The St. Vincent Indians showed their stuff at their Aug. 30 season opener against the Ste. Genevieve Dragons with a 53-0 blowout.
Last year, the Indians had a strong 9-4 winning season, winning conference and went on to lose against Marionville in the semi-finals, who went on to win the state championship. While the team graduated six players at the end of last year, 17 starters returned this fall. Still, there was some uncertainty about the team’s fortunes this year, having lost their quarterback and top defender.
The Indians scored repeatedly throughout the game but didn’t always have as easy a time when it came to making the extra point. Still, no St. Vincent fan can complain about a game that ended with such a lopsided score.
Speaking the day after the game with Indians coach Tim Schummer, he was still astonished by his team's overwhelming win against the Dragons.
“I'm really happy and pleased with what we were able to do,” he said. “I was pretty speechless because I thought we came out and played awesome. I didn't have much to say to them other than just keep doing what you're doing. Last night was a lot of fun. They came out and executed on all sides of the ball except for a few missed extra points. I'd say we played mistake-free football.
With Ste. Gen tradition of being a tough team, Schummer gave his perspective on the game.
“We knew that they weren't going to quit,” he said. “We made an emphasis at halftime that we need to keep our foot on the gas and finish what we started. Like I said, they weren't going to quit. If we had given them an opportunity to where they could see some light at the end of the tunnel in the second half, they might have made some plays to make it a tough game for us. I was very happy that our team was able to come out and finish what we started.
On Friday, the Indians will be playing an away game against Valle Catholic. Asked about his strategy, Schummer said, “We're very familiar with them. We've played them every year here. We know that they are a well-coached team. They're a great program.
They're going to be a great football team that we have to get prepared for. I think it's still much the same. We'll look at the film, assess what we think we did good what we need to clean up and start working on the Warriors. We know that going up there is going to be a tough place to play, but it'll be a great atmosphere and hopefully a great high school football game.”
