<hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> Fort Osage, 13-0, vs. Webster Groves, 12-0•WHEN/WHERE: 6:30 tonight at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis•TV/RADIO: None•COACH: Ryan Schartz of Fort Osage•DIFFERENCE MAKER: Senior running back/defensive back E.J. Gaines has been Fort Osage’s best player all season. Gaines stands 5 feet 11, weighs 175 pounds and is a legitimate all-round threat, rushing for 1,382 yards and 18 touchdowns and catching 20 passes for 371 yards. Gaines, who has made an oral commitment to Missouri, also returns punts and kickoffs and doubles as a shutdown cornerback. Needless to say, Schartz said, Gaines will be very busy on Saturday. “He’s going to be very tired after this game is over with,” Schartz said. “We’re going to squeeze every last drop out of E.J. Gaines.”•X-FACTOR: Gaines may get the limelight, but Schartz said senior fullback Clayton Stewart is the one who makes the offense go. The 5-9, 195-pound Stewart is a three-year starter who must know every play inside and out. “Every pass protection, every route, he’s got to know it all,” Schartz said. “He is a catalyst. Our offense usually does well when he does well.” •BY THE NUMBERS: 435 — The number of rushing yards Webster Groves gave up to Park Hill in 2003, the second most in championship game history. This will be Webster Groves’ first return to the Dome since Park Hill prevailed 34-20. •WHY FORT OSAGE WILL WIN: Webster Groves is the bigger team, but that’s nothing new to Fort Osage, which is undersized on both sides of the ball. However, few teams can match Fort Osage’s speed at the skill positions. Gaines, quarterback Edward Pearl (13 passing touchdowns, 11 rushing) and receiver Kamryn Tillmon (33 catches, 762 yards, 11 touchdowns) are a three-headed monster. Meanwhile, Fort Osage’s big-play defense has been solid, never giving up more than 19 points a game. They should be familiar with Webster Groves’ zone-read option scheme because they held Raytown South (which runs the same offense) to only six points last week. •WHY WEBSTER GROVES WILL WIN: The Statesmen are just two weeks removed from an emotional quarterfinal victory in which they won on a Hail Mary pass on the last play of the game. So they are confident. While Webster Groves has used a balanced attack to average 33 points per game, the Statesmen may have a big advantage defensively. They like to run a 4-3, cover-two defense, a scheme Schartz said his team hasn’t faced all season.•HE SAID IT: “We were like ‘Man, that’s a crazy play.’ Hopefully that doesn’t happen to us,” — Tillmon’s reaction after seeing Webster Groves complete a touchdown pass as time expired to beat Chaminade 34-29 in a Class 5 quarterfinal.</div>

Posted on Fri, Nov. 27, 2009 11:06 PM

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Game preview: Fort Osage, 13-0, vs. Webster Groves, 12-0

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Fort Osage, 13-0, vs. Webster Groves, 12-0

•WHEN/WHERE: 6:30 tonight at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis

•TV/RADIO: None

•COACH: Ryan Schartz of Fort Osage

•DIFFERENCE MAKER: Senior running back/defensive back E.J. Gaines has been Fort Osage’s best player all season. Gaines stands 5 feet 11, weighs 175 pounds and is a legitimate all-round threat, rushing for 1,382 yards and 18 touchdowns and catching 20 passes for 371 yards. Gaines, who has made an oral commitment to Missouri, also returns punts and kickoffs and doubles as a shutdown cornerback. Needless to say, Schartz said, Gaines will be very busy on Saturday. “He’s going to be very tired after this game is over with,” Schartz said. “We’re going to squeeze every last drop out of E.J. Gaines.”

•X-FACTOR: Gaines may get the limelight, but Schartz said senior fullback Clayton Stewart is the one who makes the offense go. The 5-9, 195-pound Stewart is a three-year starter who must know every play inside and out. “Every pass protection, every route, he’s got to know it all,” Schartz said. “He is a catalyst. Our offense usually does well when he does well.”

•BY THE NUMBERS: 435 — The number of rushing yards Webster Groves gave up to Park Hill in 2003, the second most in championship game history. This will be Webster Groves’ first return to the Dome since Park Hill prevailed 34-20.

•WHY FORT OSAGE WILL WIN: Webster Groves is the bigger team, but that’s nothing new to Fort Osage, which is undersized on both sides of the ball. However, few teams can match Fort Osage’s speed at the skill positions. Gaines, quarterback Edward Pearl (13 passing touchdowns, 11 rushing) and receiver Kamryn Tillmon (33 catches, 762 yards, 11 touchdowns) are a three-headed monster. Meanwhile, Fort Osage’s big-play defense has been solid, never giving up more than 19 points a game. They should be familiar with Webster Groves’ zone-read option scheme because they held Raytown South (which runs the same offense) to only six points last week.

•WHY WEBSTER GROVES WILL WIN: The Statesmen are just two weeks removed from an emotional quarterfinal victory in which they won on a Hail Mary pass on the last play of the game. So they are confident. While Webster Groves has used a balanced attack to average 33 points per game, the Statesmen may have a big advantage defensively. They like to run a 4-3, cover-two defense, a scheme Schartz said his team hasn’t faced all season.

•HE SAID IT: “We were like ‘Man, that’s a crazy play.’ Hopefully that doesn’t happen to us,” — Tillmon’s reaction after seeing Webster Groves complete a touchdown pass as time expired to beat Chaminade 34-29 in a Class 5 quarterfinal.

| Terez A. Paylor, tpaylor@kcstar.com

Posted on Fri, Nov. 27, 2009 11:06 PM

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