Cole Camp football knocks off Windsor to secure WCMO title
Published 6:24 am Saturday, October 17, 2026
WINDSOR — There may only be four teams in the West Central Missouri Conference, but winning the championship still holds the same significance for Cole Camp football.
The Bluebirds defeated Windsor 23-14 to clinch the conference title outright on Friday, Oct. 16, at David Powell Memorial Field. It is the first time Cole Camp has won a conference championship since 2014.
The current state of the West Central, a football-only conference which began in 2020, also includes Crest Ridge and Lone Jack.
“We don’t have a big conference,” Cole Camp head coach Kevin Shearer said. “They all kind of left it, but we’re still going to hang a number. We’re still proud of it.”
Securing the conference title required a comeback effort by the Bluebirds (5-3, 3-0 WCMO).
After falling behind 14-7 with 5:26 left in the second quarter, Cole Camp scored 16 unanswered points, including nine in the second half, to earn the win.
The Bluebirds tied the game heading into halftime with a 27-yard touchdown connection between sophomore quarterback Jarrett Phillips and junior Braedyn Snell.
“It was big [for us going into halftime],” Snell said. “It really set the tone. It helped us out a lot. When I caught that, I was like, ‘OK, we’re going now. This is it.’”
Out of the break, Cole Camp capped a 10-play drive with a go-ahead 38-yard field goal by senior Blake Abey that just squeaked over the crossbar and inside the right upright with 6:46 left in the third quarter.
“At first, I thought, ‘That ain’t going in. It ain’t going to make it,’” Shearer said. “I thought it was going to be wide, but then on the backside of them, getting an angle, I’m like, ‘Hey, we got a shot. We got a shot.’ I started celebrating. I thought, ‘That’s just going to squeak in.’ I was pretty excited for them.”
Cole Camp recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff to steal an extra possession, but the drive ended in a punt.
Windsor (4-4, 2-1 WCMO) turned the ball over on downs on its first possession of the second half, allowing Cole Camp to run out the rest of the third quarter.
Following a turnover on downs by the Bluebirds to open the fourth quarter, the Greyhounds moved the ball down to the Cole Camp 37-yard line, where they faced a third-and-6.
Snell and junior Bryce Klaiber combined to sack Windsor senior Ryan Millington, forcing the Greyhounds to punt with 6:22 remaining.
Benefiting from a pair of facemask penalties on the Greyhounds, Cole Camp moved the ball into Windsor territory in just two plays.
Five plays later, Jarrett Phillips scored from 15 yards out on a third-and-7 to put the Bluebirds up two possessions with 2:37 left.
“It was just a giant gap that I saw,” Jarrett Phillips said. “I got to give all the credit to my linemen and my brother (Kolton Phillips), he was lead blocking for me. Blake Abey was also there. I got to give all the credit to them. I just ran it in. I don’t know how I kept my balance on that last little bit, but I’m like, ‘I’m getting in the end zone.’ When I finally crossed that line, I was like, ‘Oh, let’s go.’”
In hurry-up mode, Windsor moved the ball into Cole Camp territory, but senior Kolton Phillips picked off a Millington pass to seal the win for the Bluebirds.
“I saw the quarterback open, and I read the play,” Kolton Phillips said. “The D-linemen were rushing like they should. They were playing great defense. I just read the pass perfectly and came down with the interception. What a way to seal the game.”
Windsor head coach Artravius Addison said the Greyhounds made too many mistakes throughout the night, particularly with penalties.
“Definitely a great opponent, however, we’re a young team and we keep making these young mistakes,” Addison said. “We can’t beat an opponent as well as beat ourselves. We have to limit the mistakes and control the controllables. That’s one of the things that I’ve been trying to focus on for the last few weeks and just being disciplined. It kind of bit us in the butt tonight.”
The Greyhounds close out their regular season with a visit to Crest Ridge on Friday, Oct. 23.
With the win, the Bluebirds have won five straight after a 0-3 start to the season. They visit Adrian to finish out their regular-season slate on Friday.
“This year was a rebuild year, and this is five in a row,” Shearer said. “Anytime you win a high school football game on a Friday, it’s a big deal. That’s five in a row. That’s a big deal to us.”
AREA SCOREBOARD
Tipton 68, Linn 0
Northwest 8-man 56, Polo 32
North Shelby 63, Lincoln 8-man 0
CMAC SCOREBOARD
Rock Bridge 33, Hickman 7
Camdenton 32, Capital City 27
Jefferson City 48, Battle 12
Smith-Cotton visits Helias Catholic on Saturday, Oct. 17.
Sports editor Jack Denebeim can be reached at 660-530-0142.
