Parkway South's Playoff-Hopes Hinge on Friday Game

With the final week of the high school football regular season set to unfold, one of the most anticipated matchups of the weekend features 5-4 taking on undefeated and No. 1-ranked in a game both teams need to win to make the Missouri Class 6 state playoffs.

The undefeated CBC is in the driver’s seat among the four District 3 teams, having already beaten Marquette two weeks ago and Lafayette last week.

The Cadets could even make the playoffs with a loss, so long as they didn’t get blown out by the Patriots, but it’s almost certain CBC’s plan is to play to win on Friday, and try to win themselves the outright district championship.

Things could get dicey for the Cadets if they somehow lost on Friday, as that would open the door for a three-way tie for the district championship.

But with 22 playoff points to Lafayette’s 4 and Parkway South’s none, the only way CBC would miss the playoffs is if Lafayette beat Marquette by 8 points or more and South beat CBC by 12 points or more.

The Cadets are clearly in an enviable position, especially considering they are nearly 45 points a game, and have only been held below 34 points once this season.

Quarterback Dalton Demos is the leader of the CBC offensive machine.

This season, he ranks among all area top passers with 1,908 yards and 23 TDs.

Teammate Antonio Brown has also had a big year carrying the ball, he currently ranks second in the Metro Catholic Conference with 1,021 yards and is tied with De Smet star Durron Neal for the league lead in touchdowns with 16.

Parkway South’s playoff plans essentially rest on the Patriots being able to upset the No. 1 team in the area.

Possible scenarios for the Patriots to get into the playoffs, range from winning big over the Cadets and Lafayette doing the same over Marquette, or winning themselves by even a small margin and a loss for Lafayette.

But whatever the plan is for Parkway South, every possible option includes getting the win over CBC.

Without a victory, the Patriots have no shot at making the playoffs this year.

And that means quarterback Eric Laurent, running backs Cam Pounds and Cedric Bankhead, and defensive standouts Jordan Noyes and Kellen Ash all need to have big nights in the biggest game of the season for Parkway South.

Check back to Town and Country - Manchester Patch after the game for full coverage of the playoff-clinching ballgame between Parkway South and CBC.

7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28  at CBC High School