St. Vincent football coach Tim Schumer preached to his team all week the importance of focusing on the task at hand during homecoming week: the game.
“It will be a little different because the game isn’t on Friday,” Schumer said in the build-up to the game with Bayless. “It’s about reminding them that the main point of homecoming is the football game and that we are taking care of business there.”
His team listened.
St. Vincent dominated from the opening whistle on the way to a 48-6 victory over Bayless Saturday in the annual homecoming game.
“It was a good game all the way around,” Schumer said.
St. Vincent forced Bayless to punt on the opening possession of the game and then the Indians hit paydirt on the first offensive play. Cruz Reitzel scored from 50 yards out to put the Indians on the board and put St. Vincent ahead 7-0. He also added another big touchdown run in the third quarter.
Schumer felt like the play allowed his Indians to get comfortable amid the craziness of homecoming.
“It allowed us to settle in,” Schumer said. “It also set the tone for how the game was going to go.”
Along with Reitzel, who had 108 yards and two scores, quarterback Christian Schaaf was able to lead the offense going 9-14 for 227 yards and three touchdowns. Trevor Moonier was the top pass catcher with 5 receptions for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Isaac Graham caught the other score for 45 yards in the first half. St. Vincent put up a total of 407 yards in the game.
While the offense was certainly humming, Schumer was excited about the defensive effort his team put forth as St. Vincent led 41-0 at the half. The Indians defense had three sacks, forced a trio of interceptions and also recovered a fumble.
“They were flying around and making plays,” Schumer said.
Schumer noted the defensive focus was on the Bayless running back and limiting his big play ability.
“He’s very talented and probably their biggest weapon,” Schumer said. “He was our main focus and making sure we kept him contained in the run game. We also wanted to make sure we didn’t fall asleep on the back end.”
The Indians didn’t do anything like that as Bayless struggled to produce any offense of any kind. So much so that the Bronchos did not pass midfield until the fourth quarter after a fumble with the victory well in hand.
The guys came out focused and we handled the game being a day later than normal,” Schumer said. “I thought we adjusted to that change well. I’m proud of our effort and glad to get another conference win.”
St. Vincent (5-1) will travel to St. Pius (5-1) this Friday at 7 p.m. The Lancers are currently on a five-game winning streak after losing to Brentwood in week 1. Last season, St. Pius was victorious over St. Vincent 20-14 as the Lancers made a goal line stand in the final minutes.
Schumer is ready for the tough test that the Lancers present.
“They are very diverse in what they do offensively,” Schumer said. “They will line up in many different formations. This is a week where we have to be focused on everything they will run at us.”
