PRINTEdged out
We’ve tallied the numbers, so who gets the bragging rights?
KEVIN A. ROBERTS
Basketball, volleyball, football and soccer teams were considered in this crosstown comparison of high school sports.
September 24, 2009 | 12:00 a.m. CST
In the life of every longtime Columbia resident, an important question arises at one time or another. Its answer can cause instant fellowship or scorn: are you a Bruin or a Kewpie?
Each year, Rock Bridge and Hickman compete in 17 different sports, each with varying degrees of success. Vox looks at the last year’s record books to put a stop to puffery surrounding major sports and to solve this rivalry once and for all. The numbers don’t lie.
- Scenes from the Providence Bowl
- Fast times at Hickman High
- Tech-savvy students
- The young and the reckless
- Rumors and realities
- Overcoming obstacles
- The spread
- The Education of Segregation
- Lifelong leaders
- Roosters, cows and mice, oh my!
- Crosstown competition
- Playing the field
- Say what?
- Where are they now?
- On the Job: High School Custodians
- After-school alliance
- Rival Survival
- Through the Years
- High school mascots go head to head
Girls soccer
Hickman: Had a losing season of 6-13-2. Even so, coach Tony Gragnani is surprisingly confident. “Hickman has a rich tradition of being successful in the sport,” he says.
Rock Bridge: Finished the 2008 season with a record of 11-14 and was a Missouri State High School Activities Association playoff qualifier. In an e-mail, coach Marc VanDover says that regardless of whether they win every game, the players’ objective is to “represent Rock Bridge with pride and respect at all times.”
The Edge: Rock Bridge
Girls volleyball
Hickman: Finished the 2008 season with a record of 17-11-3 and attacked Rock Bridge in all three matches played throughout the season. “The rivalry between Hickman and Rock Bridge is pretty intense, but in a good way,” says coach Greg Gunn.
Rock Bridge: Struggled through the season with a losing record of 3-13-2. After a rough season, this year’s motto is “Till We Collapse.”
The Edge: Hickman
Softball
Hickman: Finished the 2008 season with a 25-3 record. Pitcher Taylor Cowan helped lead the Kewpies to win a sectional title and their first district title. The Kewpies also made their first quarterfinal appearance in school history.
Rock Bridge: Finished the 2008 season with an 18-10 record, the most wins in the program’s history. Unfortunately the season ended short of home plate — they lost in the second round of district games.
The Edge: Hickman
Boys soccer
Hickman: Ended up with a 9-8-1 record last season. They went on to compete and lose 2-1 in the district championship game against Jeff City.
Rock Bridge: Finished last season 1-7-1 before winning nine of their last 11 games.
The Edge: Hickman
Baseball
Hickman: Finished the 2008 season with a losing record of 8-13. This year the Kewpies struck out again: They’re currently without a coach.
Rock Bridge: Finished the 2008 season with a record of 19-15 and made their first semifinal appearance in school history. Going for a grand slam, the Bruins were also district champions for the first time in 25 years. “Baseball at Rock Bridge has always been solid, but until last year, we were never able to have the success that some of our other sports have had,” says coach Justin Towe in an e-mail.
The Edge: Rock Bridge
Football
Hickman: The Kewpies de-clawed the Bruins in last year’s 41-7 game. Even though they finished with a 4-6 record, according to coach Jason Wright, competition between the Kewpies and Bruins is serious business. “It’s an intense rivalry between the players because they all know one another and most are good friends,” he says in an e-mail.
Rock Bridge: The Bruins have had two consecutive 1-9 seasons. Ouch! But two Bruin players, Chase Rome and Trey Millard, are among the top six senior recruits in the state, according to
rivals.com. “We are a relatively inexperienced team in our skill positions,” says coach A.J. Ofodile in an e-mail. Fortunately for the Bruins, the game no longer has playoff implications because the two schools compete in different conferences.
The Edge: Hickman
Girls basketball
Hickman: Finished the 2008 season with a record of 11-15. The season ended with an upset after Chastity Prince missed the final shot of her high school career, leaving the score 41-39 against Holt High School.
Rock Bridge: Finished last season with a record of 24-5. After winning the district title, the Bruins were blocked out by top-ranked Nixa in the quarterfinals, 49-39.
The Edge: Rock Bridge
Boys basketball
Hickman: Finished last season 15-10. They were silenced after losing the Hickman-Rock Bridge game by more than 2o points.
Rock Bridge: Finished with an outstanding record of 27-3. Even so, they suffered a crushing loss in the state tournament against Chaminade, which kept them from appearing in what would have been their first state championship game. Starting the fourth quarter with an 18-point lead, things went downhill quickly, and they lost 66-65.
The Edge: Rock Bridge
Cross country
Hickman: Because the cross-country team mainly competes in invitational meets, coach Steve Kissane doesn’t look at the season from a win-loss standpoint. “We need to improve from a training level and a toughness standpoint,” says Kissane. Last season, Hickman had four state qualifiers.
Rock Bridge: The girls took eighth place at the state meet, with seven qualifiers. The boys took ninth, also with seven qualifiers.
The Edge: Rock Bridge
Girls track and field
Hickman: Tied for second at the district meet and for 15th at the state meet. Victoria Jackson placed third in the long jump and fifth in the 100-meter hurdles, while Sarah Hall placed third in the shot put at the state meet.
Rock Bridge: Finished 39th in a seven-way tie last season at the state championship meet. Lauren Flaker took sixth in the 100-meter at the state meet. She also beat the record in the same event at the sectional meet.
The Edge: Hickman
Boys track and field
Hickman: Last season, 10 Hickman boys competed in the MSHSAA Track and Field Championships. In the Class 4 meet, they placed 10th. The Kewpies also won the district title last season, their first since 1968.
Rock Bridge: The Bruins tied for eighth place at last season’s state championship meet. The 4x200 relay team was ranked in the top four in Missouri coming out of sectionals and placed second at the state meet.
The Edge: Rock Bridge
OVERALL: R
Looks like we have a winner! After a close cross-town competition season, the Bruins edged out the Kewpies by one sport. Sorry, Kewpies. Even though you didn’t win this time around, there’s always next year. So start practicing!
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