KHS varsity football delivered on its Senior Night, winning 38-17 over the Pattonville Pirates on Friday, Sept. 27. The Pioneers (now 3-2) lost to Pattonville (now 1-4) the past two years, but KHS played with high energy, especially once the second half rolled around. KHS displayed their best offensive performance since their opening game against Jefferson City, partly due to a big game from senior wide receiver and Mizzou commit Jay Maclin, who played his first game of the season after recovering from injury. 

The Pioneers entered the game looking for consecutive wins after taking down Rockwood Summit on Sept. 20. The key factor against Summit was the balance between the passing and running games. Kirkwood found the same success against Pattonville, combining for 480 passing yards, 322 rushing yards and 65 points over the past two contests. 

“[In] the past two weeks, we’ve been focusing on being more physical and playing with more energy and playing our style of football,” senior linebacker and running back Cameron Macon said. “We learned from those two losses we took against Marquette and Francis Howell, and [now] you can see we’re getting it down and applying it to [the] teams we’re playing.”

After the Senior Night ceremony, during which the players wore their red uniforms, the Pioneers learned they would play in all-new gray jerseys from KHS football coach Jeremy Maclin and his wife, Adia. The Pioneers took the field in the new uniforms as Macon and senior class of 2020 principal Jeff Townsend led the team to the sideline before the game. 

“The team energy in the locker room was amazing. [During] pregame, we were [hyped up],” junior running back Gerald Jackson said. “The [offensive] linemen definitely set the tone and set us up for everything that we accomplished tonight.”

The Pioneers’ defense forced Pattonville into a three-and-out on the opening drive, and then, on KHS’s ensuing possession, the offense drove 70 yards down the field on 11 plays. The drive ended with a 22-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Kannon Nesslage to junior wide receiver Will Lee. At the beginning of the second quarter, the Pirates’ offense faced fourth down on the Pioneers’ one-yard line and threatened to tie up the game. Kirkwood’s defense delivered, though, and stopped Pattonville’s junior quarterback Logan Williams just short of the goal line. Kirkwood then had a 99-yard drive, anchored by a 64-yard pass to Maclin and capped off by a two-yard touchdown rush from Macon. Pattonville answered with a field goal and a touchdown to tighten the Pioneers’ lead to 14-10 at halftime. 

KHS came out of the halftime break on fire, scoring 24 unanswered points in the third quarter alone. A second rushing touchdown from Macon, a three-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Kane Adelmann, a field goal from senior kicker David Bregande and an 18-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Cole Johnson summed up the Pioneers’ offensive explosion in the third quarter. Lee, also a linebacker, showed his defensive presence in the third quarter, during which he forced four turnovers: a fumble, two blocked punts and an interception. Pattonville scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter to bring the score to 38-17, where it would stay for the rest of the game. 

“We stuck together and a lot of team play was involved,” Bregande said. “I think that goes together with Kirkwood football’s motto, ‘We, not me.’ That’s what really set [this game] apart.”

The Pioneers received key performances from Macon, who scored two touchdowns; Lee, who made major contributions on both the offensive and defensive side; Bregande, who converted all five of his extra-point attempts and a 24-yard field goal; and Maclin, who recorded 112 receiving yards on five receptions in his first game this season.

“It felt so good [to be back on the field],” Maclin said. “I was so ready for that game more than any game ever.”

For the most part, the Pioneers fired on all cylinders, but the main room for improvement is to avoid penalties, as Kirkwood racked up nine penalty calls over the course of the game. The game against Pattonville was KHS’s final home game of the regular season. The Pioneers have three games left before the playoffs, and their next game is Saturday, Oct. 5, at 1 p.m. against the Ritenour Huskies. 

*Full game stats courtesy of stlhighschoolsports.com (see box score and scoring summary here)