St. Vincent made quick work of Herculaneum in week four. The Indians got off to a quick start and kept it rolling as they dispatched of the Blackcats 49-0 on Friday at Herculaneum High School.
That was exactly how St. Vincent coach Tim Schumer wanted it.
“We played really physical football,” Schumer said. “We played well for a full four quarters and put a complete game together. When we went to Scott City I felt like we had a really good first half, but let up off the gas in the second half. We wanted to keep our foot on the gas.”
That’s just what the Indians did.
St. Vincent scored on their first possession, but it was the defense that impressed Schumer the most. The Indians allowed just 85 total yards as Schumer praised his defensive line.
“The defensive line did their job plugging holes and taking up blocks to keep their linemen from climbing up into the second level,” Schumer said. “It freed up our linebackers and allowed them to fly around all night.”
Herculaneum is coached by former Perryville coach Blane Boss, who spent the previous four seasons at Perryville, Schumer said there was a sense of familiarity with what the Blackcats wanted to do when they had the ball. The rushing attack for the Blackcats produced just 52 yards on 32 carries on the night.
“We’ve seen the past few years when we played Perryville and we kind of knew what he liked to do,” Schumer said.
The Indians started the game with a touchdown, but did have one drive where they turned it over on downs and another where they were forced into a turnover, which prevented them from scoring in the first half. However, that was about all that went wrong for the Indians as they amassed 434 yards of total offense and led 27-0 at halftime.
Sophomore Christian Schaaf did a lot of the damage for St. Vincent as he went 17-19 for 310 yards through the air and five total touchdowns (one rushing) and one interception. The leading receiver on the night was Jacob Kapp, who caught four passes for 127 yards and a touchdown. Each of Schaaf’s touchdowns went to a different receiver.
“He had a very good game and has grown and matured every week,” Schumer said. “Starting out with the first three weeks and having a game like that speaks to his ability and his command of the offense.”
The ground was not neglected either as St. Vincent amassed 124 yards rushing with seven different ball carriers. Mason Light led the way with 36 yards on eight carries and one touchdown.
“We executed the game plan from the opening kickoff and I really liked what we did through the entire game.” Schumer said.
St. Vincent (2-2) will take on Perryville (2-2) on Friday in week 5. The Indians have won the last three meetings between the teams. Schumer doesn’t want that streak to end, but knows it will be a tough matchup between the local schools.
“You can pretty much throw the records out of the window because they are going to come ready to play,” Schumer said. “We have to do the same.”
