Hazelwood East leaves behind words of respect

JACKSON, Mo. -- Hazelwood East is a brash, confident bunch. That's not surprising, considering the Spartans are the state's top-ranked high school football team and one national poll considers them to be the country's 20th-best squad.

And in the days leading up to Saturday's highly-anticipated Class 5A semifinal against fellow unbeaten Jackson, a few of the Spartans made comments to the media that didn't seem to afford the Indians much respect.

But just moments after the Spartans' defense totally suffocated Jackson during a 21-0 victory that pushed them into the state championship game, two of Hazelwood East's most prominent players said the Indians proved to be the Spartans' sternest test of the season.

"Jackson is a great team and Mario Whitney is the best player I've played against," said David Richard, an imposing 6-foot-2, 235-pound fullback/linebacker who has given Michigan State a verbal commitment.

Whitney, Jackson's standout running back who has committed to Missouri, is regarded as the state's top recruit. But Richard isn't far behind, if at all. He and his defensive mates gave the speedy Whitney virtually no room to run at all, although Whitney still managed to gain 102 yards on 28 carries.

"We focused on him the whole game," Richard said.

Hazelwood East wide receiver/defensive back Brandon Williams, one of a host of NCAA Division I-A prospects on the team, made his mark by hauling in two long pass receptions and sealing the victory in the closing moments with a long interception return for a touchdown. But he said the Spartans knew they had been in a battle.

"Jackson played us tough. Believe it, that was the toughest game of the whole season," said Williams. "They hit hard. And Whitney is a good back. He ran hard, but we keyed on him."

The Spartans have allowed just 66 points in 13 games, seven of them shutouts. Richard said keeping the Indians off the scoreboard was definitely a goal Saturday.

"We wanted the shutout bad," he said.

Hazelwood East coach Corey Johnson, who had given the Indians plenty of accolades in the days leading up to the contest, echoed those same sentiments afterward.

"They are a very good team, solid up front, and they inhibited us from doing some of the things we wanted to do," he said.

Then Johnson smiled as he watched wave after wave of red-clad Indian fans -- who had helped fill Jackson Stadium to the brim, along with a few hundred Spartan supporters -- head home after seeing their team's season come to a close.

"The big thing is we were able to keep our poise in a hostile environment," he said. "I'm really proud of the guys for that."