The 0-35 playoff loss to Hazelwood Central last Friday hurt, Seevers said.
It hurt when Central cornerback Kevin Short returned a would-be Mustang touchdown 104 yards to an actual Hawk touchdown.
It hurt when senior kicker Colin Hoy missed a first quarter field goal that would have put the Mustangs on the board.
It hurt when the number zero remained on the visitors section of the scoreboard in the final quarter.
It hurt to lose.
“We wanted to play them in a tough game, but it clearly didn’t turn out that way,” Seevers said.
Saturday marked the second time in three years MHS faced Central in a playoff game. In 2008, the Mustangs fell 12-42 after winning the district championship over LHS. This year the Mustangs placed second in districts, but still earned a playoff berth.
Central continued their dominance with a win over MHS, capturing their 38 victory in their last 40 tries. The reigning State champions used their running game to seal any doubts about the contest’s outcome.
Senior running back Tra Brown ran nine times for 197 yards while adding three scores.
“Tra is a stellar athlete,” Rich Nixon, Central coach, said. “He’s extremely strong and explosive: He did a great job on Saturday.”
MHS simply couldn’t match Central’s power packed offense on Saturday. Despite leading the SWC in scoring, Dante McKinney, senior, couldn’t come up with an answer for the Hawks defense.
McKinney said he wasn’t satisfied with his performance.
“All year we were strong,” Mckinney said. “Myself and the offense just came out flat against [Central]”
Saturday proved to be the first time all year that the Mustangs didn’t score a point. In all their previous games, they had put up at least one touchdown.
However, senior center Andrew Mortenson said it wasn’t all bad for the Mustangs, a team who had previously never gained eight victories.
“We didn’t make plays [Saturday],” Morte nson said. “But it was a great season overall.”
MHS finished the season as Conference champions for the first time under Coach Ryan Thornhill’s tenure, finishing with an intra-SWC record of 7-1.
Central’s victory put them at a perfect 11-0, enabling them to advance to the Sectional playoffs: a spot they are familiar with.
They are scheduled to face CBC in the playoffs, the MCC and District champions.
Going into the season, Central outplayed early MCC favorite DeSmet, rolling to a narrow 19-20 victory.
“We’ll be ready,” Nixon said.
The sectional game is scheduled for tomorrow at 1 p.m.
MHS’s loss leaves one SWC team left in the MSHSAA title hunt: Linbergh, a team set to play DeSmet tomorrow.
Hazelwood East is the only other team alive in the playoffs besides Central that represents the Suburban North Conference. East will face Webster Groves, an undefeated team, tomorrow.