Oakville missed a game-winning field goal as time expired to lose its high school football conference championship game against Northwest in Missouri. However, the Tigers were impacted by an obvious roughing the kicker penalty that was not called.
They would’ve received the opportunity to kick another field goal…
Unfortunately, the high school football officials did not throw a flag. There will be an asterisk on the win.
Northwest defeated Oakville to win the high school football conference championship.
Oakville High School is located in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. As is Northwest High School. Both schools enroll ~1,800 students in Grades 9-12 as members of the Suburban Conference on the Class 6 level of MSHSAA in Division 1. The two campuses are separated by approximately 25 miles.
Both high school football programs are in position to compete for a state championship. They both entered the final game of the regular season on Friday at 7-1. It had huge implications on the conference standings. If the Tigers won, they would share the conference title with the Lions. If the Lions won, they would claim the conference title outright.
In the end, it was Northwest that prevailed. Oakville lost by one point.
A missed roughing the kicker penalty did not impact the game-winning field goal.
Oakville held a lead through the first 47 minutes and 39 seconds of the high school football game. Northwest took its first lead of the game with one minute and 21 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
That put the Tigers on offense at their own 42-yard-line with no timeouts. They were able to advance the ball beyond the 50-yard-line on a pair of completed passes and a penalty on the Lions. Kicker Paul Curran trotted out on to the field with 7.8 seconds left to attempt a 53-yard field goal. A make would clinch a share of the conference championship.
He missed.
Although Curran could not convert the game-winner, it appeared as though the defense got to him late. The play could have and should have been flagged for roughing the kicker.
— – (@Spicoli_____) October 24, 2026
Oakville’s official team account expressed its frustration with the lack of penalty.
“Not sure how this isn’t roughing the kicker?!? But what do I know?”
If the officials threw a flag on the play, Curran would’ve had another chance at the game-winner from 15 yards closer. He was robbed of the opportunity by a blatant missed call.