John Schwartz emerging as St. Vincent's secret weapon

St. Vincent is known for having one of the Southeast Missouri area's leading passers and leading tacklers, but now there's a third star emerging.

Junior defensive back John Schwartz is leading the area with three interceptions after picking off the opposing quarterback twice. He also caught two touchdowns in the Indians' 40-0 win over Herculaneum last week. He was only a cornerback last year, but now is emerging as a secret weapon on offense.

"On both sides of the ball, John Schwartz really stood out," St. Vincent head coach Tim Schumer said. "He had a really good game defensively, and then offensively he made some catches and scored a couple of times. He's been one of those guys who's getting to see some more playing time on the offensive side of the ball. It's really starting to pay off all the experience the first couple weeks and he's really making good strides on that side of the ball."

As one of eight area receivers to amass 200 yards through the first four games of the season, Schwartz provides Christian Schaaf with another weapon.

The senior quarterback threw for 280 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. After struggling through the first two games of the season, Schaaf now leads the area in passing touchdowns with nine. He has a 6:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio and over 500 yards passing over the Indians' past two wins.

"He's progressed and he's getting better," Schumer said. "He's done a phenomenal job with taking care of the football."

There is a stark difference between how the Indians started the series and where they are now. Led by senior linebacker Drake Robinson and Schwartz, St. Vincent's defense entered Friday's matchup against Valle Catholic allowing 11 points per game, which is better than they've been over the past decade. The Indians held the Blackcats to only 45 yards of total offense and Robinson scored a touchdown after picking up a fumble.

St. Vincent is 2-0 in the I55 Conference and is no longer tied to Valle Catholic, who have dominated Class 2 and had the Indians' number for 17 years. However, Schumer keeps the Warriors on the Indians' schedule as a way to test their potential.

"It's a tough, good game against a very well-run program that we kind of use as a measuring stick to see where we are at in terms of how far we want to be able to go with this team," Schumer said.