The Pattonville High School football team didn't get its first win of the 2012 season until its eighth game. Barring an incredible upset, it likely won't get a second.

Pattonville is set to open it's playoff campaign on the road against the heavily favored De Smet Spartans.

• What: Pattonville @ De Smet
• Where: De Smet High School
• When: Friday at 7 p.m.

De Smet enters the game with perhaps the best running back combos (Taylor O'Brien and Marcus Jester) in the state and one of the best defensive players (Donnie White) in the entire state.

The O'Brien-Jester duo rushed for nearly 2,000 yards this season and accounted for more than half of the Spartans' scoring.

Meanwhile, Donnie White, the 6-foot-2, 220 pound defensive end has wreaked havoc on offensive backfields all season, producing 11 sacks, 13 tackles-for-a-loss and 13 tackles overall. 

White is the 18th most highly-touted high school player in Missouri, according to ESPN. His college prospects include offers from schools such as Arkansas, Ball State, Boston College, New Mexico and Wyoming among others.

De Smet comes in averaging 37 points per game while allowing 16.8 points per contest. That almost reverses Pattonville's line, which averages 10.2 points per game while allowing 33.1.

Pattonville will almost certainly need a quality game out of Jake Stroker, it's sophomore wideout who can do a bit of everything. 

In Stroker's 2012 season, he passed for a touchdown, caught a pass for two scores and found paydirt on three rushing plays. His 268 rushing yards leads the team.

Pattonville's one-and-only win came against winless Hazelwood West. De Smet's three losses came against St. Louis heavyweight CBC and strong out-of-region teams in Jefferson City and Rock Bridge.

The teams will have a moment of silence in memory of De Smet graduate Jim Goessling, who starred for the Spartan basketball team in 1973 before going onto a career in sales for St. Louis sports franchises and radio stations. Goessling died last weekend following a battle with cancer. 

Check back with Patch over the weekend for a recap of the Pattonville @ De Smet playoff matchup.

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