The magic for St. Vincent football ran out one game short of the ultimate goal.
Marionville controlled much of the contest and defeated St. Vincent 38-7 in the Class 1 state semifinal on Saturday.
“I’m proud of the guys,” St. Vincent coach Tim Schumer said. “We played a really good team, and while we didn’t come out on top, we still had a great season. We accomplished our first goal of being conference champions and our second goal of being district champions. There is a lot to be proud of.”
Marionville executed their gameplan perfectly as they limited the possessions of the game and took advantage of their scoring chances and denying St. Vincent on theirs. That was evident on the opening drive of the game when Marionville chewed up almost half of the first quarter clock and scored on a 31-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Cash Pomeroy to go up 7-0. The Indians moved the ball into Comet territory on their opening possession, but the drive stalled at the Marionville 30-yard line after a failed fourth down conversion with 1:40 left in the opening quarter.
The rushing attack has been the calling card for the Comets all year and was on Saturday. Marionville threw just two passes in the game and rushed for 255 yards and five touchdowns between the duo of Pomeroy and Hugh Eaton. St. Vincent had two possessions total in the first half, both of which were into Comet territory. Marionville scored on each of their three possessions in the first half and went into the half up 17-0.
“We moved the ball into opponent territory and weren’t able to convert on fourth down,” Schumer said. “That kind of put us behind the eight ball. Every time we had the ball, I thought we did a good job of moving it.”
Pomeroy was the workhorse for the Comets as he amassed 180 yards and four touchdowns in the game. He was a tough matchup for the Indians and was difficult to being to the ground.
“He was pound for pound the biggest running back we have seen all year in terms of size and power with the football,” Schumer said. “They had some big guys in front that paved the way for him. They just had a good football team. We did everything to keep them at bay, but eventually they broke through a few times. I’m happy with our effort and there’s a lot to hold our heads high about this year.”
St. Vincent was able to finally break through early in the fourth quarter as Cruz Reitzel took a short pass into the redzone and the drive was finished off with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Schremp from quarterback Christian Schaaf, who finished the game with 126 yards, 1 touchdown and two interceptions. Schremp had a large chunk of those yards with 6 catches for 57 yards on the day. Marionville allowed less than five points per game this season, allowing no more than 14 in any single game.
“We had to push the ball down the field in the second half to try and get back in the game, so those things are going to happen,” Schumer said.
The Indians end the season at 9-4, while Marionville (13-0) moves onto the state title game with North Platte (12-1) Friday. St. Vincent graduates six seniors, including Schaaf and linebacker Drake Robinson.
