by Lonnel Cole. Argus Sports
Where would the reputation of high school sports among city teams be without the input of Cardinal Ritter and Lift for Life, two non-Public High League teams? Living off the annual greatness of the Vashon Wolverines boys basketball dynasty, no doubt. The Wolverines captured a fifth straight uninterrupted Missouri Class 4 state championship last season in former great Jimmy McKinney’s first season as head, by rolling past Benton 81-45 behind the trio of Trey Williams (19 points), Terron Garrett (17) and McKinney’s son of the same name (15). (The 2020 Class 4 and Class 5 state tournament was canceled after the quarterfinal rounds because of the pandemic.) But without Vashon basketball, the PHL didn’t make much a footprint into the postseason tournaments in any of the other sports.
Enter perennial Archdiocese Athletic Association power Cardinal Ritter and emerging charter school independent Lift for Life. Cardinal Ritter’s football team made it all the way to the Class 5 state semifinals before losing 20-8 at Cartage, despite graduating a myriad of standouts, including quarterback Carson Boyd, running back Jamarion Parker, receiver DJ Miller, lineman Bryce Gray and defensive back Antonio “JuJu” Parker. Undersized running back Manny Ellis carried a huge load, figuratively and literally with 2,500 yards rushing and 31 touchdowns. Ellis also was instrumental in helping the boys track and field team capture first place in 4×100 dash in 41.68 seconds and 4×200 meter dash in roughly 1 minute, 27 seconds.
Meanwhile, the Cardinal Ritter girls squad didn’t win several events, but rather won their fourth straight team title in Class 5 behind Kyndall Spain capturing the 100 and 300-meter low hurdles, both in state record times of 13.37 (100 hurdles) and 40.80 (300 hurdles). McKenzie Rogers was also a instrumental part of the state title, with multiple roles in the sprints.
Speaking of girls sports and state titles, look no further than the Hawks of Lift for Life, which routed St. Teresa 63-42 to claim their second straight Class 3 crown. Amaya Manuel (16.8), Zha Harris (13.5) Diamond Polk (9.9) and Cara Manuel (9.4) led a balanced attack on the championship run. But Lift for Life’s state run didn’t stop there.
The Hawks football team made all the way to the Class 3 state championship final before losing to perennial powerhouse Seneca 33-26. The finish capped a fantastic season for the Hawks, who put up some prolific offensive numbers rarely produced in any conference or state level of competition: Quarterback Phoenix passed for an incredible 3,340 yards and 41 touchdowns. Not one, but two Hawks receivers amassed 1,000-plus receiving yards: Tony Woolfolk Jr. caught 77 passes for 1,202 yards and fellow receiver Ekeilan Henderson caught 70 for 1,089 yards. Defensively, the numbers were outstanding as well, with four players( Aiden Barber, Kameron Hurst, Shawn Strickland and Dazaveon Williams) having 94 or more tackles, which is also a rare feat for any team: “I’d like to say we didn’t lose we just ran out of time,” Hawks coach Tony Woolfolk said in his post-game remarks.
In PHL football, the Gateway Stem Jaguars had another undefeated regular season, but fell earlier in the playoffs this time around, after drawing the defending state Class 4 champion Lutheran North Crusaders, losing 34-0. They had made it to the semifinals the previous campaign before losing to eventual state runner-up Festus.. The loss of 17 players from the previous season proved to be much to overcome for the Jaguars, even though their future looks bright with a young, underclass-laden roster.
Meanwhile , fellow PHL school Career Academy, which carries some Vashon student-athletes, didn’t advance beyond the first round of the playoffs and the Roosevelt Rough Riders didn’t finish out the regular season due to a player shortage. Be that as it may, one player who made a fast, early impression for the Rough Riders was all-purpose receiving, kick returning, running threat Jordan Bailey, a 5-11, 160-pound junior, who’s certain to resurface somewhere next season as a bona fide star. He was one of the most exciting looking players in the city last fall, despite a small sample size and abbreviated season.
Indeed, there weren’t a lot of bright spots overall in PHL sports on the state level, other than Vashon basketball. But there were some notable individual PHL basketball standouts, then and now: McKinley’s Darrion Upchurch has been averaging over 20 points for a couple of seasons now. Career Academy’s C. J. Nelson has been averaging 33 points early in the season for the boys basketball team, which owns a victory over perennial power Cardinal Ritter. Likewise. Gateway’s Gavin Dillon, who was a key member of the Jaguars football team is averaging over 24 points on the boys basketball team, So the PHL has been well-represented in basketball, beyond the mighty Vashon Wolverines.
But in 2025, Vashon’s hoops needed that city lift for Ritter and Lift for Life to stay competitive at the state level.
Below: Vashon’s Jimmy McKinney III helped the Wolverines to a fifth straight Class 4 boys basketball title, while Cardinal Ritter’s Manny Ellis helped the Lions to the Class 5 state semifinals and rushed for over 2,500 yards and scored 31 touchdowns on the season. Meanwhile Lift for Life quarterback Phoenix Isaiah (number 4 in red) had one of the area’s most prolific seasons by passing for 3,340 yards and 41 touchdowns, numbers rarely reached anywhere on the high school level.
