In what has surely become a familiar refrain, Valle Catholic (2-0) handed St. Vincent Indians (0-2) a 42-7 loss Friday in the Indians home opener, gaining some measure of revenge for last season’s 24-7 loss on their own home field.
The powerhouse Warriors hold an all-time record of 18-2 against the Indians, who are fresh off two consecutive state playoff runs and two consecutive district titles. “They were a good team — as usual,” said St. Vincent coach Tim Schumer. “I thought we kind of started out better. Defensively, we were making some good plays. We had them on a fourth-and-long on their first drive, and they were able to convert it. They ended up scoring after about a 6-minute drive. I thought we came out and we battled, but we just ended up ultimately giving up too many big plays.”
After scoring once in the first quarter, on a 15-yard run from Andrew Schilly, the Warriors racked up four touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 34-7 lead into halftime.
Schumer attributed some of his team’s difficulties to “growing pains.” The Indians lost 10 starters to graduation after last season’s 12-1 finish that ended in the state semifinals, much like the season before.
“We’ve got to find consistency on both sides of the ball,” Schumer said. “Right now, it kind of seems like we’ll have a couple of good plays in a row, and then we give up a big play or we miss an assignment or something. That kind of sets us back — two steps forward, one step back. As soon as we can figure out our consistency and what we need to do each play and make sure we’re consistent, I think we’ll be in a better spot.”
St. Vincent’s only touchdown came on an 80-yard drive that ended with a 6-yard run by Wyatt Winkler. The drive was marked by penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct and targeting that served to aid the Indians on their way down the field.
Valle’s Sam Kuehn was 5-of-8 passing for 84 yards, and added 112 yards on four carries. Schilly completed 4-of-8 passes for 35 yards and rushed 14 times for 109 yards. Winkler made his first start at quarterback after sitting out last week, and completed 7 of 17 passes for 106 yards. House had 8 carries for 92 yards, and Kellen Pitts had 3 catches. Adam Brickhaus batted down a pass, and made two tackles for loss.
“We’re definitely not where we want to be,” Schumer said, “but like I told the kids, there’s good things happening in these games. It’s just not at a consistent enough level that we need for it to be at this moment.”
St. Vincent will play host to crosstown rival Perryville (1-1) on Friday. The Pirates, coming off a 31-14 loss to DeSoto, will be looking for another victory. The Indians hold an 8-1 advantage in the crosstown series, something both teams would like to improve. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Indians Stadium.
