STL High School Sports Podcast: Recent Episodes
St. Louis Post Dispatch
Join STLhighschoolsports.com's David Kvidahl as he keeps you on top of what's happening in prep sports in the St. Louis region with interviews and insights from area coaches, contributors and our intrepid reporters covering games. We'll even run down the Friday night scoreboard so you never miss a star performance. If it's happening in high school sports, STLhighschoolsports.com and the Post-Dispatch have you covered.
On this week’s episode, co-hosts Paul Halfacre and Steve Overbey talk with former University of Missouri standout Sophie Cunningham about the Sophie Cunningham Classic as well as her favorite sports memories. The pair also discuss some of the surprising teams this year including Ladue and Lindbergh boys as well as Lift for Life and Civic Memorial girls.
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Host Paul Halfacre opens up the new year with a visit from Highland Shootout organizer Matt Powers to talk about the upcoming 39th Annual Highland Shootout.
The two share their thoughts on the upcoming basketball showcase as well as what goes into putting together one of the top high school basketball showcases in the Midwest. They also look back on some of their favorite memories as well as a tease to next year's showcase.
Paul talks about a fun-filled week that saw a lot of local teams crown tournament champions to wrap up the 2023 calendar year before looking ahead to the second half of the winter season.
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Co-hosts Paul Halfacre and Steve Overbey are joined by Mascoutah athletics director Scott Battas in the final episode of the year. Steve and Scott chat about the Mascoutah Girls Basketball Invitational and its loaded field. Steve talks about other girls basketball tournaments in the area before Paul finishes out the show looking at some of the upcoming boys basketball season.
Join us next year as we get into the heart of winter season.
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Paul Halfacre and co-host Steve Overbey are gearing up for the winter season in this week's episode. The pair are joined by Lutheran St. Charles girls basketball coach Erin Luttschwager who talks with Steve about what it's like to be a defending Class 5 state champion, while Paul chats with St. Mary's Bryan Turner about their 11-0 start and prolific scorer Zyree Collins.
The two talk briefly about the upcoming Christmas tournaments starting up in a week or two.
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Co-hosts Paul Halfacre and Steve Overbey take a look back at a controversial final week of the 2023 football season. Both talk about the Class 6 state championship between Liberty North and CBC that was called with time left on regulation. The pair also talk about Cardinal Ritter pulling off back-to-back undefeated state championship seasons before briefly talking about Hillsboro's historic season.
They also talk about the upcoming basketball season with multiple defending state champions preparing their title defense runs.
The pair urge coaches and athletes to make sure the stats are updated on our website as we make final choices on the upcoming All-Metro teams
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On this week's episode, Paul Halfacre and Steve Overbey prepare for the final week of the 2023 football season. The pair are joined by reigning Class 3 state champion Cardinal Ritter coach Brennan Spain as he and the Lions prepare for the Class 5 state championship game.
The duo then take a deeper dive into the three state championship games featuring St. Louis team. Cardinal Ritter will play Republic in Class 5, Hillsboro will face Kearney in the Class 4 state championship game before CBC attempts a three-peat with a rematch with Liberty North in the Class 6 state title game.
They also reflect on East St. Louis' loss in the Class 6A state championship game in Illinois before briefly talking about the upcoming winter season.
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This week's episode features Lutheran North coach Kyle Wagner as he joins co-hosts Paul Halfacre and Steve Overbey to discuss the semifinal round of the Missouri football state championship.
The pair then break down the semifinal round as well as the upcoming Class 6A state championship in Illinois where East St. Louis will look for a little revenge against Cary-Grove after a state title game loss in 2021.
Hear from East St. Louis coach Darren Sunkett and his thoughts about the upcoming title game in a media conference call with the Illinois High School Association.
The two briefly touch on the two boys state champions in Westminster and Duchesne before Steve reveals his favorite Thanksgiving food.
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On this week's episode, co-hosts Paul Halfacre and Steve Overbey are joined by soccer authority Greg Uptain to talk about the upcoming soccer semifinals here at Soccer Park.
They also talk about the Missouri and Illinois football playoffs with East St. Louis and Roxana still alive on the east side of the river and touch on Mater Dei's state championship in volleyball as well as checking on former Incarnate Word standout Natalie Potts being named Big Ten freshman of the week.
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On this week's episode, co-hosts Paul Halfacre and Steve Overbey are joined by Francis Howell athletics director Sean Erwin to talk about the success that the Vikings have had recently as well as the logistics of hosting a mammoth football matchup between defending Class 5 state champions Francis Howell and defending Class 6 state champions CBC.
They will also touch base on some of the many playoff football games including the Illinois teams that hit the road.
The two will hear from Westminster's Caden Collison and Orchard Farm's AJ Taylor after their big wins to capture district titles in soccer.
Again, like last week, this is a call to all coaches and athletics directors to make sure the stats are updated as the fall season begins to wind down.
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On this week's episode, Paul Halfacre and Steve Overbey debrief the 2023 softball season before looking at the upcoming Illinois semifinals in soccer.
They hear from Triad soccer coach Jim Jackson after a super-sectional loss and take a brief look at the upcoming cross country state championship before taking a deeper dive into the football playoffs and who they're looking at in the second week of the postseason.
Also, a call to coaches and athletics directors, please make sure the stats are updated as we begin to prepare the All-Metro teams.
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On this week's episode, we take a dive into the start of the football playoffs on both sides of the river as Illinois and Missouri begin their chase toward their state championships. We also look into the semifinal as Missouri softball heads to the final weekend of the year as well as a quick look at the soccer and cross country postseasons.
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Post-Dispatch high school sports writers Paul Halfacre and Steve Overbey break down some of the surprises of football season as well as teams on the Illinois side that need wins this week to secure their playoff future.
You'll also hear from the St. Dominic girls golf team after they won their first state championship in program history.
They will break down the upcoming softball quarterfinal games as well as much more!
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Join Stlhighschoolsports.com writers Paul Halfacre and Steve Overbey as they keep you updated on all of the area high school sports news.
This dynamic duo will have all of the latest updates and insights on a wide range of sports.
From hard-hitting features, to unparalleled team access, this is the place to be for everything in the high school sports world.
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Vashon boys basketball coach Tony Irons joins the show to talk about what it's like navigating the pandemic, his path into coaching and the surprises he can pull out at practice that continue to amaze his players.
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Newly named Kirkwood football coach Jeremy Maclin joins the show to talk about what it's like being retired at 32, why he wanted to become a coach and how the Turkey Day Game prepared him for playing in front of a crowd.
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Joe Harris covers hockey for STLhighschoolsports.com and he joins the show to talk about the wild situation he found himself covering on Thursday night when Priory and John Burroughs met in the playoffs to replay the final few minutes of a game that was thought to have been decided the week before but upon appeal was restarted after a referee's error. We get into the weeds on this unprecedented situation then break down the top-tier Challenge Cup contenders. Then Greg Uptain hops on to discuss a good game between Westminster and Whitfield, their loaded district and what he saw on Thursday when McCluer finally started its season by hosting Jennings.
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Cardinal Ritter boys basketball coach Ryan Johnson joins the show to talk about winning last year's Class 3 state championship, navigating the pandemic this year and making the move into Class 5 without standout athlete Luther Burden III. He also talks about his experience playing at CBC, the University of Memphis and when he knew he wanted to be a head coach. Greg Uptain wraps up the show with his report from the Parkway West Showdown tournament title game featuring De Smet and Kirkwood plus what he saw Thursday when Francis Howell returned after 20 days in quarantine.
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East St. Louis boys basketball coach Mark Chambers is our guest this week to talk about the Flyers not starting up their season as Illinois remains shut down due to the pandemic. East St. Louis remains the reigning Class 3A champion after winning its first state championship in 2019. STLhighschoolsports.com's Greg Uptain then joins the show to discuss Friday night's big CBC-Chaminade showdown and the sensational game he saw on Thursday between Kirkwood and O'Fallon Christian.
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AJ Blankenship of @314Hoops returns to the podcast to talk about the area scene following the holiday break. We talk about some impressive individual performances and try to figure out who is the best team in the MCC. Plus our intrepid reporters join the show as Greg Uptain talks Pattonville-Webster Groves and Ben Vessa gives us his thoughts on the big Fort Zumwalt South-Fort Zumwalt North rivalry game. Joe Harris wraps up the show talking about area hockey and what it's been like for area teams during this crazy school year.
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Vianney basketball coach Kevin Walsh is our guest on this week's episode. The longtime Golden Griffin skipper shares his thoughts on the challenges of this season, competing in a conference that routinely has an overwhelming amount of talent and what advice he would offer his younger self.
Steve Overbey also drops by to talk about Vashon's season debut against South Iron and to share some thoughts on his outstanding story about O'Fallon junior cross country runner Payton Scheppie.
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It's basketball season and we're diving deep into the new-look districts and classes in Missouri. AJ Blakenship from @314hoops joins the show to offer his thoughts on the new class, the district draw and what can be done to avoid putting all the good teams into a few districts. Then Greg Uptain gives us a rundown of a game he didn't expect to be covering on Friday night.
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It's the last week of high school football in Missouri. Fort Zumwalt North Joe Bacon drops by to talk about this season, facing a loaded Jackson and his unique path into education and coaching. Steve Overbey was on the scene as MICDS took on Helias for the Class 4 state title. He has the inside scoop on what went down in Jefferson City.
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It's a special Saturday edition of the show. In the Class 6 title game De Smet was knocked off by Raymore-Peculiar while in the Class 5 semifinal Fort Zumwalt North ran into the Jackson buzzsaw. Steve Overbey joins the show to talk about both games. In Class 4 MICDS was the only local team to survive and advance. Ben Vessa will discuss what went right for the Rams. In Class 3 Cardinal Ritter couldn't find a way past powerhouse Blair Oaks. Joe Harris will give us his thoughts on what was shaking on North Grand.
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We've got a Dragon in the house as St. Mary's coach Ken Turner is our guest this week. He talks about making the transition from a long, successful stint at Althoff to a new school and a new program all while the pandemic complicated things at every turn. Our intrepid reporters were all over the area and we got their thoughts on four of Friday night's top games. Steve Overbey was at Jefferson-Duchesne, Ben Vessa watched Festus-Union, Paul Halfarce was in Columbia for Fort Zumwalt North-Battle and Joe Harris has the scoop on De Smet-Fox. Plus Paul Kopsky runs down the scoreboard with some bonus audio from three area coaches.
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It's a breaking news special as Webster Groves graduate Jason Meehan joins us to talk about the cancelation of the Turkey Day game and what it meant to him to be a part of the oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi. Fox coach Brent Tinker then gives us his thoughts on the first district championship in school history and shares what it took for the Warriors to be in this position after struggling to get on track. Paul Kopsky has all the scores and highlight performances. Joe Harris goes deep on De Smet-Francis Howell and Ben Vessa talks Duchesne-Lutheran St. Charles.
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It's Week 11 and district semifinals are in full swing. MICDS coach Fred Bouchard is our guest. We talk about transitioning to the eastern side of Missouri after long and successful runs at Harrisonville and Staley near Kansas City. Paul Halfacre gives us his insight into the state cross country meet and Joe Harris has the scoop from state volleyball. Greg Uptain was at the big De Smet-CBC game and Ben Vessa was at Fox-Lafayette. Plus Paul Kopsky runs down the scoreboard.
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It's Week 10 and that means it's the first week of playoff football in Missouri. Our guest this week is Lutheran North coach Carl Reed who talks about the long wait for the season to start, the challenges of COVID-19 and never underestimating your opponent. Steve Overbey talks Webster Groves winning its first state softball championship and a full Saturday of playoff volleyball. Paul Kopsky runs down the scoreboard and our intrepid reporters give their insights into the Holt-Fort Zumwalt West, Jefferson-St. Pius and Lindbergh-Eureka games.
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Hazelwood Central football coach Carey Davis is our guest this week. He talks about preparing his team to play in the spring, his college and pro career, what he's learned about becoming a head coach and he shares when that Super Bowl ring comes out. Steve Overbey gives the lowdown on the state softball semifinals, Paul Kopsky runs through the scoreboard and our intrepid reporters talk Eureka-Kirkwood, Marquette-Fort Zumwalt North and the thriller between Rock Bridge-Francis Howell.
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McCluer football coach Howard Brown is our guest on this episode. We talk about preparing his Comets for spring football, his 15 years at McCluer-South Berkeley and how he and his players have routinely overcome adversity. Steve Overbey gives his insights into the De Smet juggernaut, Paul Kopsky rips through the area scoreboard and Carl Reed makes a cameo and our intrepid reporters check in from their ball games.
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The STLhighschoolsports.com Friday Night Football Show brings you everything you need to stay on top of prep sports in St. Louis with interviews and conversations with guests, contributors and our team of reporters. If it's happening in high school sports we've got you covered.
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