Schuckman: Panthers turning long road trip into experience to savor

MONROE CITY, Mo. — David Kirby realizes when most people start talking about the best places to eat on a trip to the bootheel of Missouri the conversation will turn to the throwed rolls at Lambert’s in Sikeston.

With the Monroe City football team headed to that neck of the woods for Saturday’s Class 1 state quarterfinal against Hayti, he has other dining suggestions.

“There are numerous holes in the wall that you have to hit up when you’re down there,” said Kirby, the Monroe City coach who grew up in East Prairie, Mo., which is about 25 miles south of Lambert’s and 45 minutes from Hayti. “You’ve got to find something unique.”

That could be barbeque in many instances.

“It’s kind of funny talking to the kids about it because they’re like, ‘Man, Coach, what’s this place like?’” Kirby said. “I tell them, ‘Hey, they’ve got some really good barbeque.’ Honestly, it’s going to be an exciting environment. Hayti is a small community, but they are extremely proud of their football team and they should be. They have a great team. 

“I tell the kids that you have two communities who are both excited about their football teams. You have two great fanbases and there are going to tons of people there. It’s everything playoff football is supposed to be.”

The players are embracing that.

“I know people down south are diehard football fans, just like people here in Monroe,” Panthers quarterback Kyle Hays said. “It’s going to be a good one. It’s going to be loud. It’s going to be fun.”

It’s an experience most of the Panthers haven’t had.

The team rolled out of Monroe City on Friday afternoon aboard a charter bus. They scheduled a practice at a high school in the bootheel and were turning it into an overnight trip. It means staying in a hotel and enjoying a team dinner Friday night, a team breakfast Saturday and a unique bonding moment.

Plus, the Panthers won’t have to get off a bus following a 4½ hour trip and try to limber up before playing.

“We’re blessed that we have a great school administration and they got us hotel rooms,” Kirby said. “So it’s not as bad of a trip for us as it is for the people who are driving down Saturday morning. It is a long trip.”

Kirby doesn’t mind.

“I said I didn’t care if we drove to Antarctica as long as we were still playing,” he said.

As much as the Panthers are making an event out of the quarterfinal matchup, there remains a serious tone to what they want to accomplish.

“I really made sure a lot of people on the team understood the whole point of this isn’t to just go down, stay in a hotel, ride a charter bus,” Hays said. “The whole point is to play on Saturday. The reason why we do this is to have fun, and I want everyone to have fun.

“But I wanted everyone to know this is kind of a business trip. We just have to get the job done on Saturday, and that’s what matters.”

Considering the Panthers’ success in basketball and track and field in recent years, Kirby knows the focus will be there.

“They’re used to these big-time games and they’re used to traveling and having to do some things that other kids might not get the opportunity to,” Kirby said. “So we’re very blessed. This is not the norm at a lot of places. These are very special times.”

And it will be a truly memorable trip should the Panthers find a way to advance.

“We can start laughing and having fun after we win,” Hays said.