Turnovers, special teams mistakes doom St. Vincent in loss to Grandview

WERE, Mo. — Friday night’s game between St. Vincent and Grandview had all the makings of a slugfest.

Both teams went back-and-forth in the second quarter, and it appeared Grandview would enter the locker room with just a two-point halftime lead.

But the Eagles drove down the field, capped by a six-yard touchdown run from Chase Wilson, to take a 21-12 lead with 21 seconds remaining in the half.

The Indians tried to fight back, but turnovers, special teams mistakes and Grandview’s defensive pressure doomed St. Vincent en route to a 47-25 loss.

“This was tough,” Indians coach Tim Schumer said. “Last week we lost a tough one, and it was what could be the make or break moment of the season. You want to see them come out and respond. At times we played well tonight, but at times we put the ball on the ground way too much.

“We had too many turnovers offensively to give our team the chance we needed. Our guys fought hard, and hats off to Grandview, they’ve come a long way, but I think we still had our chances.”

Indians quarterback Christian Schaaf — who was under pressure from Grandview’s defensive front all night — threw four interceptions, one of which was picked off by Ryan Ruble in the Eagles’ end zone and returned the length of the field for a touchdown.

“Two of them (interceptions) were just trying to make something out of nothing,” Schumer said. “We’ve got to realize that we’ve got to live to fight another down.

“But a couple of those down near the end zone, we were just trying to get back within striking distance so it could be a one-score game.”

Schaff would throw two touchdowns in the contest, hitting Evan DeWilde for 38 yards in the second quarter and Kaden Kassel for 25 in the third.

Both teams took advantage of kickoff mistakes early in the second. St. Vincent had an opportunity to score with a short field with 4:46 left in the third, but Schaaf threw an interception — his third of the game at the time — right after recovering the kickoff.

“There were big plays on both sides on special teams,” Schumer said. “That’s a big momentum swinger for the games. If we could get a couple more — or coming out of halftime where we got one and scored — that’s big for us. Giving them the ball back or driving down the field and throwing an interception are things you can’t do if you want to win a football game.”

After St. Vincent scored to open the second half, Grandview answered with two, one-yard quarterback keepers from Clayton Riddle to give the Eagles a 34-19 cushion.

The Indians drove down the field, but Schaaf’s interception to Ruble took the wind out of St. Vincent’s sails. Grandview would score again in the fourth on a 25-yard run by Ruble to put the game away.

The Indians (4-4) will host Jefferson (Festus) at 7:30 p.m. next Friday on homecoming.

“My philosophy with homecoming is the most important part is always the football game,” Schumer said. “We’ve got to make sure that we take care of our part of homecoming and make sure we’re locked in and ready to go.”