ASH GROVE — St. Vincent senior Wyatt Winkler completed 20-of-28 passing attempts for 332 yards and 4 touchdowns to lead the Indians (4-3) to a 41-26 exhibition victory over the Ash Grove Pirates (5-1) on Saturday.
“It was a long bus ride,” said St. Vincent coach Tim Schumer, “and usually that bodes well for a slow start, just kind of being thrown out of your normal rhythm. But we were able to start fast, and I thought we played pretty well. It was good to get out there on the field for the first time in two weeks since we had a forfeit the week before. I think players were just ready to play.”
The exhibition against Ash Grove, located west of Springfield, came about after Cuba was forced to cancel Friday’s game because of injuries. The Indians were looking for an opponent to play ahead of this week’s Homecoming game against Grandview (5-2).
“With the way the conference is shaping up, these next two games are are pretty pivotal with two of the better teams in the conference, and we’re brand new to Jefferson,” Schumer said. “It was definitely big to get a game in and have that momentum building going into those final two games.”
Despite the open week, the Indians showed few signs of rust Saturday, building a 35-20 lead by halftime, then holding the Pirates to a single touchdown in the second half while adding one of their own.
On the ground for St. Vincent, senior Jack Seabuagh rushed 17 times for 115 yards, including a 63-yard touchdown run to open the game.
“Jack Seabaugh had a really good game,” Schumer said. “He got things going for us with that long touchdown run, and then he had an interception on defense.”
Senior Kale Meyer caught 8 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown, Max Wheeler caught 4 passes for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Case Huber had 2 catches for 47 yards and a touchdown.
Kickoff for Friday’s game against Grandview is set for 7:30 p.m. at St. Vincent Stadium.
