Conference Games Taking On Increased Importance

The time off period is just about officially over for sports teams around St. Charles County.

The holiday season comes to a close on Monday with the observation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. After that day—a day some teams actually aren't taking off—school is back in session and the conference races are really beginning to heat up. Non-conference games still dot the schedule, but the conference games bring the most drama.

While some good teams are starting to pull ahead of the pack, the GAC North and GAC South standings for both the boys and girls are still murky. The only way to clear things up? More conference plays, which is what we will get this week. 

Here are some games to watch this week around St. Charles County. 

• Who: (Boys basketball) Timberland vs. Fort Zumwalt South
• When/Where: 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 20, at home
• Why the big deal?: Timberland plays two games this week, but the second one will be at home, sweet home. The Wolves will host Zumwalt South and a GAC North vs GAC South non-conference game.

• Who: (Girls basketball) Holt vs. St. Francis Borgia
• When/Where: 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 16 at home
• Why the big deal?: Holt's girls basketball team is 11-3 on the year and will look for win No. 12 on Monday. Standing in the Lady Indians way will be St. Francis Borgia in the third game of a triple header at Holt.

• Who: (Girls basketball) Zumwalt South vs. Fort Zumwalt East
• When/Where: 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 19, at Zumwalt East
• Why the big deal?: Thursday will be an old-fashioned rivalry game between Zumwalt South and Zumwalt East. The South girls enter the game with a 7-10 record, but are 1-0 in the GAC North.    

• Who: (Boys basketbal) Zumwalt East vs. Timberland
• When/Where: 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, at Timberland 
• Why the big deal?: The Zumwalt East boys have struggled so far this season—posting a 5-12 record in the first 17 games of the season. The Lions will get a chance to better its record against the 5-9 Timberland Wolves.

• Who: (Wrestling) Lutheran vs. St. Charles 
• When/Where: 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 18, at St Charles 
• Why the big deal?: The Lutheran wrestling has a road tournament in Fulton, MO, this weekend. To tune up, the Cougars will hit the mats for a dual against St. Charles.

Francis Howell Central

• Who: (Girls basketball) Howell Central vs. East St. Louis
• When/Where: 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 16, at East St. Louis at the MLK Shootout
• Why the big deal?: While the rest of the school is off, the Howell Central girls will be heading to East St. Louis to take part in the MLK Shootout. The Lady Spartans are 13-2 on the season. 

• Who: (Wrestling) Howell North vs. CBC vs. Ritenour
• When/Where: 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, at the Warrenton Shootout
• Why the big deal?: Francis Howell North's wrestlers will return to school on Tuesday and get ready for a big match, or rather matches. The Knights will square off against both CBC and Ritenour in a triangular dual. 

• Who: (Girls basketball) Duchesne vs. St. Charles West
• When/Where: 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, at St. Charles West
• Why the big deal?: The Duchesne girls basketball team is 8-7 on the year, but 1-2 in conference play. The girls will get a chance to even that record in a GAC North match against St. Charles West (5-10, 0-0).

Orchard Farm

• Who: (Girls basketball) Orchard Farm vs. Wright City
• When/Where: 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 16, at home
• Why the big deal?: The Orchard Farm girls won't get Monday off. Instead, the Eagles will host Wright City in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day game.

• Who: (Girls basketball) St. Charles vs. Duchesne
• When/Where: Thursday, Jan. 19 at home
• Why the big deal?: The St. Charles girls basketball team is 10-5 and has a 2-0 record in conference play. The Lady Pirates will look to stay atop the GAC North with a conference tilt against Duchesne. 

• Who: (Boys basketball) St. Charles West vs. Washington
• When/Where: 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 20, at Washington
• Why the big deal?: The St. Charles West boys basketball team will kick off confernce play on Friday. The Warriors will head to Washington in search of GAC North win No. 1. 

• Who: (Girls basketball) Fort Zumwalt North vs. St. Charles
• When/Where: 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 16, at home
• Why the big deal?: Zumwalt North's girls basketball team will face a tough task on Tuesday. North is 0-1 in GAC North play and sports a 4-10 record. On the flip side, St. Charles is 10-5 with a 1-0 conference mark.

• Who: (Swimming) Zumwalt West vs. Francis Howell
• When/Where: 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 19, at the 
• Why the big deal?: The Fort Zumwalt West girls swim team gets to place host in a GAC South dual. West will hit the pool on Thursday against Francis Howell in a conference matchup.

• Who: (Boys basketball) St. Dominic vs. Bishop DuBourg
• When/Where: 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 16, at home
• Why the big deal?: St. Dominic will play back-to-back games this week on Tuesday and Wednesday. Both games will be conference games, with the first being the Crusaders game against Bishop DuBourg.

• Who: (Girls basketball) Christian vs. Louisiana
• When/Where: 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, at home
• Why the big deal?: With the boys off, this week will be the girls time to shine at Christian High School. The girls will take on Louisiana on Tuesday in a non-conference game.