Missouri Class 5 State Championship Game Preview

Wentzville Holt stands in the way of history happening Friday night at Faurot Field. The undefeated Indians will face perennial state contender Webb City in the Class 5 championship. Webb City enters with 15 state championships, tied for the most in MSHSAA history with Valle Catholic. A win over Holt will break a tie that stood since both teams won titles in 2019. Webb City coach John Roderique already holds the record for most state titles by a coach with 12. <strong>Webb City (10-3)</strong> Key Players to Watch [player_tooltip player_id="232303" first="Cade" last="Wilson"], RB, 2022 The Cardinals are averaging 264 yards per game on the ground and Wilson accounts for 107 of those – which is the same the offense averages passing the ball. Wilson came up big in a 35-21 win over No. 1 Jackson by scoring four times, on rushes of 35, 2, 2 and 21 yards. Webb City – winners of six in a row – rolled up 264 yards on the ground against the defending state champions and 138 came from Wilson, who is also a baseball standout. He has 25 touchdowns on the ground. [player_tooltip player_id="242724" first="Cooper" last="Crouch"], LB/P, 2022 A Crowder College baseball pledge, Crouch leads the Cardinals with 129 tackles, while forcing a fumble and recovering one. He is one of three Webb City players with more than 100 tackles, joined by junior DE [player_tooltip player_id="242725" first="Lucas" last="Ott"] (119) and junior S Kaylor Darnell (110). [player_tooltip player_id="242721" first="DuPree" last="Jackson"], RB, 2022 Jackson is the second running back to key on for the Webb City offense. He leads the team with 8 yards per carry. Despite missing two games, Jackson has 924 yards on the ground and 17 touchdowns, including one last week against Jackson. In a veer offense, the Cardinals have two solid backs in Jackson and Wilson and add in quarterback senior [player_tooltip player_id="242723" first="Cohl" last="Vaden"]’s running ability (450 yards, 7 TDs), the Cardinals have plenty of weapons in the backfield. Jackson, who currently has an offer from NAIA Evangel, has five 100-plus yard games this year. <strong>Holt (13-0)</strong> Key Players to Watch [player_tooltip player_id="37715" first="Owen" last="Merrell"], QB, 2023 Merrell will be the quarterback for the Indians in the title game after taking over early in last week’s game. He came up big in the backup role last week, running the ball 13 times for 102 yards — including a 95-yard touchdown run — and went 11 for 15 for 49 yards passing. Merrell replaced senior [player_tooltip player_id="37580" first="Cooper" last="Brown"] after he broke his collarbone in the win against Fort Osage. Brown passed for 2,978 yards and 37 touchdowns this season. Merrell will have one of the state’s most productive receivers at his disposal in [player_tooltip player_id="37652" first="Jackson" last="Smith"]. The senior has 103 catches for 1,145 yards and 17 touchdowns. [player_tooltip player_id="37579" first="Kyle" last="Wuebbeling"], RB, 2022 The Indians’ feature back, Wuebbeling has rushed for 1,631 yards and 23 touchdowns this season. He had 110 yards and a pair of scores on the ground against Fort Osage, including a 68-yard jaunt. He has the ability to put up big numbers, shown by his 36 carries for 253 yards and two scores against Jefferson City Helias. [player_tooltip player_id="96295" first="Zakhi" last="Johnson"], LB, 2022 The senior leads the Indians with 141 tackles, including 17 in the semifinal win. The all-conference pick, who has an offer from NAIA Culver-Stockton, also has three sacks and an interception this year. He is one of two players with 100-plus tackles for the Indians. The other is junior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="104128" first="Kaden" last="Moore"], who has 107 in 12 games. Last week, Moore had a defensive score for the Indians. Holt’s defense is giving up only 14 points per contest.