HAILING THEIR HEROES: INDIANS FALL IN 1A TITLE GAME

ST. LOUIS -- Sixty-five St. Vincent High School football players lined up behind the end zone, the same end zone where Jerry Rice and Issac Bruce snag passes during National Football League games.

One by one the Indians -- reserve players followed by starters -- sprinted to midfield, made a 90-degree turn on the giant St. Louis Rams helmet painted on the Astroturf, and clustered on the sideline, exhorting one another to go out and win the MSHSAA Show-Me Bowl, the class 1A state championship game.

In a sea of blue and gold, some 4,000 St. Vincent fans sat 50 feet away in the stands at the Trans World Dome and hailed their heroes.

After the game, they still hailed them.

St. Vincent lost to North Platte of Dearborn Friday afternoon, 30-7, but the setback didn't dampen their partisans' spirits one iota.

Remember, before this splendid season and its 13-1 record, St. Vincent had never won a playoff game in its 91-year history. This year it won three.

"Sure, it hurts," said Scott Brown of Perryville, "but just the fact that we made it here is great."

A horde of St. Vincent tailgaters gathered in a dusty gravel lot across from the dome before the game, and an hour after it ended scores of revelers stood waiting for Jim Meyer to drop some barbecued pork on their plates. Trailers were loaded down with coolers brimming with cold beverages, and people with faces painted gold and blue chatted with friends.

Meyer, who had donned an Indian headband with a feather poking up in back, said a win would have been nice, "but we're real proud of these boys. It was a good year for us, win or lose."

For a town of 7,500, the contingent at the game was exceptional. A number of those in attendance were Perryville High School fans who happily shifted their allegiance to St. Vincent after their Pirates were knocked out of the playoffs.

"There can't be anybody left in Perryville," Brown said.

Said Meyer: "You saw the sidelines. We had 'em stacked from goal line to goal line. It shows you what a little bitty school can do."

Amie Leible, a junior at St. Vincent, said the game was the biggest thing to hit Perryville since ... anything.

"It's the biggest for I don't even know how long," she said. "The biggest since I've been alive. It's been a big celebration this whole week, and it's really exciting to know that so many people support our school."

State Rep. Pat Naeger, R-Perryville, knows of one St. Vincent mother and her daughters who come to St. Louis every year the day after Thanksgiving to join the holiday shopping rush. The family trekked north once again this year, but shopping wasn't on the agenda -- except maybe for a concession stand pretzel.

And for his $7 ticket, Naeger said he left the game with priceless memories. In fact, Naeger played in the state championship football game Friday ... if only vicariously.

"All of us who have ever worn the blue and gold uniform got this opportunity to live this moment through these kids, and we enjoyed it every bit of the way," Naeger said.

"That's what it's all about."