HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: ST. VINCENT RETURNS TO 1A SEMIFINALS

HUNTSVILLE, Mo. -- The St. Vincent Indians rolled to a 24-0 halftime lead and earned their third straight trip to the Class 1A semifinals Monday night with a 31-8 victory over Westran.

St. Vincent improved to 12-0 on the season and will play its first home game of the playoffs on Saturday when Adrian visits Perryville. Adrian, which lost to St. Vincent in the 1998 semifinals, defeated Pierce City 28-0 on Monday.

Against Westran (8-4), St. Vincent used big plays on both offense and defense, forcing three turnovers and scoring on two plays that covered over 50 yards.

"Field position played a big key tonight," said St. Vincent coach Keith Winkler. "We had some big defensive plays."

The Indians opened the scoring on their second possession of the game as quarterback Jonathan Paulus hooked up with Ryan Brown for a 71-yard touchdown pass. Derek Kutz added the extra point, as he did after all four touchdowns, for a 7-0 lead with 2:42 left in the first quarter.

Westran's following possession ended with a bad snap to the punter, ultimately resulting in a 3-yard scoring run by Adam Bockman at the 10:21 mark of the second quarter.

Two possessions later, Mark Gotto added another 3-yard touchdown run for a 21-0 lead. Gotto finished the night with 105 yards rushing on 15 carries.

Kutz capped the first-half scoring with a 46-yard field goal with 2:13 remaining.

Westran avoided the shutout on a 2-yard run by Chris Wright with 3:50 left in the fourth quarter. Adam Land ran in the two-point conversion to cut the lead to 24-8.

St. Vincent recovered the ensuing on-side kick and Gotto iced the game on a 53-yard touchdown run.