Rollet plays pivotal role for St. Vincent football team

~ The playoff-bound Indians have received huge catches, kicks from their 6-foot-4 senior

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Kyle Rollet decided he wanted no regrets when he looks back on his senior year at St. Vincent High School.

He's leaving the regretting business to others ... such as opposing teams.

After sitting out football during his junior year, Rollet has returned to the field to make some lasting memories.

Thus far the mental scrapbook includes a highlight reel touchdown reception that overturned a fourth-quarter deficit and propelled the Indians to victory in the second week of district play, then a district-winning field goal in overtime the following week.

Rollet and his teammates hope to add a postseason victory tonight when St. Vincent hosts Paris in the first round of the Class 1 playoffs.

"I thought it would be the last year I'd ever get to play football, that I'd ever get a chance to play it, and I kind of enjoy it," Rollet said of his decision to play his senior year. "I wanted to go out and have fun with my classmates and do something I like."

Rollet averages 22.5 yards a reception and has eight touchdown catches. He is among four players returning for their senior year after taking time off, including starting fullback Alex Hunt and lineman Brandon Trapp, who recently was lost for the season due to injury.

But Rollet was the blue-chip offseason recruit by a group of seniors who have played football all four years and wanted to reunite their freshman class of players.

"The whole point of the program is to just get all the kids that we can out, whether they're a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior," senior right guard Clint Brown said. "Every year in the offseason you just kind of have to encourage people, 'Come on out, come on out.'"

The return of coach Paul Sauer, who led the program for five seasons in the 1990s, also intensified the recruiting process.

"When coach came in, he just sat down with us captains and was like 'We've got to get kids out because we're not going to have a chance if we don't get some kids out,'" Brown said. "So we went around and talked to a couple, and we got a lot more out than we did last year."

At 6 foot 4 and 195 pounds, Rollet is a blend of size and athleticism that fares well in most encounters with a ball, no matter the position. He can play guard or center in basketball. He was the Indians' leading scorer and rebounder as a junior and basketball coach Bruce Valleroy said he was the team's best defender. On the baseball diamond, he can pitch, and is adept at infield or outfield. He batted .525 with three home runs as a sophomore and .490 as a junior.

"I tried to encourage him," Brown said. "It's his decision overall, and you can't really force him to make one. But there was a lot of encouragement, and it's not just from me, but from a lot of other people -- just a lot, a lot of encouragement. You see what he does on the basketball court and the baseball field. Man, that kid has got a lot of talent. It's like, 'Kyle, wouldn't you like to be on the football field, too?'"

Love for baseball

Rollet said he sat out last season to begin preparation for his junior year of baseball. He said baseball is his sport of choice, and one he hopes to play in college.

"I wasn't worried about injury," Rollet said of not playing football. "I just wanted to work on my baseball."

While the Indians were putting together a 6-5 season that ended with a first-round exit in the Class 1 playoffs, Rollet was working to improve his quickness with former Southeast Missouri State shortstop Zach Borowiak, who had just finished a season in the Boston Red Sox's minor league system.

"We would just do what he would do to get ready for spring training," Rollet said.

After Sauer was hired as the Indians' coach last spring, Rollet made a decision to play football his senior season. He committed to the decision with workouts with sophomore quarterback Tim Schumer over the summer. The pair not only participated in 7-on-7s with other teammates, but they also set aside an hour once or twice a week to work on routes.

The commitment didn't pay immediate dividends as St. Vincent dropped its first four games. A combination of playing larger schools and injuries to the offensive line had the Indians averaging just 12 points a game during the stretch.

"I knew we had a lot more in us than what we were putting out at the beginning of the season, and we played a couple of tough games -- Park Hills, Maplewood -- that I thought we should have won, but we just didn't put a whole game together," Rollet said. "We had a good quarter, but we never put a whole game together."

St. Vincent's season began to change in Week 5 with its first victory, 27-14 against St. Pius. The offense began to emerge as senior running back C.J. Pavlovsky rumbled for 246 yards and Rollet pulled in two touchdown passes.

It began a stretch where the Indians have won five of six games, including their final four.

"It really started with our line," Rollet said. "Before that we were not getting enough time for Tim to throw the ball."

Besides the injuries and the competition, Sauer saw something else in the early part of the season.

"They missed that year of experience, and early in the year it really showed," Sauer said. "But now with having 10 games behind us, those guys are really playing up to their potential."

Sauer also limited two-way play, which provided for a more rested squad and better communication.

"I think that helped everyone because we could talk off the field about what we were seeing and help us get better against the defense as the game went along," Schumer said.

In a run-oriented offense, Rollet's big games continued after St. Pius. He caught five passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns against Crystal City. He also had 100-yard receiving games against Chaffee and Portageville.

Over the last six weeks of the season, Rollet caught 22 of the 26 completions thrown by Schumer, accounting for 539 of the team's 641 yards of passing. He hauled in seven touchdowns during the stretch.

"He's big and athletic and will go up and get anything I throw up," Schumer said.

Spectacular catch

That was most apparent against Portageville, when the Indians lost three of nine fumbles and trailed 6-2 in the fourth quarter. The box score shows a 21-yard touchdown pass from Schumer to Rollet with 7:07 left in the game, but the play had a tad more to offer in the spine-tingle department.

Schumer lofted a pass down the middle of the field for Rollet, who had a step on the Portageville defenders around the goal line.

St. Vincent senior Justin Eggers, also a teammate of Rollet's in basketball and baseball, is quick to talk about "the catch."

"I was on the sideline and we saw Tim throw it, and it looked like it was way overthrown, but the next you know Kyle tipped it and came down with it, and everyone was like, 'Wow,'" Eggers said.

The catch, which started near the goal line, was not complete until a tumbling Rollet bounced to his feet near the base of the goal post behind the end zone.

"Pretty exhilarating," Rollet said with a smile, as he gave his thoughts on the catch.

The box score also shows Rollet booted through the extra point for a 9-6 lead. St. Vincent went on to a 16-6 victory as it secured a playoff spot.

"You can definitely say the sideline just lit up," Trapp said. "It turned the game around so quickly for us. I think that's where a lot of the energy came from."

He finished the game with a season-high 155 yards receiving on five receptions.

"Some of these catches sometimes are just unbelievable," Trapp said. "How high he jumps and catches them out of the air. It's awesome to watch him play and awesome to watch him be an Indian like he is."

Rollet's roll continued Thursday when he kicked a 21-yard field goal on a muddy field in Hayti, Mo., to secure the district title.

"He's done whatever we've asked him," Sauer said. "Football is probably not his first choice to play, but he's definitely been an asset to the team. And being the athlete that he is, he can help us out in a number of roles."

And with at least one playoff game ahead, basketball can wait. And baseball, too.

It's still football season at St. Vincent.

"I'm really happy," Rollet said of his decision to play. "I think I would have really regretted it if I wouldn't have."