Neighbor News
DeSmet Dazzles In Season-Opening Shutout Over Creighton Prep
The No. 2-ranked Spartans led their visitors from Omaha, 48-0 at halftime.
| HS Football | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Creighton Prep (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| #2 DeSmet (1-0) | 14 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
CREVE COEUR - Preseason polls had the DeSmet Spartans ranked the second-best team in all of St. Louis area high school football.
But in its season opener Saturday afternoon, DeSmet looked like it might be the best team in the area and perhaps, even the best team in the state.
That's because the Spartans laid a start-to-finish beatdown on visiting Creighton Prep, for a 48-7 season-opening win.
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The Jr. Jays, the visiting club from Omaha, Neb., struggled to move the ball on offense, as DeSmet held them to just one first down in the first half. But that wasn't the case for the Spartans, who scored all 48 of its points in the first half, which included six offensive touchdowns and a score by its defense.
Senior quarterback Dillon Duff was nearly perfect, completing 13-of-14 passes for 270 yards and four touchdowns. Fellow senior Nathan Hatcher was the primary recipient. He caught nine passes for 181 yards and scored two touchdowns.
Find out what's happening in Creve Coeurfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Junior running back Jayden McCaster also had a big day. He put up 174 total yards (102 rushing and 72 receiving) and scored two touchdowns, as well -- one on a 54-yard catch and run and another on a 19-yard rush.
Most of DeSmet's starters left the game for good midway through the second quarter. That allowed some of the Spartans backup players to shine, like sophomore running back Cam Sharp, who had 44 rushing yards on three carries, including a 22-yard touchdown run.
DeSmet will likely remain ranked No. 2 in the area when the next set of polls are released later this week. But the competition will get much stiff, as the Spartans will take on No. 5-ranked MICDS in a Metro Catholic Conference game, Saturday, September 7, at MICDS's O'Hara Field.
Kickoff that day is set for 1 p.m.
2024 DESMET SPARTANS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Sept. 7 at #5 MICDS -- 1 pm
Sept. 13 at SLUH -- 6 pm
Sept. 20 vs. #3 CBC -- 6 pm
Sept. 27 vs. Vianney -- 6 pm
Oct. 4 at Chaminade -- 6 pm
Oct. 11 at Festus -- 7 pm
Oct. 18 vs. #1 Cardinal Ritter -- 7 pm
Oct. 25 at #9 Edwardsville -- 7 pm
