The St. Vincent Indians improved to 3-0 with a win over cross town rivals Perryville Friday night in a dominant offensive performance that ended with a running clock in the 4th quarter and a final score of 42-0.
St. Vicnent’s senior quarterback Andrew Schumer threw for five touchdowns in the win. He connected twice each with seniors Quinton Doza and Adam Brickhaus, and once with senior Case Huber. Schumer also had one touchdown on the ground, a 1-yard keeper in the first quarter.
“Last year we set one goal and it was to beat them by a lot,” Schumer said after his six touchdown game. “I couldn’t do it without the whole team, it was just really nice that everything went our way and we just dominated.”
Special teams, one of the things head coach Tim Schumer said needed to be improved on following the win over St. Genevieve, was much improved in the victory. Sophomore kicker Clay Ellis was 6 for 6 on extra points, however a 33-yard field goal attempt was unsuccessful in the second quarter due to a low snap that was fumbled by Ellis, leading to a turnover on downs.
Brickhaus, who caught two of Schumer’s touchdown passes, was a standout on defense as well, making an impressive one handed leaping interception in the first quarter.
The St. Vincent’s defense was working as well, recovering two fumbles and intercepting two Perryville passes.
Perryville’s offense, while unable to find the end zone, showed promise late in the game. Sophomore running back Jasper Burrress-Johnson picked up 64-yards in the fourth quarter on a drive that ended when the clock ran out with the Pirates on the 8-yard line.
St. Vincent head coach Tim Schumer said that the Perryville game is one everyone has circled on the calendar, and he was proud with how his team handled the pressure of playing a home town rival and dominated.
“I’m just proud of the guys,” Schumer said. “They came out and executed on both sides of the ball. We got a stop early on defense and came out on offense and scored. That’s kind of been our motto, a recipe we’ve been cooking up the last three weeks. So we were able to capitalize on that again and keep the ball rolling. And then at halftime, I just wanted to emphasize finishing all three phases of the game. They came out and responded well and we were able to get it done.”
“All the work that we’ve been putting in these past weeks, just stacking days, getting better and better every day, it feels great to see it all finally pay off,” Huber added. “When the schedule comes out this is one of those games you circle, there’s a lot of trash talk during the week but seeing the community and fans we have come out it just means a lot. Being able to make big plays like we were able to, it’s awesome.”
Regardless of the score, what stands out the most about the Perryville vs St. Vincent rivalry is the respect and sportsmanship showed between coaches and players and fans on both sides, as many of the students on both sides of the rivalry grew up playing with each other as part of Perryville youth football, a connection that was apparent on the field after the game as students, coaches, and parents mingled and celebrated together.
“I think it’s a great game for the community,” Schumer said “You see the community’s support in the stands but also with the PYF organization always coming out and getting recognized and just kind of growing the sport of football in the town of Perryville, I think it’s been great for the game and bringing the community together.”
“We all grew up playing football with each other,” Perryville quarterback Lucas Buchheit said. “We were all on the same team since we were little kids. Now we’re going against each other and all of us are still friends. We still hang out with each other even going to different schools. We’re just friends playing against friends.”
St. Vincent will look to keep the momentum rolling and keep the winning streak going when they host Herculaneum Friday night. Perryville will look to get back on track and back in the win column as they travel to St. Louis for a game against Bayless/Hancock. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m kickoffs.
