SportsZone Football Friday Game of the Week Preview: Jefferson City at Hickman
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
One of the oldest rivalries in high school football is renewed for 2026.
The Kewpies and Jays are our SportsZone Football Friday Game of the Week. You can watch the game live over the air on channel 17.3 on KZOU. Here is a look at other local listings:
- DirecTV - Channel 18
- Dish Network - Channel 32
- Mediacom - Channel 12 & 709
- Centurylink - Channel 12
- Spectrum - Channel 183
Hickman and Jefferson City is the second oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi River. While today, cross town matches draw the most attention from the players, the history between these two schools still makes this a one of the biggest games on the calender for both sides.
"I played in this, I know what it means to us and it's exciting," Hickman coach Justin Conyers said. "You want to talk about some of the guys that reach out about this football game. This is the one that everybody wants to be at."
While the game against Jefferson City is personally significant, this game marks much more for the Kewpies. Hickman has a chance to go 3-0 through the middle third of the season, giving the team a perfect base to take one last step over the last three weeks ahead of the post season.
But if they want to keep those winning ways up in the final games, it will have to be on the road. The contest against the Jays is the final home game for the team at Alumni stadium.
Hickman will honor its senior class before the game, and coach Conyers credits this class for turning the program around in three short years.
"What this senior group did when they started it as sophomores for us, we knew they were the foundation of it for us," Conyers said. "We knew what we had in that group, and the success they've been able to have over these past three years has been remarkable."
When it comes to success, few schools in mid-Missouri have been better than Jefferson City in their history. But as the Jays look to return to the mountain top, they'll have to find some consistency on both sides of the football.
"I think we've played really well, and we've been a good football team," Jefferson City coach Eric Thomas said. "But there's been those stretches where we just haven't been very good, and we got to find a way to get more of the good stretches and less of the bad."
Perhaps the brightest spot on this offense is running back Zavion Finney. Through just five weeks, the senior was one of the best backs in the state a year ago, and through five weeks of the season he's already eclipsed 1100 yards on the ground.
"I think our rushing attack and Zavion Finney have been really impressive," Thomas said. "I mean he's playing both sides of the ball, but that rushing attack isn't just number 22. Our offensive line has played well, but man he's just physical, and he's a great leader on our team."
Jefferson City and Hickman will meet at Alumni Stadium on Friday, Octo. 2, with kick off set for 7 p.m.
