Crystal City football team rallies past St. Vincent in second half

CRYSTAL CITY, Mo. -- St. Vincent's offense looked crisp in the first half, with yards coming on the ground and through the air.

But a pair of key injuries helped derail the Indians, and Crystal City pounced on the opportunity.

The Hornets ran for 198 yards and four touchdowns after halftime in their 26-16 victory Thursday night.

"We just stepped it up," Crystal City senior running back Stacey Thornton said. "Everyone was playing slow. Our line did very well in the second half."

St. Vincent's Sean Martin played a crucial role in the Indians jumping out to a 16-0 lead at halftime. He caught a 55-yard touchdown pass from Tim Schumer early in the first quarter and intercepted two passes on defense. But Martin was crushed by a Hornets defender while going over the middle for a pass late in the second quarter.

St. Vincent's Alex Winkler reacts after sacking Crystal City quarterback Cole Cherry.

Martin, who also serves as the Indians' place-kicker, only saw action on one more play Thursday. He kicked a 22-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.

"He means a lot to us," St. Vincent coach Paul Sauer said. "He's a heck of a player for us. We've got to be able to have someone step up and fill those shoes, and those are some mighty big shoes to fill."

Martin was forced to watch the remainder of the game from a bench on the sideline.

"He was playing great," Schumer said. "It was huge. Not only on offense because he's a threat receiving the ball, but also on defense because he controls the middle of the field. He plays center field, comes up and tackles the ball carriers. He's a hell of a safety, and that was a big loss."

Martin got some company on the bench when St. Vincent starting running back Derek Joggerst went down with an injury to his left leg.

Crystal City quarterback Cole Cherry is sacked by St. Vincent's Alex Winkler, center, and Lucas Carroll during the first quarter Thursday in Crystal City, Mo. (Fred Lynch)

"We ended up with some guys being knocked out of the game," Sauer said. "It was tough to replace some of them. That's kind of high school football."

Martin and Joggerst both are two-way players, which weakened the Indians' defense. St. Vincent created three turnovers in the first half, which helped it build its lead.

Schumer's second touchdown pass, this one a 7-yarder to Taylor Sauer, gave the Indians a 13-0 lead with 3 minutes, 37 seconds left in the first half.

The Indians forced the Hornets to punt, and proceeded to march down the field using four runs and four passes to get to the Crystal City 5-yard line. Schumer hurried to the line and spiked the ball with less than 3 seconds on the clock. Martin came on and kicked the field goal for the 16-0 halftime lead.

But the Hornets started exploiting the Indians' shorthanded defense from the beginning of the second half.

"It was a tale of two halves," said Schumer, who was forced to play safety on defense because of injuries. "We were a completely different team the second half. We have to come out and be the team we were the first half every play."

Crystal City marched 73 yards on 12 plays for a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half. The Hornets proceeded to find the end zone on their next three possessions.

Thornton led the way for Crystal City. The shifty running back, who stopped and started at will to make defenders miss, rushed for 133 yards and three scores after halftime. He only gained 14 yards on six carries in the first half.

"I knew if our line went out and hit people, I was going to get yards," he said. "I give all the credit to the line."

The Indians' offense, which looked in rhythm for most of the first half, struggled in the second half. Schumer went 12 of 27 for 85 yards in the second half. He finished 23 of 47 for 245 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.

"We just tightened up," said Thornton, who also plays in the Hornets' secondary. "Everyone played their role. In the beginning, we were all arguing and stuff, not playing together. At halftime, coach just said play together and we'll win, and that's what we did."

The Indians only gained 121 yards on the ground, which is something Sauer said must change for the Indians to be successful.

"We struggled running the football at times, and that gets us into some bad situations," he said. "Until we find ways to run the football and be more balanced, we're going to continue to struggle."

Sophomore Alex Winkler replaced Joggerst in the backfield and finished with 21 yards on six carries.

"I'm comfortable with it," Winkler said. "I come in when they need me. I'm kind of the replacement for [Joggerst].

"They were just hitting hard. They were getting in there and their defense was fired up. They were just coming out and hitting everyone."

Schumer led the Indians' rushing attack with 16 carries for 79 yards. He ran nine times in the second half after his coaches pointed out a weakness in the Hornets' defense.

"They played us man-to-man and had two high safeties, so they had us covered pretty well," Schumer said. "At halftime, the people up in the box said that when I dropped back, they just fly out, so the middle was wide open. So I just started taking advantage of the opening in the middle."

The Indians, who dropped to 3-3, will return to action Tuesday when they host Grandview.

St. Vincent 7 9 0 0 -- 16

Crystal City 0 0 19 7 -- 26

First Quarter

S -- Sean Martin 55 pass from Tim Schumer (Martin kick), 9:46

Second Quarter

S -- Taylor Sauer 7 pass from Schumer (kick blocked), 3:37

S -- Martin 22 FG, 0:00

Third Quarter

CC -- Michael Bohnert 1 run (pass failed), 6:50

CC -- Stacey Thornton 17 run (kick failed), 4:19

CC -- Thornton 3 run (Ben Linderer kick), :10

Fourth Quarter

CC -- Thornton 59 run (Linderer kick), 6:24

S CC

First downs 25 14

Rushes-yards 33-121 38-243

Passing yards 245 80

Passes 23-47-3 6-11-2

Punts 2-70 2-89

Fumbles-lost 2-0 2-2

Penalties-yards 4-30 6-45

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- St. Vincent, Derek Joggerst 8-41, Tim Schumer 16-79, Alex Winkler 6-21, Sean Martin 1-(-21), Jesse Francis 1-(-6), Levi Gotto 1-7. Crystal City, Stacey Thornton 17-147, Michael Bohnert 11-58, Cole Cherry 3-(-12), Logan Loesch 1-6, Nic Rothweiler 4-48, Team 2-(-4).

PASSING -- St. Vincent, Tim Schumer 23-47-245-3. Crystal City, Cole Cherry 3-7-35-2, Nic Rothweiler 3-4-45-0.

RECEIVING -- St. Vincent, Jesse Francis 6-51, Sean Martin 2-83, Trent Elder 6-50, Taylor Sauer 4-22, Trenton Gremaud 1-16, Alex Winkler 3-18. Crystal City, Stacey Thornton 2-15, Colby McCreary 2-32, Austin Helwig 1-11, Austin Shockley 1-22.