Turkey Day Game Countdown

Junior Varsity Squads to Face Off in Turkey Day Game

Kirkwood's advancement to the Class 5 State Championship Game has set the stage for the 2011 Turkey Day Game to be played by the Pioneers and Statesmen junior varsity teams for the third year in a row.

For the third straight year and sixth time in the last 10 years, the annual Kirkwood-Webster Groves Turkey Day Game will not feature varsity squads. The annual Thanksgiving Day matchup between Kirkwood and Webster has been a tradition since 1907. The two teams met nearly 100 times in that span with the Frisco Bell and year-long bragging rights on the line for the winning team. But in recent years, the Turkey Day Classic has been played with a little twist.   Specifically, it has become a showdown between the schools' junior varsity teams because one of the two varsity teams had earned itself a shot at the Show-Me Bowl State Football Championship game, which is usually played on the Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving.   In 2009 and 2010…

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Webster Groves, Kirkwood Reel in Postseason Hoops Honors

Webster junior guard Jordan Thompson is the Suburban South Conference Player of the Year.

It took a 40-point performance from Chaminade’s Bradley Beal to stop the Webster Groves boys’ 13-game winning streak, and prevent the Statesmen from claiming a district championship. Still, Webster Groves finished 24-5, including a 7-0 mark to take first place this season in the Suburban South Conference. That has earned head coach Jay Blossom league Coach of the Year honors, and several Statesmen players have also received postseason recognition. Junior 6-foot-4 guard Rayshawn Simmons has been named to the all-conference first team. Simmons averaged 13.5 points and 4.2 assists per game this season. Simmons flashed some of what is to come next season when he poured in a career-high 33 points in the riveting 80-76 loss in the Class 5 …

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Webster Nearly Topples Chaminade in Memorable Clash

In a tight district final, Chaminade uses 40 points from senior guard Bradley Beal to defeat Webster, 80-76.

In a high-caliber district final worthy of a state championship game, Chaminade used 40 points from senior guard Bradley Beal to defeat the Webster Groves Statesmen, 80-76, on Saturday afternoon at Webster’s Roberts Gymnasium. “I couldn’t be more proud of our guys … they’re a great team, and hats off to Chaminade, but I could not be more proud of our team,” said Webster coach Jay Blossom, after the game. Webster finishes its season with a record of 24-5, and bids farewell to a handful of seniors, who measured up to the winning tradition of the school. Chaminade moves ahead to face Marquette in the sectionals of the state finals on Wednesday at UMSL. “I knew it was going to be a great game,” said Chaminade coach Kelvin Lee. “Webster …

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Webster Boys Extend Amazing Streak to 70 Games

Webster Groves defeats Rockwood Summit, 79-39, as the Statesmen reach 70 straight conference wins.

Webster Groves stepped on to its home court against Rockwood Summit on Tuesday night with an increasing amount of attention being paid to its Suburban South Conference winning streak of 69 games. Make that 70. Summit proved to be the unlucky contributors to the Statesmen reaching 70 straight conference wins. Prior to the game coach Dave Schroll noted that his Falcons paid no attention to the streak. The 79-39 victory by Webster seemed to leave Schroll equally nonplussed. “We want to try and do what we do well in every game, and that doesn’t change because we’re playing Webster. We try to focus on our keys and execute, and tonight we did not handle pressure, we did not take care of the ball and we did not rebound,” said Schroll. The …

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Webster Groves Holds Off Parkway West to Extend Streak

Webster Groves extends its Suburban South Conference winning streak to 69 games with a 56-46 victory over Parkway West.

Webster Groves took the energy away from the Parkway West crowd early with an 11-0 run to begin the game, and then held off the Longhorns for a key Suburban South Conference road win. The Statesmen extended thier league winning streak to 69 games with the 56-46 win and improved to 16-4 overall, and 3-0 in conference play. Parkway West is now 8-11, including 2-2 in the Suburban South Conference. Webster took four charges in the first half as it mapped out a defensive strategy designed to pressure the Longhorns' star forward, senior Larry Toomey, who earlier in the week reached 1,000 career points. “We’re kind of getting back to re-establishing some basics on defense, and we put a lot of energy into defending Toomey," Webster coach Jay …

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Webster Boys Remain Perfect at Home

Webster dominates Mehlville, 66-30, to improve to 6-0 at home and 14-4 overall this season.

The Webster Groves boys basketball team jumped on Mehlville early and never looked back. The Statesmen used a 14-0 run at the beginning of the game to cruise to a 66-30 win over the Panthers in a non-conference game on Tuesday night. Webster is now 6-0 at home this season, and 14-4 overall. Webster posted its third win since losing to East Coast powerhouse Jamesville-DeWitt (from New York) on a recent trip to the Basketball Hall of Fame to play in its annual high school tournament. “We came together as a team on our trip to Massachusetts,” said senior forward Jason Meehan, who had 10 points on the night. “We matured a lot in the last few weeks and there’s a mutual understanding now that those big games cannot be just a one-time game, we …

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Webster Groves Wears Down Marquette to Improve to 8-2

Webster Groves beat Marquette, 56-43, as Rayshawn Simmons and James Kenner lead the Statesmen to their eighth victory of this season.

Webster Groves triumphed over Marquette on Tuesday evening as the Statesmen's normal cast of characters delivered solid play. Rayshawn Simmons and James Kenner each hit a pair of 3-pointers to lead Webster to its eighth victory of the season. The final score of 56-43 did not reflect the game's closeness and the unlikely game-changer for Webster came not in the form of Kenner, who led all scorers with 20 points, or Simmons, who contributed 14 points. Instead, the visitors success against the Mustangs was triggered by a series of plays from junior reserve forward Wiley Jones. Jones, who sees regular action as part of Webster coach Jay Blossom's bench, followed a pull-up jumper with a gutsy steal in the fourth quarter to turn the tide in …

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Season Review: Webster Groves Football Makes Return Trip to State Final

Over the past two years, Webster Groves football is 27-1, which includes two undefeated conference seasons.

 The Webster Groves Statesmen football team ended this season with a loss in the Class 6 state championship to Lee's Summit West on Nov. 26, but it still doesn't dampen their success over the past two years. "When you look at the overall body of work and what the junior and senior class accomplished over the past two seasons, it's pretty impressive and most high school kids will never come close to that," Webster head coach Cliff Ice said. That resume includes a state championship, a 27-1 record, two undefeated seasons in the conference and being nationally ranked. "We came a long way and have a lot to be proud of, even though it didn't end the way we wanted it," senior linebacker Jason Meehan said. Meehan was the 2009 St. Louis Post-…

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