Video by Alyssa Piecko
Students and parents from both teams began the excitement by tailgating in the Mizzou parking lot. As kickoff approached, many ‘diehard’ fans caked their bodies in their school colors and prepared for an epic game, but the night ended in stunned silence for Bruin fans when they fell to the Kewpies, 22-21.
Hickman kicked off the game by quickly scoring the first points of the night with a field goal, which RBHS quickly responded to with a touchdown. In the second quarter, the Kewpies scored their first touchdown but missed the extra point. By the end of the second quarter, RBHS quarterback sophomore Logan Twehous threw a touchdown pass, giving the Bruins a 14-10 lead at halftime.
Coming back onto the field in the third quarter, RBHS scored a rushing touchdown. Although the win looked set for the Bruins, the Kewpies followed the TD in the fourth quarter with a shakey, one-handed catch by HHS tight-end Grant Jones, securing a 22-21 lead for the Kewpies.
With 1:13 left on the clock, Bruin fans sat on the edge of their seats as sophomore wide-receiver Alex Ofodile made one last attempt at a come-back with a leap toward the ball.

On the 12-yard line and with 10 seconds left on the clock, the Bruins looked for redemption when sophomore kicker Joe Barbee stepped in. Barbee missed the field goal with four seconds left on the clock, and HHS fans stormed the field to celebrate the Kewpie win.
Although Barbee was not able to deliver on the last chance for the Bruins tonight, he has been essential to the team as “a versatile player and a competitor,” head football coach A.J. Ofodile said.
Barbee is not only a receiver, but punts, kicks off for the Bruins and also kicks field goals.
Barbee “is probably down, but he shouldn’t be. He’s a team guy so he gets out there and does it, puts it in on the line,” Ofodile said. “You know, of course somebody will be stupid enough to blame him. I’m grateful for everything he gives us in that department. He has made plays for us all season. Unfortunately, we had to put him in a spot. And I think he’d like to compete again. He’s a play maker. I think he’d like another shot at it. And if we were in that situation again, I’d call his number and give it to him.”
Even though the Kewpies are the cross-town rivals, Ofodile respects the HHS football team for their effort on the field. While the loss tonight is especially hard, he wants his players to move past the defeat and focus on the rest of the season, where they will have another chance to face the Kewpies.
“It is [Hickman’s] night tonight. They can celebrate. We’ve done it for the last three years,” Ofodile said. As for the Bruins,  “keep your head up. We’ve got five other games … Just because of the way the district is set up it is likely we’ll have another shot at it. [The Kewpies] got it done when they needed to … I feel no shame. Our kids should feel no shame. It was a great game.”
By Tyler Dunlap
Additional reporting by Marissa Soumokil and Daphne Yu
[nggallery id=127] Photos by Asa Lory
[nggallery id=129] Photos by Maddy Jones