St. Vincent finally defeats Valle Catholic 24-7

St. Vincent receiver Jacob Seabaugh, right, celebrates his touchdown catch with receiver Max Wheeler during a game against Valle Catholic on Friday, Sept. 6, in Ste. Genevieve, Mo.

Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

For 17 straight meetings, Valle Catholic has not only defeated St. Vincent but by wide margins.

Even during the year, the Indians went to the Class 1 semifinals, they were embarrassed by the Warriors on their home field.

But no more.

For the first time since 2007, St. Vincent defeated Valle Catholic 24-7 on Friday, Sept. 6, in Ste. Genevieve, Mo.

Before this season, St. Vincent only scored 14 points on Valle Catholic one time since 2010. This was the first time the Indians scored 24 on the Warriors since they won the Class 1 state championship in 2004, 20 years ago.

“It’s a monkey off the back for sure,” St. Vincent head coach Tim Schumer said. “I would say I’m more excited for the boys, the players on the field that went out and did it.”

The game belonged to St. Vincent from the very beginning. After the defense forced a 3-and-out, the Indians scored on a 43-yard touchdown run by senior running back Cruz Reitzel on their first offensive play.

“They did exactly what we told them to this week,” Schumer said. “They came out and from the first play we shut them down on defense, got the ball, and Cruz hit the back of the end zone and we went off running. It’s just a sweet one.”

The Indians scored again later in the first quarter, as senior quarterback Nick Buchheit threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Jacob Seabaugh to go up 14-0.

The senior duo would link up again late in the third quarter, this time for 13 yards and a 21-7 lead.

“It’s very potent,” Schumer said. “I’m glad that Jacob decided to come out as a junior and then he’s reaping the rewards as a senior. Nick has just hit the ground running and they’re playing really well.

That score was set up by a 50-yard pass to John Schwartz, who has also been a force on defense. Schwartz, who was a Semoball Awards finalist for leading the Southeast Missouri area in interceptions, picked off a pass for the first time this season and also recovered a fumble to widen the turnover margin in the Indians’ favor.

The Indians' defense has been one of the fiercest so far this season. They held down the Warriors to only seven points by forcing turnovers, capitalizing on fumbles caused by poor execution from the center-to-quarterback exchange, and holding their ground in numerous goal-line stands.

When asked if this is the best defense Schumer coached in his St. Vincent tenure, he replied, “It’s close.”

“Last year was really good,” Schumer said. “We brought 10 starters back so they picked up where they left off.”

The one starter who graduated was Semoball Award Defensive Player of the Year recipient Drake Robinson, who is now a student at Southeast Missouri State University.

St. Vincent will take on Perryville on Sept. 13, who also improved to 2-0 after a 31-28 road win vs. DeSoto, at Perryville.

“It’s just another game on the schedule,” Schumer said. “It’s the crosstown rivalry but it’s no bigger than any game.”