By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor

The seventh edition of the Soldier City Classic will have playoff ramifications, just as it has for the past two seasons.

St. Cloud, 2-6 and 2-2 in 7A District 6, hosts rival Harmony, 3-6 and 2-2, Friday at 7:30 p.m. in a revival of a young series  that is even at 3-3. St. Cloud has won the past three games.

The Bulldogs, 55-7 winners at Celebration last week, can clinch the district runner-up spot with a win, as long as Osceola beats Gateway.

Harmony, who beat Gateway 42-35 last week, also has a chance to make the playoffs, but it will require help. This is the regular season finale for the Longhorns.

In any event, St. Cloud Coach Chad Ansbaugh and Harmony Coach Jerrad Butler agree that this game, in itself, is an event.

“There’s no question about that,” Ansbaugh, the interim coach filling in after Mike Short resigned last month, said. “In my opinion, it’s a legacy thing for the seniors.”

Butler, who played for St. Cloud, agrees.

“It’s the rivalry game for our guys,” he said. “These are the guys you see every week.”

St. Cloud played its starters sparingly at winless Celebration (0-9).

Travon Williams rushed for 156 yards and scored three touchdowns  and Eric Pfeifer, who sprained his ankle two weeks ago against Liberty, carried once and scored from 20 yards out.

“We wanted Eric to go through the warm-up process to see how he felt, and we decided to give him a carry and he took it all the way,” Ansbaugh said. “It was a good all-around experience for our guys. We had a chance to use a lot of our young players, and that gave the coaches an idea of where they stand as they prepare for next year.”

But, there still is plenty of football left this year, Ansbaugh said.

“I know Coach Butler will probably get a total of eight hours of sleep this week, because I’ve coached with him and I know how hard he works,” Ansbaugh said. “You can see that their team is getting better each week.”

The Longhorns trailed, 14-7, at the half at Gateway before Michael Santiago’s 87-yard kick return for a score ignited a 35-point outburst.

Sophomore quarterback Jeremiah Murray was hot, hitting 8-of-10 for 211 yards and two touchdowns to Daniel Foshee (37 yards) and Cody Barkley (20 yards).

“Jeremiah did a great job, and I thought Sterling (Hicks) did a good job, too, when he was in there,” Butler said. “We went in with the idea of playing them both, and then it was a matter of going with the hot hand.”

Santiago scored three touchdowns. He also rushed (18-73, 2 TDs) for touchdowns of 4 and 11 yards in the fourth quarter, when the Longhorns held a 42-21 advantage.

After Santiago’s kickoff return, Butler called for a successful onside kick that resulted in Murray’s 1-yard TD run.

Alan Campos kicked six PATs.

Butler said the victory was important as Harmony prepares for its final regular season game.

“I think it validates all the hard work the kids have gone through,” Butler said. “We’ve had some growing pains as the kids adjusted to a new system, but now they seem to be at the point where they are just playing as opposed to thinking about different responsibilities that they used to have. They’re developing an identity.”

As well as Harmony played in the second half last week, it may have to play better to beat a talented Bulldogs team that has won four times on the field but forfeited to Gateway and Agape Christian.

“There’s no question that they have a lot of talent. They have a lot of seniors who have played together, and you can see that,” Butler said.

St. Cloud has one of the most explosive passing attacks in county history with senior quarterback Phillip Steinmetz and receivers Austyn Jandrew, Cole Harvey and Brett Biller.

The Bulldogs may soon get Jordan Reus in the lineup after the senior receiver missed most of the season with a knee injury.

“Jordan still may be a week away, but we definitely want to get him out there,” Ansbaugh said.

Harmony won the first three games of the series, starting with a 17-14 upset of St. Cloud at Gannarelli Field in 2005.

The coaches said anything can happen Friday.

“Their guys are going to come in here all pumped up, ready to play,” Ansbaugh said. “We know that, and we know that strange things can happen in games like this. Our guys will be ready.”

Butler said, “It’s amazing what has happened to both of these teams this season. They both struggled for different reasons early, but here at the end they still have a chance to make the playoffs. That makes it exciting, and that’s the way it should be. There’s going to be a big crowd and a crazy atmosphere. We can’t wait to get out there and see what happens.”

St. Cloud still has one regular season game remaining next week at Sparr North Marion High. Should either team qualify for the playoffs, the regionals are Nov. 18.

News-Gazette Photo/Andrew Sullivan