Week 2 St. Louis area Games to Watch

&nbsp; <strong>FRIDAY, SEPT. 3</strong> <strong>FORT ZUMWALT NORTH (0-1) at FRANCIS HOWELL (1-0), 7 PM</strong> Zumwalt North lost to visiting Battle, 36-35, in its season opener after the visitors scored 22 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Howell opened the season with a 45-0 win against visiting Hickman that included 208 rushing yards and a dominant defensive effort. STREAM: <strong>PLAYERS TO WATCH: </strong> <strong>ZUMWALT NORTH</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="194998" first="Chris" last="Reckel"], 5-9, 165, QB, Class of 2022</strong> Reckel put up big numbers in his debut as North’s starting quarterback. He threw for 245 yards and two touchdowns (against one interception) and rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. A year ago, Reckel recorded 48 tackles as a defensive back. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37606" first="Jalen" last="Lee"], 6-1, 180, DB-RB, Class of 2022</strong> A South Dakota State commitment, Lee is ranked as the No. 50 prospect in Missouri in the Class of 2022. He had four tackles against Battle, but only caught one pass and rushed for three yards. He had 41 tackles a year ago. <strong>HOWELL</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37667" first="Brady" last="Hultman"], 6-0, 200, RB-LB, Class of 2023</strong> Hultman carried a team-high 10 times for 112 yards and a touchdown and recorded four tackles, including a tackle for loss. A year ago, he rushed for 213 yards and five touchdowns. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="194997" first="Jaylen" last="Pearson"], 5-8, 170, RB-DB, Class of 2023</strong> Pearson scored two touchdowns against Hickman. He returned a punt 51 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter and then scored on a 35-yard run in the third quarter to cap the scoring. <strong>PARKWAY WEST (1-0) at ROCKWOOD SUMMIT (1-0), 7 PM</strong> Parkway West opened the season with a 56-12 win against visiting Parkway South in Week 1, while Summit kicked off the 2021 campaign with a 32-0 victory against visiting Fox that included two defensive touchdowns and a safety. These teams met twice a year ago, with Summit winning the first meeting 17-12 and Parkway West winning the rematch 49-28 to end Summit’s season. <strong>PLAYERS TO WATCH: </strong> <strong>PARKWAY WEST</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37542" first="Ja’Marion" last="Wayne"], 6-4, 185, ATH, Class of 2022</strong> A University of Missouri commitment, Wayne accounted for 159 total yards and three touchdowns against South. He completed his lone pass attempt for a 65-yard touchdown, caught four passes for 50 yards and a touchdown and ran four times for 44 yards and a touchdown. Wayne is ranked as the No. 8 prospect in Missouri for the Class of 2022. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="172192" first="Tyree" last="Simms"], 6-0, 220, DE-RB, Class of 2022 </strong> Simms recorded four tackles and two sacks and scored a touchdown on a 3-yard run against South. As a sophomore, two years ago, Simms had 61 tackles and four sacks and also rushed for 661 yards and seven scores. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="172194" first="Trey" last="Bell"], 6-3, 175, CB, Class of 2022</strong> Bell recorded five tackles and snagged an interception that he returned 45 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. Bell racked up 26 tackles and three interceptions in six games a year ago as a junior. He also scored two touchdowns. A basketball prospect, Bell could attract some attention from college football programs too as an athletic defensive back with good height and ball skills. <b>SUMMIT</b> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="126255" first="Elijah" last="Stevens"], 5-10, 185, RB-S, Class of 2024</strong> Stevens saw some action a year ago as a freshman on the varsity but turned the season opener into his breakout game. He rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries and also recorded three tackles. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="172272" first="Mason" last="Brown"], 6-3, 210, QB, Class of 2022</strong> The Falcons dominated their season opener with their defense and a rushing attack that gained 236 yards, so Brown didn’t have to do too much with his strong right arm. The senior quarterback completed just 4 of 6 passes for 74 yards in the win. Parkway West will be a more difficult test. In two games against West a year ago, Brown threw three touchdown passes but was intercepted five times. &nbsp; <strong>SATURDAY, SEPT. 4</strong> <strong>DE SMET (1-0) at EAST ST. LOUIS (Ill.) (1-0), 7 PM</strong> De Smet opened the season with a 44-17 win against visiting Edwardsville in the debut of new head coach Carl Reed, the former Lutheran North coach, after scoring 30 points in the second half to come from behind and pull away. East St. Louis went on the road in Week 1 and pulled out a 48-44 victory at CBC. <strong>STREAM: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKzhwc-H-7w&amp;feature=youtu.be">SUVtv Football</a></strong> <strong>PLAYERS TO WATCH</strong> <strong>DE SMET</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37660" first="Christian" last="Cotton"], 5-10, 185, QB, Class of 2023</strong> Cotton, who transferred from Trinity to De Smet after Trinity closed, led the Spartans’ comeback with a strong second half that included two touchdown passes to [player_tooltip player_id="101667" first="Gavin" last="Bomstad"] and a 53-yard touchdown run. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="101710" first="Keshawn" last="Ford"], 5-11, 190, RB, Class of 2023</strong> Another transfer from Trinity, Ford (pictured above) was appearing in his first varsity game in two years after playing as a freshman at Pattonville and then sitting out as a sophomore after transferring to Trinity. His long-awaited return to the field produced two touchdowns. Ford and teammate [player_tooltip player_id="37659" first="Allen" last="Mitchell"], another Division I prospect in the junior class, are going to be a handful for De Smet’s opponents to deal with for the next two season. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="101667" first="Gavin" last="Bomstad"], 5-10, 180, WR, Class of 2022</strong> Bomstad had a breakout game against Edwardsville with two touchdown receptions in the second half — a 56-yarder in the third quarter and a 62-yarder in the fourth. He served notice that he will be a player to watch this fall. <strong>EAST ST. LOUIS</strong> <strong>Robert Battle, 6-0, 174, QB, Class of 2024</strong> The sophomore quarterback handled his first test of the season. He completed 16 of 30 passes for 323 yards and a touchdown and added 34 yards and a touchdown on the ground in the big win at CBC. <strong>Ali Wells, 5-11, 185, RB, Class of 2022</strong> A transfer from Lutheran North, where he was coached by Reed, De Smet's new coach, Wells shined in his debut for the Flyers with 149 yards rushing, one touchdown and two 2-point conversions. <strong>Luther Burden III, 6-2, 200, WR, Class of 2022</strong> Burden, a transfer from Cardinal Ritter, caught four passes for 88 yards and a touchdown and returned a punt for a touchdown against CBC. He had a third touchdown on a kickoff return called back by a penalty. &nbsp; <em><strong>You can follow Nate Latsch on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/natelatsch">@natelatsch</a>.</strong></em>