With limited field time, Festus has found solid footing

When district tournaments start next week for American Legion senior division teams across the state — including at Cape Girardeau and Ste. Genevieve — Festus might have the least amount of playing time of any of them.

Post 253 has played just 17 games out of a schedule that originally featured almost 30 dates. By the time the postseason starts Monday, Festus will have played no more than 21 games — and that's barring rain this week.

Scheduling problems started before the season even began for Festus. Coach Pat Bone said in a story in Tuesday's Jefferson Journal that the team's first eight games were cancelled while much of its roster was embarking on a state high school championship run at nearby Crystal City. Three games were lost to rain, and two were cancelled after district opponent Perryville dropped its senior division team in mid-June.

Even the team's own success has worked against it — after last year's state championship and national tournament appearance, Festus saw many old opponents drop off the radar.

"There were some teams that we have scheduled in the past that didn't want to play us this year, and that's unfortunate," Bone told the Journal. "I guess they just didn't want to come down, take a beating and go home. And that's OK. I have had down teams, and I've never turned down anybody. Cape Girardeau, Dunklin County, all those teams, they don't want to play us. And they have good teams this year. That's what I don't understand."

In spite of a shorter season, Festus went 11-0 in its district and will hold the top seed in next week's tournament at Ste. Genevieve. If it wins, it could face Cape Girardeau or Dunklin County, which are heavy favorites to reach their district tournament at Cape Girardeau.