Inductees

The sign on their football coach’s desk simply read, “Win A State Championship,” but it had been gathering a thick layer of dust by October 1998.

This was at St. Pius X High School, where earlier 1990s teams had been playoff casualties. And so the inspirational note was fuel for the Warriors. So was something else.

“When you looked in the stands during our whole playoff run, you saw guys that we had played with standing on the sidelines cheering, and guys that had graduated before any of us were in school who had given us motivational talks,” 1998 running back Vince Armilio said. “It was truly bigger than one team.”

The Warriors authored a new narrative over the next five seasons, and it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted the 1999-2002 Era of St. Pius X High School Football with the Class of 2022.

The Warriors played in four state championship games, winning three Class 2 state titles (1998, 2000, 2002) and placing as the state runner-up (1999). The 2001 team reached the state quarterfinals.

All told, St. Pius X was 57-10 in the era and produced 28 All-State selections.

“When I walked in (as head coach), I had this piece of paper – Win A State Championship,” said coach Rick Byers (MSHOF 2022), who had worked eight seasons as the Warriors’ defensive coordinator before being promoted in 1995. “And I think they bought in.”

Throughout his tenure, Byers’ teams ran a power I offensive formation, and a 4-3 defense.

The 1990 and 1991 teams had been 10-game winners. The 1995, 1996 and 1997 squads were a combined 25-6, with the 1995 team winning a district title. The 1996 Warriors rallied from down 21-0 to force overtime in the district title game before falling.

The 1998 team (12-2) suffered losses to Kansas City O’Hara in the season-opener and defending Class 3 champion and No. 1-ranked Maryville.

Yet those Warriors raged their way to the state championship game, edging Monroe City 14-0 in the finals. Against Lathrop in the semifinals, a 78-yard screen pass went for a zig-zag touchdown, and a field goal with 4 minutes left sent the Warriors to a 22-21 victory.

The 1999 team (11-3) saw its 11-game win streak end in a 28-21 championship game loss to Lutheran North, which featured five future NCAA Division I players.

Those Warriors surged after Nick Ziccarella moved from wide receiver to tailback. An overtime win against state-ranked St. Joseph LeBlond started the win streak, and a 42-28 win against No. 2 Lawson sent St. Pius X deep into the playoffs.

The 2000 team (12-1) beat Palmyra 34-21 in the finals. Anthon Sansone was the team’s undisputed leader, and Anthony Simone, now the head coach, had 191 tackles, still a program single-season record. A number of sophomores stepped up, especially on the offensive line.

Chemistry for that team had developed years earlier, when the guys were grade-schoolers playing football or basketball in the Highland neighborhood, or for the NECCO Raiders in seventh and eighth grade – and ran the same offense as the varsity team. Plus, Byers was their PE teacher at St. Patrick Elementary School.

The 2001 team was No. 1 and undefeated going into the quarterfinals but suffered a loss to Grain Valley. Throughout that season, Metro Sports TV had mic’d up the Warriors for a special documentary, and the team later wondered whether it was a distraction in disguise.

Still, that year, the offense scored 498 points – still a program record – and Eric Guettermann finished with program career records in receptions (107) and receiving yards (1,918).

The next season’s Warriors started 0-3, including a loss to eventual Class 3 state champion Platte County.

Yet the 2002 Warriors rallied to win their final 11 games, beating Centralia 28-6 in the state championship game. There, Willie Cashmore’s halfback pass went for a game-sealing touchdown, and Tyler Nay – who later played for the University of Central Missouri – returned an interception for a touchdown.

That team featured 23 seniors and one junior who were starters, and the night before the win streak began – against Kansas Class 6’s Shawnee Mission North – there was a player-led team meeting. Well, technically you could call it that.

“We had a bit of a ‘Coming to Jesus’ moment,” quarterback Nick Messina said. “We talked about what we needed to do to right the ship. We started really getting close as a team after this, having fun and just playing ball.”

What an era it was.