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Affton High senior Nate Davis was staring straight into the faces of several teammates Friday night.

Davis was pouring his heart out during a halftime speech after the Cougars trudged into the break in a 22-point hole during their season-opening football game against Lutheran South.

The four-year starter simply said that the game was far from over.

"Just told them to stay poised," Davis said. "Keep playing with your heart and keep the intensity up."

The Cougars heeded those words in a big way.

Affton charged back with 23 unanswered points to rally for a stunning 30-29 victory in the nonleague affair.

Davis and his crew looked like a totally different team in second half. The three touchdown-blitz took just 12 minutes and 14 seconds.

Freshman quarterback Corey Recht capped the rally with a 6-yard TD run just over two minutes into the fourth quarter. The touchdown brought the hosts to within 29-28.

First-year head coach Max Buck decided to go for the two-point conversion, and sophomore Brendan Mitchell ran the ball in to give the Cougars their first, and only, lead of the night.

"It wasn't even a question," Buck said of his decision to go for the lead. "The running backs were getting the yards we needed the whole game. So we put it in their hands and they got us two (points)."

Affton sealed the win when a long Lutheran South field goal came up just short in the closing seconds.

Buck was super impressed by his team's reaction coming out of the halftime break.

"It wasn't me that had the magic words, it was our senior leadership," Buck said. "A lot of these guys put so much effort in over the summer. They just came out and said, 'We're not going to lose this game.' "

Davis and senior Nathan Stephens did most of the talking.

"You can only get so much from your coach's voice," Buck said. "I just turned it over to the senior group. They motivated our guys, got our guys on the right path and made it happen."

Davis led the defensive charge with 12 tackles and helped shut down the Lutheran South attack that put up 21 second quarter points.

Recht turned the offense around and finished 17 of 23 passing for 188 yards after a sluggish first half.

The 14-year-old hit junior Harlan Weider on scoring tosses of 24 and 19 yards in a span of 5:15 in the third period to bring the Cougars back into the contest.

"In the second half it started feeling very natural to me," Recht said.

Recht said the speeches by the two players with the first name of Nate lit a fire under the entire team.

"They told us that no matter what, we're all still brothers and we'll all just go to work and try our hardest," Recht said. "I told the seniors, I was going to try to do everything I could to get this (win) for them."

The Cougars had lost 34 of their previous 40 games heading into the contest, including an 0-10 season in 2023 in which they were outscored 543-121.

ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ won their first season opener since 2019. That team went on to win nine of 11 contests.

"Every day (Buck) comes in with a new motivational thing to say," Davis said. 

Buck said there is still plenty of room for the Cougars to improve. And he has no doubt the players can band together and step up to the next level.

"We have a great group. We believe in these guys," Buck said. "We know we can do well. The question is what's our ceiling? There is a lot of talent and ability here and we can be a darn good football team."

Casso, Wade shine for Summit

Summit junior safety Mason Casso has built up a pretty good reputation as a shutdown defender.

Maybe the word never reached Moline, Illinois.

Casso set a Summit school record by picking off three passes to help the Falcons to a 30-24 win over Moline on Friday in Fenton.

The 6-foot, 185-pounder recorded interceptions in the first, second and fourth quarters. He returned one in first half 44 yards to the 6-yard line. His final theft thwarted a Moline drive and set the stage for the winning score.

"Big plays when we needed them," Summit veteran coach Eric Stewart said.

Casso has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. Last season, there were only three passes completed in his direction by opposing quarterbacks. Other teams respected his ability so much that they were simply afraid to throw his way.

Moline decided to test Casso right from the outset.

"I feel pretty good about what I can do," Casso said. "I had a good summer and kept on going."

Stewart told Casso right after the game about the record. Casso gave Stewart a huge hug.

Casso was a first team all-Suburban Conference Red Pool selection last season. He has returned even better this time around.

"He's the best in the area at his position," Stewart said.

Casso wasn't the only player to etch his name into the Summit record book Friday.

Senior kicker Evan Wade tied the school mark by hitting three field goals. He made kicks from 26, 27 and 28 yards out in addition to drilling all three extra points.

Wade is also a soccer and baseball player. His father, Tom, is the head boys soccer coach at Summit. Evan compiled a 3-0 record with a 1.02 ERA in helping the baseball team to a third-place finish last spring in the Class 5 state tournament.

Summit scored 17 points in the third quarter to erase a 10-6 halftime deficit against Moline. Senior running back Jasahn Tiller hauled in a 23-yard scoring toss from junior quarterback Chase Barringer midway through the final quarter for the winning score.

The victory was particularly satisfying to Stewart, who graduated from Moline High in 1999. Plus, Moline won last year's meeting 41-40.

Interesting finishes

• Borgia edged Pacific 28-21 on a 1-yard touchdown run by senior Lane Mallinckrodt with 43 seconds left. The short scamper broke a 21-all tie and gave the Knights their 10th win in 11 tries since the series began in 2015.

• Parkway Central junior Brandon Lang tallied the lone score of the night on a 1-yard run with 7:47 remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Colts a 6-0 win over rival Parkway South. Lang rushed for 142 yards on 21 carries. Central held South to 67 total yards.