United Fidelity Bank Bowl – Jack Jewell Memorial Field - St. Pius X Lancers (0-0) at Gibson Southern Titans (0-1)

[Titan32]

St. Pius X Lancers (0-0) at Gibson Southern Titans (0-1)
Saturday, August 29 – 6:00 PM Central
United Fidelity Bank Bowl – Jack Jewell Memorial Field

Reitz will play Tri-West in Game one at 3:00PM

If you're unfamiliar with St. Pius X out of Festus, Missouri, don't let the words "Class 2" fool you. This is a serious football team.

St. Pius made the first trip to the Show-Me Bowl in program history last December, finishing as Missouri's Class 2 state runner-up. Normally that's where I'd tell you about everything the Lancers lost to graduation. Except they didn't lose much. St. Pius returns its starting quarterback, its record-breaking running back, most of its offensive line and five players who earned Class 2 All-State recognition in 2025. Their expectation isn't simply to have another winning season. They expect to go back.

Start with Cody Shaver. The senior RB/LB is 5-11, 205 pounds, and he broke the St. Pius single-season rushing record last year, eventually becoming the first runner in school history to top 2,000 yards. He did a lot of that damage with a broken thumb, playing in a cast that limited his ability to stiff-arm defenders and largely took him out of the passing game — and he still broke the record. He also played linebacker, then turned around and qualified for Missouri's Class 1 state wrestling championships at 190 pounds after the season ended. Coach Frank Ray says we'll see more of Shaver's complete skill set this year, especially his ability to catch the ball and make plays outside the tackles.

He won't have to carry the load by himself, either. Senior Brody Ervin is 6-3, 215 pounds, and Ray says Ervin averaged around 10 yards a carry over the back half of last season. Both backs reportedly added about 20 pounds in the offseason, and Ray plans to use them together frequently. That's a substantial two-back set to have to deal with.

At quarterback, junior Evan Eckrich isn't the same guy Gibson Southern would have faced early last year. He took his lumps as a first-year sophomore starter, but by November something had changed. He finished with more than 2,000 passing yards, and his breakout came during the postseason run — in the state semifinal against Monroe City he threw for around 240 yards and three touchdowns and helped engineer the comeback that sent St. Pius to the state championship. Ray has said that last season Eckrich could lean on the older players around him. This year, it needs to be his offense.

Then there's junior WR/CB Harrison Ray, who's about 6-2½, 175 pounds. Last season he averaged roughly 26 yards every time he caught the ball, reached double-digit receiving touchdowns, and earned Honorable Mention All-State. Then he flips over to defense and picked off six passes as a sophomore, one of the leading ballhawks in the St. Louis area. That's about as good a two-way weapon as you'll find.

Honestly, the defense might be the real story here. One Missouri preseason analysis is exceptionally bullish on this unit and believes the Lancers have the size, speed, experience and depth you'd normally associate with much bigger schools. It's easy to see why. All-State junior Hunter Hylton returns after making his mark as an edge defender. Senior All-State lineman Jackson Jercinovic is about 6-2, 265. And senior nose tackle David Schulte is 6-foot-7, 320 pounds. Behind that front you've got athletes like Shaver, Dawson Litterall and a secondary that includes Harrison Ray. This isn't what most Indiana fans are going to picture when someone tells them a Missouri "Class 2" school is coming to town.

And they've already shown they can handle adversity. St. Pius didn't cruise through 2025 — playing as an independent against a schedule that regularly included bigger schools, they started 0-3 and still had a losing record heading into district play. Then they won five straight in the postseason and were playing for a state championship before the run ended against undefeated Blair Oaks in the Show-Me Bowl. Rather than soften the schedule for 2026, St. Pius prepared for another hard one by scheduling much larger Missouri programs — St. Louis University High, Timberland, Pattonville. One of the games specifically mentioned when explaining why that kind of preparation was necessary was the season opener at Gibson Southern.

As for Gibson Southern, the Titans enter Saturday 0-1 after a 31-24 loss to Class 5A Floyd Central, but the final score doesn't tell the whole story. GS produced 507 yards of offense — 261 rushing, 254 passing — and racked up 29 first downs. Caden Rochleau accounted for 454 yards himself, 200 rushing and 254 passing. Peyton Johnson caught seven passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. Eli Foster added 61 yards and a touchdown on the ground. And Gibson Southern led 24-17 entering the fourth quarter. The problem was giving away possessions and points — three turnovers and a 90-yard kickoff return touchdown. Those are the mistakes the Titans have to clean up against St. Pius, because this opponent has enough weapons to make them pay.

What makes the matchup especially interesting is what the computer models say. For all the talent St. Pius brings back from a Missouri state-finalist team, the projections still strongly favor Gibson Southern. Massey has it Gibson Southern 38, St. Pius X 20, a 78% GS win probability. CalPreps has it Gibson Southern 35, St. Pius X 14, a 90% GS win probability.

That's remarkable when you consider what's walking in the door — a state runner-up, a 2,000-yard quarterback, a record-setting 2,000-yard running back, a second 215-pound back, an explosive All-State WR/CB, most of the offensive line, multiple All-State linemen, and a defense some people around that program think could be even better than the offense. And the computers still see Gibson Southern as a substantial favorite.

Maybe they're right. Maybe Missouri brings us a surprise. That's why they play the game. But one thing seems pretty clear: this isn't a cupcake scheduled to get Gibson Southern back to .500. It's a matchup between an Indiana 3A regional champion and a Missouri state runner-up, two programs willing to find out how good they really are before the games that decide conference and postseason championships begin.

[TigerFan20]

6 minutes ago, Titan32 said:

St. Pius X Lancers (0-0) at Gibson Southern Titans (0-1)
Saturday, August 29 – 6:00 PM Central
United Fidelity Bank Bowl – Jack Jewell Memorial Field

Reitz will play Tri-West in Game one at 3:00PM

If you're unfamiliar with St. Pius X out of Festus, Missouri, don't let the words "Class 2" fool you. This is a serious football team.

St. Pius made the first trip to the Show-Me Bowl in program history last December, finishing as Missouri's Class 2 state runner-up. Normally that's where I'd tell you about everything the Lancers lost to graduation. Except they didn't lose much. St. Pius returns its starting quarterback, its record-breaking running back, most of its offensive line and five players who earned Class 2 All-State recognition in 2025. Their expectation isn't simply to have another winning season. They expect to go back.

Start with Cody Shaver. The senior RB/LB is 5-11, 205 pounds, and he broke the St. Pius single-season rushing record last year, eventually becoming the first runner in school history to top 2,000 yards. He did a lot of that damage with a broken thumb, playing in a cast that limited his ability to stiff-arm defenders and largely took him out of the passing game — and he still broke the record. He also played linebacker, then turned around and qualified for Missouri's Class 1 state wrestling championships at 190 pounds after the season ended. Coach Frank Ray says we'll see more of Shaver's complete skill set this year, especially his ability to catch the ball and make plays outside the tackles.

Education

 

He won't have to carry the load by himself, either. Senior Brody Ervin is 6-3, 215 pounds, and Ray says Ervin averaged around 10 yards a carry over the back half of last season. Both backs reportedly added about 20 pounds in the offseason, and Ray plans to use them together frequently. That's a substantial two-back set to have to deal with.

At quarterback, junior Evan Eckrich isn't the same guy Gibson Southern would have faced early last year. He took his lumps as a first-year sophomore starter, but by November something had changed. He finished with more than 2,000 passing yards, and his breakout came during the postseason run — in the state semifinal against Monroe City he threw for around 240 yards and three touchdowns and helped engineer the comeback that sent St. Pius to the state championship. Ray has said that last season Eckrich could lean on the older players around him. This year, it needs to be his offense.

Then there's junior WR/CB Harrison Ray, who's about 6-2½, 175 pounds. Last season he averaged roughly 26 yards every time he caught the ball, reached double-digit receiving touchdowns, and earned Honorable Mention All-State. Then he flips over to defense and picked off six passes as a sophomore, one of the leading ballhawks in the St. Louis area. That's about as good a two-way weapon as you'll find.

Honestly, the defense might be the real story here. One Missouri preseason analysis is exceptionally bullish on this unit and believes the Lancers have the size, speed, experience and depth you'd normally associate with much bigger schools. It's easy to see why. All-State junior Hunter Hylton returns after making his mark as an edge defender. Senior All-State lineman Jackson Jercinovic is about 6-2, 265. And senior nose tackle David Schulte is 6-foot-7, 320 pounds. Behind that front you've got athletes like Shaver, Dawson Litterall and a secondary that includes Harrison Ray. This isn't what most Indiana fans are going to picture when someone tells them a Missouri "Class 2" school is coming to town.

Education

 

And they've already shown they can handle adversity. St. Pius didn't cruise through 2025 — playing as an independent against a schedule that regularly included bigger schools, they started 0-3 and still had a losing record heading into district play. Then they won five straight in the postseason and were playing for a state championship before the run ended against undefeated Blair Oaks in the Show-Me Bowl. Rather than soften the schedule for 2026, St. Pius prepared for another hard one by scheduling much larger Missouri programs — St. Louis University High, Timberland, Pattonville. One of the games specifically mentioned when explaining why that kind of preparation was necessary was the season opener at Gibson Southern.

As for Gibson Southern, the Titans enter Saturday 0-1 after a 31-24 loss to Class 5A Floyd Central, but the final score doesn't tell the whole story. GS produced 507 yards of offense — 261 rushing, 254 passing — and racked up 29 first downs. Caden Rochleau accounted for 454 yards himself, 200 rushing and 254 passing. Peyton Johnson caught seven passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. Eli Foster added 61 yards and a touchdown on the ground. And Gibson Southern led 24-17 entering the fourth quarter. The problem was giving away possessions and points — three turnovers and a 90-yard kickoff return touchdown. Those are the mistakes the Titans have to clean up against St. Pius, because this opponent has enough weapons to make them pay.

What makes the matchup especially interesting is what the computer models say. For all the talent St. Pius brings back from a Missouri state-finalist team, the projections still strongly favor Gibson Southern. Massey has it Gibson Southern 38, St. Pius X 20, a 78% GS win probability. CalPreps has it Gibson Southern 35, St. Pius X 14, a 90% GS win probability.

That's remarkable when you consider what's walking in the door — a state runner-up, a 2,000-yard quarterback, a record-setting 2,000-yard running back, a second 215-pound back, an explosive All-State WR/CB, most of the offensive line, multiple All-State linemen, and a defense some people around that program think could be even better than the offense. And the computers still see Gibson Southern as a substantial favorite.

Maybe they're right. Maybe Missouri brings us a surprise. That's why they play the game. But one thing seems pretty clear: this isn't a cupcake scheduled to get Gibson Southern back to .500. It's a matchup between an Indiana 3A regional champion and a Missouri state runner-up, two programs willing to find out how good they really are before the games that decide conference and postseason championships begin.

Will both games be streamed on Saturday?

[Titan32]

1 minute ago, TigerFan20 said:

Will both games be streamed on Saturday?

-Gibson Southern all-sports passes are not able to be used for this event.

-Admission is $10 and is good for both games.

-Streaming PPV video will be available on IHSAATV. $9.99 per game or $15 for both games.

- Radio (free) at https://gssn.mixlr.com/events/5222949 for both games.

 

Edited 1 hour ago by Titan32

[TigerFan20]

3 minutes ago, Titan32 said:

-Gibson Southern all-sports passes are not able to be used for this event.

-Admission is $10 and is good for both games.

-Streaming PPV video will be available on IHSAATV. $9.99 per game or $15 for both games.

- Radio (free) at https://gssn.mixlr.com/events/5222949 for both games.

 

Thanks, good luck against St. Pius on Saturday.