CREVE COEUR – Anyone feeling sympathy for the defending Class 6 champion De Smet football team can put the tissue boxes away.
All-State quarterback Dillon Duff is now at Kansas State University. All-State running back Jayden McCaster is now at Nixa High, and the Spartans’ offense does not appear to have missed a beat.
Quarterback Gabe Rodriguez threw for 217 yards and accounted for three touchdowns while running back Cam Sharp gained 165 total yards and scored twice as De Smet defeated MICDS 31-14 Friday at De Smet High.
De Smet (1-1), which fell behind by 21 points in the first half of its season-opening loss to Creighton Prep, was determined to have a better start Friday. Caden “Rocky” Sharp obliged with a 72-yard return of the opening kickoff to place the Spartans at the MICDS 11-yard line.
Two plays later, Rodriguez kept the ball on a read option and powered into the end zone to give De Smet a 7-0 lead 43 seconds into the contest.
“I made a lot of mistakes in my first game as a starter. I threw a couple picks I wish I could get back, so it was big for us to set the tone and score early and Rocky started it with that big return,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez piled up short completions throughout the first quarter, finding Ridge Janes, Michael Chapo and three times hitting Cam Sharp out of the backfield to set up a Mark Gaertner 34-yard field goal and stake the Spartans to a 10-0 lead.
But Rodriguez showed that he was more than a dink-and-dunk quarterback. After a short MICDS punt placed the Spartans at the Rams’ 38-yard line, the 6-foot-4 senior launched a perfect rainbow into the arms of Wyatt Stoltz on a deep post to increase the lead to 17.
“That’s a little bit of my style. I love to throw the short ball, take what the defense gives me, and eventually I’ll fire it down the field and air it out,” Rodriguez said.
He connected on 19-of-25 passes Friday, one week after completing a school-record 25 passes in the season opener against Creighton Prep.
“He’s super-accurate, so poised,” De Smet coach John Merritt said. “He’s been in our system his whole life, he knows what to do and he embraces it. People underestimated him sitting behind Dillon for a couple years, and he’s showing you right now, ‘Don’t underestimate him.’”
Finding his own style is something that Rodriguez grappled with during the preseason after serving as the backup for the dynamic, dual-threat Duff for two years.
“A big part of it was letting go of trying to be Dillon Duff,” Rodriguez said. “He’s a great mentor and learning from him meant everything, but I had to adapt my own style. I’ll take a scramble yard where I can get it, but most of the time, I’m just going to throw that thing.”
Adapting his own style was equally important to junior Cam Sharp, who took over as the Spartans’ lead running back after Jayden McCaster went to Nixa High for his senior year.
“Cam is the same way. ‘Who is this guy?’ Well, Cam Sharp is pretty good,” Merritt said. “He can go between the tackles, he can run the edge, he can catch the ball out of the backfield. He is a complete back, and we’re excited to turn him loose.”
Sharp had six receptions in the first half alone, including a nine-yard swing pass for a touchdown to punctuate a perfectly executed, two-minute drill that gave De Smet a 17-point lead at halftime.
Sharp added 12 carries for 101 yards on the ground, and his 6-yard touchdown burst to open the third quarter increased the lead to 31-7.
“I like running A-gap to A-gap, staying behind my linemen and getting the reward for their work by getting touchdowns,” Sharp said. He credited offensive lineman Ben Scorfina and tight end Ridge Janes for setting the tone early with their blocking mentality.
The Spartans also received strong offensive contributions from freshman Malik Waters, who gained 39 yards rushing and from eight different receivers who caught passes.
“To put 31 points on (MICDS) is worth something. It’s really promising to see a lot of guys contribute and get things done,” Merritt said.
MICDS (0-2) began to find an offensive rhythm late in the first half. Quarterback Noah Menneke, who completed only three of his first 10 passes, went 4-for-4 during a second quarter drive that included connections to Henry Rohan for 15 yards and LJ Triplett for 13, before rolling left and finding Triplett behind the De Smet defense for a 24-yard touchdown.
Early in the fourth quarter, Menneke found Triplett for a 46-yard bomb down the right sideline before threading a pass to Graham Faust for a 4-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal.
In all, Menneke was 16-of-33 for 174 yards and two touchdowns with Triplett accounting for six catches for 92 yards.
The De Smet train was sidetracked by two turnovers and 11 offensive penalties, but the evidence was clear. The Spartans are in no need for anyone’s sympathy over the talent they are missing.
“We’re excited for what we’ve got offensively. We just have to keep putting it together and letting these young kids grow up throughout the season,” Merritt said.
Rodriguez added, “We’re building our momentum, getting our confidence up and learning that we can do these things that people say we aren’t capable of doing.”
Next up: De Smet (1-1) will host SLUH (2-0) to open Metro Catholic Conference play at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12. MICDS (0-2) will host Westminster (2-0) to begin Metro League play at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13.
For a photo gallery from this game click this link: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Football/Football-2025/MICDS-vs-De-Smet-09-05-25