Gridiron: Star studded St. Vincent looking forward to what's next

The success the St. Vincent Indians had in 2022 has the entire program eager to return to the gridiron this fall.

As week one approaches, the Indians continue to grind through the summer in hopes of building off the success from 2022 while also not relying on it.

“I told the group the other day that last year was last year,” St. Vincent head coach Tim Schumer said. “Those guys aren’t coming back even if we might want them to. It’s a new team and even though we have a lot of the same guys we have a lot of new freshmen so we have to shape our own identity year by year.”

Despite having some new faces, Schumer’s expectations haven’t wavered.

“We have high expectations of ourselves,” Schumer said. “Knowing who we have coming back and knowing what we can do with some different things we know we have higher expectations. We want to make sure we go out there and earn it and hit the ground running once the season starts.”

While the focus is on leaving the past in the past, Schumer said doing that can be difficult.

“It’s tough,” Schumer said. “Last year was a lot of fun with winning our first conference championship since 2004. We just want to keep trending in the right direction and working each and every day.”

The 7-3 season for the Indians came to an end last season at the hands of the Charleston Blue Jays.

Schumer said the summer has been spent focusing on not losing their edge as the season progresses.

St. Vincent head coach Tim Schumer talks to his players during a football summer camp. (Photo by Clay Herrell)

“At the beginning of the season we did a very good job in games where we finished them,” Schumer said. “I think late in the season we kind of lost that edge a little bit. Overall, we just want to finish what we started.”

While for some teams the summer has been spent with grueling quarterback battles, Schumer and the Indians have their guy: Christian Schaaf, who is returning for his senior year after an electrifying junior campaign. He threw for over 1,700 yards and 20 touchdowns a season ago to become a finalist for Semoball Offensive Player of the Year.

“Last year is in the past,” Schaaf said. “We had a good team. This year we need to work on doing the right things and really picking each other up because we have a lot of new people coming into new positions.”

Schumer is excited about what he could see from his offense in 2023. The Indians averaged over 30 points per game last season.

“I love the potential,” Schumer said. “We got some guys coming back that got a lot of good experience last year. I just want them all to grow into that role and continue doing what they’re doing.”

Defensively, Schumer expects a lot of the same from a group that allowed just over 23 points per game. Drake Robinson was a 2023 Semoball Award finalist for football defense athlete of the year for his performance leading the team with 119 tackles.

“We have a lot of guys coming back,” Schumer said. “Guys that played some really key roles for us a season ago that are coming back bigger, faster, and stronger.”

The Indians kick off the 2023 season at 7 p.m. on Friday, August 25 when they travel to take on Thayer.

St. Vincent won’t play a home game until week three when the Indians host Perryville at 7 p.m. on Sept. 8 at St. Vincent High School.

__St. Vincent__

__Coach:__ Tim Schumer (Sixth season with team; 30-22 team record; 30-22 career record)

__Last season:__ 7-3, 4-1 I55

__Key returns:__ Drake Robinson, Christian Scaaf, Jacob Schremp

__Key losses:__ Mason Light, Trevor Mooiner, Connor Mc Millan, Kaden Kassel

__Schedule__

Aug. 25 — at Thayer, 7 p.m.

Sept. 1 — at Scott City, 7 p.m.

Sept. 8, — vs. Perryville, 7 p.m.

Sept. 15 — at Herculaneum, 7 p.m.

Sept. 22 — vs. Valle Catholic, 7 p.m.

Sept. 29 — at Bayless, 7 p.m.

Oct. 6 — vs. St. Pius X, 7 p.m.

Oct. 13 — at Grandview, 7 p.m.

Oct. 20 — vs. Jefferson, 7 p.m.