College Hoops Recruiting: All A Matter Of Timing For Johnson

The college coaching carousel yields new interest in the Parkway North standout.

Last week around this time, Parkway North High School senior Darrell Johnson was wrapping up a recruiting visit to Virginia Tech. Now, with the spring signing period a few days old, Johnson, the forward who led the Vikings to their first district basketball title this season, is getting ready for another visit this weekend. He's heading to Manhattan. Manhattan, Kansas. Johnson told Patch late Thursday that new Kansas State Coach Bruce Weber and his assistant Chris Lowery, had been in contact with them in their former respective positions at Illinois and Southern Illinois. Now, on the same staff at K-State, they've targeted Johnson with a scholarship offer. Johnson spoke to Patch just after he said he talked to new Tulsa Head Coach Danny …

• Photos (1)

Parkway North's Newsom Part of Recruiting Class Hailed By Mizzou Coaches

The University of Missouri football coaching staff held an annual gathering with St. Louis area fans Tuesday night.

The University of Missouri football coaching staff is much bigger than the nearly dozen or so coaches, assistant coaches, trainers and staff who draw a regular paycheck from the university. Rather, the staff is more family than payroll. Tigers, past, present and future have a hand in either the success or failing of the Tiger program.
 Going into the vaunted SEC Conference, the black and gold will need all the help and support they can get. A legion of Tiger admirers, mostly from the booster St. Louis Quarterback club crammed the auditorium of the Edward Jones complex in Des Peres Tuesday night to hang on the words of Gary Pinkel, and his staff talk about their newest crop of incoming players, including Parkway North linebacker Donavin …

• Photos (11)

Parkway Central Trio To Play College Sports

Sheperd, Boyher and Wille will move on to play football, baseball and tennis

Superlatives could be used to describe the three Parkway Central student-athletes who signed to play at the next level Wednesday, but they're not needed. Their accomplishments speak for them. Brandon Sheperd will play football at Oklahoma State University, Logan Boyher will be on the baseball diamond at Columbia University and Hannah Wille will play tennis at the University of Cincinnati. Logan Boyher’s mother Gayle Boyher said she’s never seen him at home not doing homework, except when he was in the basement, lifting, and it’s paid off. The last time Boyher earned a “B” was in his sophomore year. He works as hard at baseball as his grades. “We joke that there’s a chin-up bar in every door frame of his house, a weight bench in every room…

• Photos (5)

The Week Ahead In Creve Coeur

The Week Ahead: College Choices, Expanding Businesses and the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Our weekly sneak peek at some of what will be of interest to users of Creve Coeur Patch this week.

It is shaping up as a "Super Week" here at Creve Coeur Patch! Before looking forward, though, a quick look back. Did you attend the weekend parade honoring returning Iraq War veterans? If you did and have pictures you'd like to share, please do so in our Neighborhood Gallery and tell us what you thought about the experience. Do you own or manage a business or organization in Creve Coeur? If you do, you're STRONGLY encouraged to claim your free listing on the site. It is a great way to share information about your operation with the public, along with posting photos and announcements. Now, onto the week ahead... We have a few scoops under our belt for our next round of Coming Attactions, but if you know of a business that's expanding, new …

• Photos (1)

De Smet's Neal Prepping For National Spotlight This Weekend

The Spartan wideout has been in San Antonio since Sunday ahead of Saturday's Army All American Game.

Class may be back in session this week at De Smet Jesuit, but you won't find Durron Neal on the Creve Coeur school's campus. The standout wide receiver has been in San Antonio since Sunday getting ready for this coming weekend's U.S. Army All-American Game, which will be broadcast live on NBC Saturday (12:00 p.m./KSDK) READ: Neal Presented With Army Honor According to the event's Facebook page, Neal and other elite high school teammates have been hitting the practice field, visiting with wounded warriors and other members of the military, along with doing media interviews with outlets around the country. Prior to Neal's commitment to play for Oklahoma, there was some speculation that the he would use this event to announce his college …

• Photos (4)

Big Week For Prep Receivers: Neal and Chesson Make News

Creve Coeur-area football seniors from Ladue and De Smet earn honors and decide their future.

Ladue Horton Watkins High School Senior Jehu Chesson wants to play in "The Big House." According to The Detroit Free Press and The Michigan affiliate of rivals.com, Chesson has made a verbal pledge to play for the University of Michigan Wolverines. Chesson named earlier this month to All Class 4 Second team by the Missouri High School Football Coaches Association, had reportedly been weighing scholarship offers from several other Big Ten schools. Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated is out with the publication's high school All-American Team, which included honorable mention praise for De Smet's Durron Neal. Neal was named the Class 6 Offensive Player of the Year by the MHSFA. Neal has already announced his intent to play at the University of …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

Gregg Palermo

1:51 pm on Friday, December 23, 2011

You've hit upon one of the big themes we'll touch on next week in our Year in Review in sports....The Year of the Receiver.   more ›

Neal Presented With U.S. Army Honor

Spartan selected to participate in All American Game next January.

Durron Neal already has hopes of finishing his De Smet football career with a trip to a dome, namely the Edward Jones Dome, as the Spartans aim for a Class 6 state title run. But he knows regardless of what happens, his career as a high school football player will end in a dome. Tuesday, representatives from the U.S. Army All-American Bowl were on campus to formally announce Neal's selection as a member of the 2012 squad. The game will be played January 7, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX. The game has become known over the last 11 years as a venue where high profile recruits announce their college intentions in front of a national TV audience. Some had speculated that Neal, who had dozens of suitors, would take that route. Instead, he …

• Photos (6)

Parkway North Gets Healthy Road Win Against Longhorns

The Vikings see the return of Donavin Newsom on both sides of the ball, win handily at Parkway West.

Parkway North Head Football Coach Bob Bunton said his team had been reeling for a month, after losing Donavin Newsom to a knee injury suffered in the first half of the team's opening win against St. Louis University High. Thursday, Newsom returned to the lineup on both sides of the ball, and the result had Parkway West reeling, as the visiting Vikings ran past the Longhorns 35-7. Senior co-captain Jovonte Suber, who emerged during Newsom's absence as North's leading rusher and was the starter Thursday, continued doing the job, running in a pair of scores. Newsom eased into action and found his stride early in the second half. He stopped a play five yards behind the line of scrimmage on defense, and two plays later after a change of …

• Photos (3)