The Bishop DuBourg-Hancock Cavaliers raise their helmets to celebrate their only touchdown scored by Hancock sophomore tight end and linebacker Ashaunn Pickens after losing a home game against the Duchesne Pioneers on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, at Don Burrus Field in St. Louis. The Cavaliers lost to the Pioneers by a score of 50-6. Photo by Daniel Shular, dshular@post-dispatch.com
Daniel Shular
As the sun sets over Bishop DuBourg Stadium, players from the Bishop DuBourg-Hancock Cavaliers football team walk arm in arm onto Don Burrus Field before taking on the Duchesne Pioneers on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in St. Louis. Photo by Daniel Shular, dshular@post-dispatch.com
Daniel Shular
Hancock sophomore tight end and linebacker Ashaunn Pickens catches a pass from Hancock sophomore quarterback Jayvon Sanders as Pioneers freshman Jeremy Cochrum tries to intercept the ball in the fourth quarter of a game beweeen the Bishop DuBourg-Hancock Cavaliers and the Duchesne High School Pioneers on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, at Don Burrus Field in St. Louis. Pickens scored the only touchdown of the game for the Cavaliers to avoid a shutout loss to the Pioneers with a score of 50-6. Photo by Daniel Shular, dshular@post-dispatch.com
Daniel Shular
Bishop DuBourg senior running back and defensive back Khalil Macon walks onto the field with his grandfather Cornelius Browley, left, while getting a fist bump from defensive coordinator Mike Levendoski while being recognized on senior night before the Bishop DuBourg-Hancock Cavaliers took on the Duchesne High School Pioneers on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, at Don Burrus Field. The Cavaliers lost to the Pioneers by a score of 50-6. Photo by Daniel Shular, dshular@post-dispatch.com
ST. LOUIS — High school and football go hand-in-hand, except when schools are too small to field a team.
The Bishop DuBourg Cavaliers and Hancock Tigers joined forces five years ago to get over the goal line. They are among 30 high schools in Missouri and 48 in Illinois that have formed co-op football teams this fall.
As birth rates fall and high schools get smaller, the pairings help keep Friday night traditions alive.
The 1,500-student Hancock Place School District in south St. Louis County doesn’t have a football field. Bishop DuBourg, in south St. Louis, is a rare co-ed Catholic high school. As the schools found it more difficult to field an 11-man football team, they decided to mix their populations to build a squad.
The team follows the structure of the public-private partnership between Valley Park and Kennedy high schools in west St. Louis County, which played together until Kennedy closed in 2017. A few local school districts, including Valley Park and Maplewood-Richmond Heights, no longer field football teams.
Co-op teams from two or three schools are most common in rural areas in the northwest part of Missouri, said Jason West of the Missouri State High School Activities Association. The teams must be from within the same or contiguous school districts; the schools’ combined enrollments place them into classification for competition.
Winfield and Elsberry in Lincoln County team up in multiple sports. In Illinois, Bunker Hill and Staunton high schools in Macoupin County share several teams including bass fishing.
As urban school districts shrink, combined teams are becoming more popular in St. Louis. This fall, Confluence Prep and Grand Center Arts charter schools have joined to build a football team, as have Soldan and four-time state champion Sumner, as well as Miller and Vashon in St. Louis Public Schools.
While most combined teams form within school districts, the Bishop DuBourg-Hancock team is a rare public-private partnership. Each school has its own rules for eligibility, but coach Jake Hogan said it hasn’t been an issue so far.
The team is evenly split — 15 players from each school.
The players meet each day after school for study hall in DuBourg’s cafeteria for at least 30 minutes before practice. They help each other with algebra and social studies. Hogan’s goal is to push the players’ combined GPA, now standing at a record 3.2, higher than ever.
When Bishop DuBourg players gather to pray before games, Hancock players are free to join or sit out. The scrappy team hasn’t won a game this year, falling to perennial powerhouses John Burroughs and Jennings among others.
Mike Levendoski from Hancock Place serves as the team’s co-defensive coordinator. Head coach Hogan, Bishop DuBourg’s all-time leading passer from the class of 2012, works in admissions at the school. He drives to Hancock High twice a week to eat lunch with his football players there.
“I care about them just as much as I care about the DuBourg kids,†Hogan said. “I don’t care what school you go to — this is a brotherhood.â€
Photos: Bishop DuBourg and Hancock Place HS combine to form Cavaliers high school football team
South City Cavaliers take on Duchesne Pioneers
Bishop DuBourg - Hancock Cavaliers football practice
South City Cavaliers take on Duchesne Pioneers
South City Cavaliers take on Duchesne Pioneers
South City Cavaliers take on Duchesne Pioneers
South City Cavaliers take on Duchesne Pioneers
South City Cavaliers take on Duchesne Pioneers
Bishop DuBourg - Hancock Cavaliers football practice
The Bishop DuBourg-Hancock Cavaliers raise their helmets to celebrate their only touchdown scored by Hancock sophomore tight end and linebacker Ashaunn Pickens after losing a home game against the Duchesne Pioneers on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, at Don Burrus Field in St. Louis. The Cavaliers lost to the Pioneers by a score of 50-6. Photo by Daniel Shular, dshular@post-dispatch.com
As the sun sets over Bishop DuBourg Stadium, players from the Bishop DuBourg-Hancock Cavaliers football team walk arm in arm onto Don Burrus Field before taking on the Duchesne Pioneers on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in St. Louis. Photo by Daniel Shular, dshular@post-dispatch.com
Hancock sophomore tight end and linebacker Ashaunn Pickens catches a pass from Hancock sophomore quarterback Jayvon Sanders as Pioneers freshman Jeremy Cochrum tries to intercept the ball in the fourth quarter of a game beweeen the Bishop DuBourg-Hancock Cavaliers and the Duchesne High School Pioneers on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, at Don Burrus Field in St. Louis. Pickens scored the only touchdown of the game for the Cavaliers to avoid a shutout loss to the Pioneers with a score of 50-6. Photo by Daniel Shular, dshular@post-dispatch.com
Bishop DuBourg senior running back and defensive back Khalil Macon walks onto the field with his grandfather Cornelius Browley, left, while getting a fist bump from defensive coordinator Mike Levendoski while being recognized on senior night before the Bishop DuBourg-Hancock Cavaliers took on the Duchesne High School Pioneers on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, at Don Burrus Field. The Cavaliers lost to the Pioneers by a score of 50-6. Photo by Daniel Shular, dshular@post-dispatch.com