Parkway West's football team fell 20-14 to undefeated Ladue Horton Watkins on Thursday, Oct. 22, closing the regular season at 6-3.

The Longhorns traveled to Ladue, where the Rams completed a perfect 9-0 regular season. According to the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) matchup page, Parkway West averaged 30 points per game this season while allowing 15.9. Ladue outscored opponents by a wider margin, averaging 44 points and giving up 16.6.

The Longhorns hold a 1-9 all-time record against the Rams. Their lone win came in the 2022 Class 5 state tournament, 44-7.

Despite the loss, Parkway West's season is far from over. The Longhorns host Washington High School in the first round of the MSHSAA Class 5 district playoffs at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, at Parkway West High School Stadium in Ballwin, according to the school's event listing.

This year's varsity roster features nearly 60 players, including just 11 seniors, according to the Parkway West Pathfinder, the school's student newspaper. That small senior class stepped into leadership roles after 26 players graduated from last year's squad.

Senior Ethan Bain, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound offensive lineman who verbally committed to Eastern Michigan, was ranked No. 16 on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Super 30 list of top senior college football prospects in August. In the Pathfinder feature, Bain described what captaincy means to him.

"[Being a captain] means you have younger people looking up at you, so you have to do everything on point," Bain told the Pathfinder.

Senior Ayden Winston told the student newspaper the team's bond extends beyond practice. He said players stay close inside and outside of school, calling the group "another family."

Athletic director Emily Lovercheck told the Pathfinder that football creates a sense of belonging at Parkway West. She said game nights bring the school together, with students cheering in the stands.

The Pathfinder reported that hundreds of students and parents packed the stands for the Oct. 22 regular-season finale. Senior Patrick May, who helps run an unofficial student-section Instagram account passed down each year by graduating seniors, told the paper his favorite memory this season was storming the field after Parkway West beat Parkway North for the first time in five years.