Football Scoreboard: Smith-Cotton nearly shocks Helias Catholic

Published 2:00 pm Monday, October 19, 2026

Smith-Cotton football nearly pulled off an upset against undefeated Helias Catholic, but the Crusaders rallied in the fourth quarter to hand the Tigers a 22-19 loss on Saturday, Oct. 17, in Jefferson City.

After trailing 14-7 at halftime, Smith-Cotton used a 96-yard kickoff return touchdown from junior Asher Cason and a 69-yard touchdown run from junior Armand Wright to take a 19-14 lead with 7:12 left in the third quarter.

A fumble by the Tigers early in the fourth quarter set the Crusaders up in the red zone. Four plays later, seniors Bryan Carden and Jordan Sykes connected for a go-ahead 9-yard touchdown with 9:31 remaining in the game.

Helias’ defense buckled down after that, holding S-C to just 22 yards the rest of the game.

The victory secured a third straight Central Missouri Activities Conference title for Helias (8-0, 7-0 CMAC)

Wright led the Smith-Cotton offense, finishing with 169 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. Along with his 69-yard run, he had a 54-yard rushing touchdown in the first half.

Junior Lane McCollester completed 3 of 7 passes for 40 yards and an interception. Cason had two catches for 33 yards.

Senior Rylon Curry, junior Jesse Cogdill and freshman Parker Curry each had eight total tackles defensively. Junior Max Smith recorded a sack.

Smith-Cotton (3-5, 3-4 CMAC) hosts Marshall to close out its regular season on Friday, Oct. 23.

Tipton 68, Linn 0

Tipton football recorded its third shutout victory of the season, defeating Linn 68-0 on Friday, Oct. 16, at Linn High School.

Senior Andrew Bestgen scored four total touchdowns, throwing for two and running for two. Senior Levi Street scored three total touchdowns, rushing for two and catching one. Seniors Ty Bixler and Reid Broyles each had one touchdown.

Senior Cooper Doss returned a punt for a touchdown, while junior Landon Bracht had a pick six.

Tipton (8-0, 4-0 Central State 8 Conference) hosts Russellville on Friday, Oct. 23.

Northwest 8-man 56, Polo 32

Northwest 8-man football picked up its sixth consecutive win, defeating Polo 56-32 on Friday, Oct. 16, in Polo.

Sophomore Anthony Hieronymus led the Mustang offense with 190 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 29 carries.

Senior Jacob Smolyuk ran for 80 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. He also threw for 48 yards on 3-of-7 passing.

Smolyuk led the defense with 10 tackles and an interception. Junior Levi Klein had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Northwest (6-1) hosts Hardin-Central with Norborne on Friday, Oct. 23.

North Shelby 63, Lincoln 8-man 0

Lincoln 8-man suffered a 63-0 loss to North Shelby with Marion County on Friday, Oct. 16, at North Shelby High School.

Lincoln (1-7) hosts Paris on Friday, Oct. 23. The Cardinals lost to Paris 50-6 on Sept. 11.

Sports editor Jack Denebeim can be reached at 660-530-0142.