St. Vincent celebrated homecoming with another blowout win on the football field, getting its fifth win of 30 or more this season with a 49-6 victory over Cuba.
“Homecoming is a special time around here, there’s a lot of traditions and we always want to come out in the game and put a good show on for our alumni and all our fans that are back visiting,” head coach Tim Schumer said. “I’m very proud of the guys for coming out and playing hard and doing the things we ask of them and getting the job done in these games because there can be a lot of distractions.”
The Indians passing game dominated the game, scoring 6 out of 7 touchdowns through the air.
After a slow start in which St. Vincent turned the ball over on downs in its first offensive possession, the defense made a stop at the 19 yard line to give the offense the ball back in the red zone. On the first play of the second offensive drive, Schumer connected with Adam Brickhaus on a 19-yard touchdown pass to take a 6-0 lead.
Following another defensive stop, the offense was again set up in good field position, and Schumer found Quinton Doza for his second touchdown pass of the game. Clay Ellis’ extra point gave St. Vincent a 13-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Cuba’s only score in the game came early in the second quarter on a 2-yard quarterback keeper, the ensuing 2-point conversion was stopped by the Indian defense, keeping the score 13-6.
Three St. Vincent touchdowns followed in the quarter, all on Schumer passes; two to Case Huber that went for 25 and 23 yards, and one to Jack Emmendorfer that went for 68 yards, and the Indians went into halftime with a 35-6 lead.
An extended halftime show featuring the presentation of homecoming floats and the crowning of the homecoming queen led into the third quarter, when Cuba received the ball and were driving before Gavin Hotop forced a fumble to give St. Vincent the ball back.
It only took the offense two plays to score after getting the ball back, a 35-yard pass from Schumer to Doza set up a 21-yard pass, again to Doza, for the touchdown that gave the Indians a 42-6 lead and a running clock for the remainder of the game.
With time winding down quickly, the Indians scored one more time on a 4-yard Layton Cheaney carry, to bring the score 49-6.
“It feels great to put on a show for our home crowd,” Andrew Schumer said following his 6 touchdown homecoming performance. “It started off a little shaky, as we all saw, but then we really kicked it in gear that second quarter. It’s been a long week, and I’m proud. We really just came together tonight and played really, really good. We got some younger guys that came in and helped us today. And they do their job, pay attention all week. And we just played really well all night.”
“It’s awesome seeing everyone here and hearing them cheer,” Gavin Hotop added. “It’s just an awesome tradition here to come out and win and give the crowd something to cheer for, I hope when I come back next year these guys will be the same for me.”
The homecoming win was the final home game of the season for St. Vincent. The Indians, now 6-1, will finish the regular season a perfect 4-0 at home. Two games remain, both on the road, before the class 2 state tournament begins on October 30.
The Indians will travel to Grandview this Friday night, and then finish the regular season at Jefferson on October 23. Both kickoffs are scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
