HIGH SCHOOL: ST. VINCENT LOOKS TO REMAIN PERFECT

Though they knew it would be a fairly tough road, the senior-led St. Vincent Indians pretty much expected to make it to the state football quarterfinals again.

Westran absolutely did not.

St. Vincent (11-0) and surprising Westran (8-3) will put their seasons on the line tonight in Huntsville, Mo., as the two teams will do battle for the right to advance to the Class 1A semifinals. The game in the north-central part in the state will begin at 7 p.m.

The Westran Hornets were the ultimate underdog going into this season. Coming off an 0-10 season, nobody could've expected a run to the state quarterfinals.

But here is Westran, led by a backfield which features two freshmen. The Hornets stared the year at 3-3 and have won five straight games.

"Yeah, we're definitely surprised," said first-year Westran coach Mike Hunter. "To have two freshmen step up and take us to the playoffs is quite surprising."

Those freshmen are quarterback Richard Messer and fullback Chris Wright.

Wright, a 230-pound load, has gained 1,357 yards this season and is one of two Westran running backs of 200 or more pounds.

Wright is not that quick, but he's been able to move piles this season.

"They're big across the front," said St. Vincent coach Keith Winkler. "They've got a couple kids who go 250-260 pounds up front so we'll be outsized again, but we're kind of used to that. We're going to try to make them run laterally and use our speed. We can't let them use advantage of their size."

Adam Land, a 205-pound tailback, has 570 yards after being moved into the spot midway through the season.

"We just tried to survive the first six games and not throw them to the wolves," Hunter said. "We knew these guys would be playing all along, we just wanted to try to nurture them along."

If St. Vincent has a weakness, it has been its size, something the Indians can't prevent. But St. Vincent, which is looking for its third straight semifinal appearance, makes up for that lack of size up front with quick linemen who pull well and block well down field.

"We've got to try to contain their quickness," Hunter said. "They don't have any weaknesses as far as I can tell. Their quarterback (Jonathan Paulus) is as good as we've seen all year. Their line is good and their backs are quick."

St. Vincent is coming off a 28-0 win over Van-Far, while the Hornets are coming off a 15-14 win over Sweet Springs.