon Gregory, resigned from the position on May 4 to coach at Francis Howell North. MHR also needed an athletic director. Malcolm Hill, MRH AD since last July, has accepted the same position at University City High School. Rich Nixon, a coach who won two state championships at Hazelwood Central has been hired as the MRH head football coach and athletic director. He'll also be the middle school physical education teacher. He's currently at Hazelwood Central High School, and will begin his duties at MRH on July 1, 2012. “We are thrilled to have been able to bring Rich to MRH,” said Superintendent Linda Henke. “He will be a…

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Antar Thompson Just What Mizzou Needs for D-Line, Columbia Tribune Writer Says

Dave Matter calls Thompson a "ready-made" defensive tackle. Photos of Thompson in action.

Maplewood Richmond Heights junior lineman, Antar Thompson, created quite a buzz on Saturday when he verbally committed to Missouri. Columbia Daily Tribune sports writer Dave Matter says Thompson could be what the Tigers need in the front four. In the article, MRH coach Brandon Gregory said he recently found out that Missouri had always been Thompson's dream school. “A lot of schools come in here and want to talk to him, but when I introduced him to Coach Ford, he automatically started smiling. I told Coach Ford, ‘I don’t know what you just said to him but he don’t usually smile like that. He’s usually laid back and quiet.’ Come to find out, Mizzou has been his dream school and he’s always wanted to go there. But he’s so quiet and laid back…

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Brandon Gregory to Leave MRH Football for Francis Howell North

Gregory said he's looking forward to the challenge, but will miss his guys at Maplewood Richmond Heights.

Brandon Gregory, Maplewood Richmond Heights head football coach for the past two years, on Friday, told the principal and athletic director this is his last year at MRH. Francis Howell North has hired Gregory to lead its team. MRH is Class 2 and Francis Howell is Class 6. Gregory said he’s always wanted to coach at a bigger school. “I love challenges,” he said. “I’m just looking at the opportunity for me to take over Francis Howell and hopefully do the same thing for them that I did for Maplewood.” Howell North finished last season 2-8. In Gregory’s two seasons as head coach, the Blue Devils went 25-5. In 2010 they were 14-0 when they finally lost in the championship game to Penney. This year his team made it to the state semifinals before…

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MRH Lineman Has Offers from Big-Time Schools

Antar Thompson has offers and interest from the likes of Mizzou, K-State, Notre Dame and Alabama.

Antar Thompson, the Maplewood Richmond Heights lineman who caused some serious damage to area offenses last football season, is now grabbing more than opposing quarterbacks. During the season, he had interest from Division 1 schools, now he has offers. Mizzou and Kansas State have made offers to the 6-foot-3 (almost 300-pound?) MRH junior, and according to MRH head coach Brandon Gregory, Louisiana State University, Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Purdue have shown interest. Thompson had seven sacks and 74 total tackles for a total of 77 lost yards to opposing teams in 2011. He made the St. Louis Post Dispatch All-Metro team too. Gregory said he sends highlight films to coaches, but coaches at big-time schools get films “every day, all …

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Editor's Notebook

Top 10 Most-Read Stories of 2011 on Maplewood-Brentwood Patch

Do any of these stories surprise you?

Take a look below at the most-read news stories of 2011. Do any of the stories surprise you? As the year comes to a close, do you have anything else to say about any of these stories? Let us know in the comments section. -- 10) Brentwood Parks Director Ousted From City (Dec. 9) The Brentwood Board of Aldermen voted to fire former parks director Michele Frankowski after she had a heated argument with city administrator Bola Akande. The board was divided 4-4 in firing Frankowski, but Mayor Pat Kelly broke the tie, electing to terminate Frankowski's employment. 9) Chris Seemayer is Still Collecting Benefits From Brentwood (Oct. 12) Former Brentwood city administrator Chris Seemayer, who pled guilty to stealing nearly $30,000 from the city he …

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In Round Two, MRH Barely Escapes Brentwood in Nailbiter

The Eagles held the Blue Devils to 79 yards of offense but fell short in the end.

It was almost an “on any given Monday night” kind of game for Brentwood. The underdog Eagles held Maplewood Richmond Heights like no team has done all year, but in the end came up short. The Blue Devils finally found a way to overcome host Brentwood 7-0 in the sectional state playoff game. The Devils had beat the Eagles 55-0 in the second week of the regular season. With 3:15 left on the clock, MRH junior Aaron Spudich stripped the ball from Brentwood senior Danny Lynch. MRH junior Kahlid Hagens scooped up the ball and sprinted 80 yards for the game's first and only score. “Touchdown, that’s all I thought in my mind,” Hagens said. “Touchdown. The game is over.” "Kahlid is a super star," said MRH assistant coach Sterling Finney, who is …

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PandG

12:23 pm on Wednesday, November 23, 2011

"Susan" 4:35pm on Friday, November 4, 2011 "It might have been a closer game had the referees called penalties on both teams and not just Maplewood. Very poor performance by the referees." Seems like you've have problems with the referees also......haha   more ›

MRH Wins Postseason Game Without Head Coach

Brandon Gregory has been suspended for the season, but his team stayed focused.

Motivation didn’t seem to be a problem Wednesday night for the Maplewood Richmond Heights football team. The Devils rolled visiting Principia 38-0 in the first playoff game of the postseason, improving the Blue Devils' overall record to 9-2. Principia’s season ended at 2-8. (More photos are available on our Blue Devils Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MRHBlueDevils) The Blue Devils were playing their third game without head coach Brandon Gregory. It came out today that Gregory was suspended without pay on Oct. 18 for an incident with a student, and will be gone for the remainder of the season. Assistant coach Sterling Finney was in command, and said the team is taking Gregory’s suspension as an opportunity to teach overcoming adversity. “…

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MRH Head Coach Suspended During Football Postseason

Brandon Gregory was suspended following an incident with a student.

Maplewood Richmond Heights will start its football postseason run without head coach Brandon Gregory at the helm. Gregory was suspended without pay on Oct. 18 for an incident with a student, said superintendent Dr. Linda Henke on Wednesday. Gregory's suspension will stay in effect until Jan. 2. The MRH Board of Education was notified during a meeting on Tuesday night. Henke wouldn't provide many details on the incident, but said it involved one student in the school district's Student Success Center. Henke wouldn't elaborate on whether the incident between Gregory and the student was verbal or physical. When asked what type of behavior warranted a temporary suspension, Henke said the district's response to the incident was fair. "We felt …

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MRH Coach Brandon Gregory Wins Football and Track Coach of the Year

He took two Maplewood Richmond Heights teams to state-level competition last year, and he's being noticed.

Forty or so Blue Devils arrive at Ryan Hummert Park, walking the couple blocks from school, carrying shoulder pads. They don’t spend much time in the shade before head football coach Brandon Gregory (“Coach Greg,” “BG”) gets on them to start warming up. They realize that Gregory, 31, knows his stuff. His football days began at age 6, and his credentials include football coach of the year from the Demetrious Johnson Charitable Foundation and the St. Louis American newspaper. Those came last season after he led the Maplewood Richmond Heights football team to the state championship game in his first year as head coach. Athletic director: Gregory's work ethic yields student response Gregory now has another biggie on his resume: After achieving…

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