Kirkwood to Battle Fort Osage for First State Championship

Kirkwood (12-0) and Fort Osage (12-1) will square off at 7:30pm on Friday, November 23 at the Edward Jones Dome.  Both schools are in search of their first State Championship.  The Kirkwood Pioneers lost in 2006 to Raymore Peculiar 42-32 and in 2011 to Staley 35-21.  The Fort Osage Indians were beaten by Webster Groves 31-14 in 2009.  Both teams enter the game very evenly matched with dynamic offenses and stifling defenses.

Fort Osage Preview
The Indian offense all runs through the QB Steve McBee who also leads the team rushing (17 TDs passing & 16 TDs rushing).  The Fort Osage defense has been dominatory, recording seven shutouts.  Their lone loss was to reigning state champion, Staley 31-28, who they later beat in the playoffs 20-3.  In their 12 wins, the Indian defense concedes an average of 4 points per game.  Key Fort Osage Players:

• QB Steve McBee (#10) - 1890 yards & 17 TDs passing and 1395 yards & 16 TDs rushing
• LB Mamu Tauiautusa (#33) - 99 total tackles & 5 sacks
• CB Darby Raines (#12) - 30 total tackles & 3 INTs
• DE Nathan Iloilo (#48) - 71 total tackles, 6 sacks & 3 fumble recoveries
• K Hayden Baumgartner (#6) - 10 of 14 kicking field goals and 35 of 58 on PAT kicks

Kirkwood Preview
The Pioneers are battle-tested, particularly in the Edward Jones Dome.  An awe-inspiring and often unsettling stage to play on, most of these Pioneer players played in last year's state championship game and the 28-24 comeback win over Summit earlier this season.  The diverse team uses a plethora of offensive weapons around QB Jordan Bishop.  The defense cycles through several different personnel packages around the LB duo of Jarrod Bishop and Blake Goddard.  After needing successively close comebacks in their preview two games, the Pioneers easily dispatched Parkway Central 42-7 in the semifinal.  Key Kirkwood Players:

• QB Jordan Bishop (#7) - 1826 passing yards, 26 TDs & 4 INTs
• RB Ramon Alton (#33) - 860 rushing yards & 11 TDs
• LB Jarrod Bishop (#4) - 82 total tackles, 3 sacks & 2 INTs
• LB Blake Goddard (#15) - 74 total tackles, 4 sacks & 4 fumble recoveries

Ticket Sales: Advance tickets ($11 each) are available for purchase (cash only) in the Kirkwood High School Athletic Office from 11:00am to 4:00pm on Tuesday and 8:00am to 4:00pm on Wednesday (also 4:15 to 7:00pm at the Chili Cookoff).  Tickets will also be available at Edward Jones Dome on gameday.

Broadcast Options:  Fox Sports Midwest will be televising the game live on the normal Fox Sports Midwest channel.  Live streaming video will also be available on MSHSAA.tv   The game will be covered by many other media outlets along with the other State Championship games.

For in-game updates: follow @KirkwoodFB on Twitter or like Kirkwood Football on Facebook.

After the game: the scoring summary and standout performances will be posted here on Kirkwood Patch!