ST. LOUIS — As Chris Holt forced himself to think about his graduating seniors one more time, Maryville’s third-year coach found an emotion where pride and regret meet.

“When the job was kind of being inquired about, I was told about this sophomore group of kids,” Holt said, emotions choking off his ability to talk.

“It’s tough,” he managed to add after a deep breath.

“That’s that,” he concluded slapping both hands on the table in front of him before exiting the interview room Saturday at the Edward Jones Dome.

With that, Holt left to spend some final moments as a team with the 20 seniors he never will coach again.

Maryville finally reached its potential behind a talented group that started leading the Spoofhounds as sophomores in Holt’s first year. For the first time since 1996, Maryville reached the Show-Me Bowl.

But the trip ended in disappointment after a 10-7 loss to Clark County in the Class 2 championship.

Maryville finishes 13-2 this season and now stands at 26-9 in three years under Holt.

Each of the past two seasons, a single district loss kept the Spoofhounds out of the playoffs. A 28-20 home defeat to eventual state champion Lawson was the only blemish on a 9-1 ledger last year.

But Maryville’s senior core came back for one more run, and there was no Lawson in districts this time.

Maryville went 9-1 in the regular season, earned a district championship and easily toppled Plattsburg and Trenton in the first two round of the playoffs. The Spoofhounds survived a quarterfinal scare from Carrollton before whipping previously unbeaten Fair Grove 42-6 in the semifinals, setting up the chance at a state title against Clark County — playing in its first state title game in any sport.

Instead, undefeated Clark County used a wobbly 23-yard tiebreaking field goal from Kolt Kriger — the first of his career — on the first play of the fourth quarter to sink the Spoofhounds.

“I’m going to remember all of it,” said senior Adam Mattson, a four-year starter who led the Spoofhounds with 186 yards against Clark County. “We got here, and we came as a team.”

Maryville’s final possession ended when Mattson was stopped 1 yard short on a fourth-and-2 try from Clark County’s 5 with just less than five minutes left.

The Indians added three first downs and eventually ran out the clock. On the final play, Clark County quarterback Ethan Allen took a knee and set off the raucous celebration for the first state title in his school’s history.

“Thousand things I would’ve done different. Can’t do anything about it now,” senior defensive end Zach Sherry said.

For a group that experienced a 2-8 season as freshmen, the seniors helped restore the pride to Maryville football. Now it’s up to the five returning starters and their fellow underclassmen who endured the disappointment of Saturday’s loss to keep the momentum going.

“I think we’re leaving the program in good hands,” senior quarterback/linebacker Joe Jasinski said. “They have a great coach. We have a lot of players who are learning and getting better every day.

“They’ll be back.”