Platte County, Odessa reach Show Me Bowl finals; Staley bows out in Missouri semis

Two Kansas City-area high school football teams will play for Missouri Show Me Bowl championships next weekend after winning their respective semifinal games on Saturday.

Class 4 Platte County beat St. Mary’s 15-14 in St. Louis and Class 3 Odessa went all the way down to the Bootheel and knocked off host Kennett 31-14.

In Class 5, meanwhile, Staley saw its season come to an end. Jackson beat the Falcons 20-7 in North Kansas City to move on to the Dec. 7 state final.

De Smet won the Class 6 state title Saturday in Columbia, beating Joplin 35-20. De Smet advanced by beating Ray-Pec 37-0 last weekend in Peculiar.

Earlier Saturday, Mound City beat Southwest of Livingston 82-46 for the Missouri 8-Man title at Faurot Field.

Platte County junior quarterback Chris Ruhnke and junior wideout Dayton Mitchell had a big day in their semifinal, hooking up for a pair of touchdowns. Mitchell finished with 113 yards receiving and had a big day defensively, as well.

The Pirates improved to 11-3 and will meet Webb City (13-1) for the Class 4 championship at Faurot Field Friday at 7 p.m.

In the Class 3 semis, Luke Malizzi opened the scoring for Odessa with a 40-plus-yard touchdown run — his first of a couple of scores Saturday — and coach Mark Thomas’ Bulldogs never looked back. They’ll meet Cassville, a 13-0 winner over Trinity Catholic, for the Class 3 championship Saturday, Dec. 7, at 11 a.m.

In the Class 1 semifinals, Valle Catholic beat Mid-Buchanan 37-14 Saturday and will meet Lincoln, a 46-20 winner over Marceline, in the Dec. 7 final at 3 p.m.

And in Class 2, Lutheran North advanced with a 38-24 win over Lathrop. The Crusaders will play Ava, a 20-14 winner in overtime over Clark County, Friday at 3 p.m.

This story was originally published November 30, 2019 at 5:02 PM.