Football hasn’t just been a hobby for Saxony Lutheran junior quarterback Kai McDowell growing up, it’s been his life.
McDowell’s father, Jeromy, has coached the sport before Kai was born, so McDowell, who is also a star on Saxony’s baseball team, has always either been at a game or practice taking in the atmosphere.
“I soaked in football from a young age and just enjoyed and seeing everything about it,” McDowell said. “The second I went out on the field for the first time, I loved it — I fell in love with the grind. I love to get better, and I like football a lot because you have to rely on your teammates.
“You can’t just be a one-man show — if one person’s not doing the right thing, everybody else is not going to be very good. It really bonds and makes you a family. Everyone has to rely on each other.”
McDowell’s dad is also on the Crusaders coaching staff, allowing for a unique dynamic of fathers and sons to fuel Saxony football.
Originally coming from Colorado, McDowell and his family moved to Missouri when he was younger, and this allowed him to play for his current head coach O.J. Turner in the sixth grade with the Junior Tigers team.
McDowell also played with his returning lead receiver and Turner’s son sophomore Ozzie Turner, where the two formed a bond that has become one of the top quarterback-receiver duos in Southeast Missouri.
Kai always knew he was going to play football, but he’s been given a chance few quarterbacks have: help start a football program.
“I saw an amazing opportunity for me to start this program and it was perfect,” McDowell said. “It was a wide open door that I wanted to step in, so I came in here and have been playing football since trying to start a good program.
“Everything I do is all for this program and it’s a great opportunity to set a legacy. It starts from the foundation — the ground up. We’re just trying to build it as strong as possible and just take off from there.”
After playing a junior varsity-only schedule his freshman year, McDowell finished as one of the area’s passing leaders in his first year of varsity action last fall.
For Saxony, Kai threw for 2,223 yards, 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 64.3% of his passes. McDowell was also rather impressive on the ground as he scored 10 rushing touchdowns on top of his 536 yards.
Equally impressive, McDowell distributed the ball quite well as five different receivers for the Crusaders caught more than 20 passes. Kai’s leading target was Turner, who recorded a team-high 511 yards off 39 catches with two touchdowns.
McDowell will also return a receiver like senior Bryce Gaebler as he came up with a team-high 48 catches for 401 yards and four scores.
Despite Saxony graduating four of its five starting offensive lineman from last fall, Coach Turner is excited to have someone like Kai at quarterback due to not only his leadership skills but grit.
“Kai is just a competitor — he’s freaking gritty and always has been,” Coach Turner said. “He’s ready to fight with everybody — he’s ready to fight for his teammates. It lets us know later on in life he’s going to fight for his family, and that’s what we care about.
“The quarterback position is so important, but having Kai and the offensive line that we do, it’s pretty nice just to let them go and do what they do. We always feel very comfortable on the offensive side of the ball, which makes coaching very easy.”
With McDowell at quarterback in Saxony’s first year of varsity football in 2025, the Crusaders finished one game below .500 at 4-5 overall as they fell to Hayti 50-21 in the Class 1 District 1 semifinals.
Throughout the season, McDowell had two 300-yard performances as his career-high came in a 56-42 road loss to Perryville. Kai threw for 343 yards and three touchdowns, while he scored two more on the ground.
McDowell’s other 300-yard game was in a 48-34 loss to Marquette Catholic (Illinois), where Kai finished with 322 yards, two touchdowns and one pick. He also scored two rushing touchdowns and nearly ran for 100 yards.
“I like quarterback because for me personally it’s the most involved position,” McDowell said. “Everybody has to do their job — the guys up front don’t get as much recognition as they should. I can’t do anything without them up front, and obviously receivers have to catch the ball.
“I like quarterback, though, because it’s the head of the offense. You have to know what everybody else is doing — it really makes you soak into the game and learn everything about it.”
While McDowell will return weapons like Turner and Gaebler at receiver, Saxony is also set to return its star offensive lineman from last fall in senior Landon Buchheit.
Even though there could be some bumps in the road with four new starters on the line, Kai is confident in them and is excited to see what they can do this year.
“I think the four that are coming up have really just had their head down in the weight room and have been grinding,” McDowell said. “They’re coming on, and I think that we’re going to be as good if not better. They know it’s their time, so they’re ready for that.”
McDowell and the Crusaders will officially kickoff the 2026 season against New Madrid County Central this Friday at home.
“Everyone here loves football, so that seriousness comes with the fun,” Kai said. “We’re all brothers — we’re all in this together.”
