'It teared me up': Former Mizzou fullback Ron Janes relives son's state title on Faurot Field
ST. LOUIS — Ron Janes started counting his son’s career football games. Reminiscing on middle school performances and tallying up freshman appearances, he came to the conclusion of 114.
Yet one game separated itself from the others.
Ridge Janes, the lone son of Ron, ended his first season at St. Louis (Mo.) De Smet this past fall. The Spartans finished the year with a state title in Memorial Stadium, where Ridge’s father, a Missouri alum, morphed into a fullback dubbed “Rhino” in the 1990s.
“It really teared me up,” Ron said. “He didn’t know any different. He’s just playing ball. He’s just young kid. But to me, it was very special.”
Ron finished his final regular-season game as a member of the Tigers on Faurot Field with a 42-24 victory over Baylor in November 1997. Less than two decades later, he saw his son hoist a trophy in the same stadium.
“Just to get to see him run around on it, it was fun,” Ron said. “Winning a state championship is definitely fun. My oldest daughter, she won four state championships at Incarnate Word. … We’re trying to keep up with her. She set the bar pretty high.”
When Ron knew
Dating back to middle school, Ridge always played up an age group, and in eighth grade, he showed his trajectory exceeded high school. When Ridge started to play against peers his age, he became the center of attention.
In his final season before high school, Ridge missed a regular-season game due to a lower-back injury, but when he returned against the same opponent in the playoffs, he accounted for every touchdown in a blowout win for St. Louis (Mo.) University‘s affiliated team.
“I always knew he’d be pretty good,” said Ron, who returned to De Smet as a running backs coach in 2024 after two seasons on staff in the late 2010s. “I always hoped he’d be pretty good.”
With a long list of games behind him and a father who reached the NFL, Ridge started to piece together a strong football IQ. He mastered blocking as a tight end his freshman year, and while poised for another leap at 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, he’ll also look to find a bigger role in the receiving game.
“He’s going to contribute, whether it’s run blocking or pass blocking,” said Ron, who compared his son’s height and blocking ability to former Missouri tight end Chase Coffman. “We wanted to come here because they feature the tight end, and look at coach (John) Merritt’s offense, it’s really good for your tight end.”
Ridge continued his summer workouts Tuesday. His offer sheet, heading into his sophomore season, stands at 24. With those early opportunities presented to Ridge, Ron has never pushed his son to follow in his footsteps.
“I certainly would love to see him in Mizzou,” Ron said. “It’s an hour and a half away from my house. Lots of benefits of that, but it’s going to be his decision in the end. … He wants to be his own kid, and he’s told me before, ‘Dad, I just want to be the first Ridge.'”
Reviving the Border War
Ron joked he’ll soon start dreaming about the Kansas chants ahead of Sept. 6 game. Like many, he never wanted to see the rivalry put on hold. Taking in the contest with his son for the first time in less than two months, Ron just wants to see “Mizzou kick the shit out of KU.”
“Just hang my hat on that,” Ron said. “I love that rivalry. … Hopefully, it’ll never go away, but hopefully we can consistently play them. We’re going to mob them. I just look forward to getting to see the crowd all fired up, and Columbia’s gonna be lit that night. That’s for sure.”
“He talks about that rivalry a lot when he brings up a couple of games that he’s been in,” Ridge added. “So I’m super excited to see what the atmosphere is like. I go to some of the Mizzou games, and I hear their chant where it’s F-KU. I can already feel the rivalry there, so I can’t even imagine what it’s gonna be like on Saturday.”
During his junior season against the Jayhawks in 1996, Ron hit a kick-out block on a toss sweep for the running back in a contest that ended in a 42-25 win for the Tigers. Although not remembering if it was Brock Olivo or Devin West on the receiving end, Ron still recalled the victory fondly.
“That was my favorite, because we were at Mizzou,” Ron said. “They beat us my senior year at KU. That’s the thing, we were a better team. These rivalry games, you just never know how they’re gonna go.”
