Slow start hurts St. Vincent football team in loss to Grandview

HILLSBORO, Mo. -- Rotten starts have spoiled St. Vincent's hopes through the first seven games of the football season.

The Indians have been outscored 73-7 in the opening quarter this season. They gave up one touchdown in the opening 12 minutes and never regrouped Tuesday, falling at former doormat Grandview 33-7.

"We've been preaching to these kids to come ready to play, and it seems like it takes us to play the whole first half before we get a lot of enthusiasm and energy and wanting to play," St. Vincent coach Paul Sauer said. "You just can't dig yourself out of those holes. Tonight's another example of it."

The Indians struggled to move the ball against the Eagles, especially in the first half. St. Vincent only gained 34 yards in the first half and actually lost 14 yards rushing on 18 carries before halftime.

St. Vincent switched quarterbacks at halftime, going with Taylor Sauer instead of Trent Elder, who started.

St. Vincent quarterback Trent Elder is pulled down by Grandview's Brady Reed during the first quarter Tuesday at Grandview High School in Hillsboro, Mo. Grandview won 33-7. (Kristin Eberts)

"The doctor checked on Trent and said he was really tender there in the shoulder and we didn't want to risk further injury to him, so we went ahead to Taylor," coach Sauer said.

The Indians' passing attack experienced some success, with Sauer connecting with receivers Ryan Boxdorfer and Adam Winkler.

"We just realized that we were letting them beat us," Boxdorfer said. "We were just giving it to them. We decided we needed to want it more."

Sauer found Winkler over the middle for a 28-yard scoring strike to cut the Indians' deficit to 21-7.

"I think it was mostly our line helping our quarterback out and giving him more time to see what was open," Winkler said about the second-half success passing the ball.

St. Vincent's Philip Ernst tries to intercept a pass intended for Grandview's Nick Robinson during the second quarter. The pass was incomplete.

The Indians' defense helped the cause by recovering a pair of Grandview fumbles in the third quarter. Winkler's touchdown reception came after the second fumble recovery.

"I honestly thought we were going to make a comeback," Boxdorfer said.

St. Vincent forced Grandview to punt late in the third quarter, and Sauer connected on four passes to help move his team to the Grandview 31-yard line trailing 21-7. But Derek Joggerst was thrown down for a 7-yard loss on fourth-and-1, and Grandview needed just three plays to score and push its lead to a comfortable 27-7.

"We didn't really feel pressured," Grandview senior back Robby Allen said. "We knew what we had to do, and we came out and did it."

The Eagles added another touchdown, a 5-yard run by Allen, to seal St. Vincent's fate. Allen finished with 142 yards on 16 carries.

St. Vincent's Adam Winkler is tackled by Grandview's Andrew Holland as the Indians' Taylor Sauer looks on during the first quarter. Grandview won 33-7.

"Our line did really good today," he said. "They were making a lot of holes. We have some young running backs and who stepped up and played good tonight."

The Indians fell to 2-5 but now have a long break before opening district play Oct. 15 at home against Chaffee.

"I always preach the districts are the playoffs," coach Sauer said. "We've got to get things figured out and get this ship righted for Chaffee. At this point in time, I'd rather have the 11 days than have to play this Saturday."

Winkler said the Indians must change their attitude in practice if they want to experience success in district play.

"We seemed a little dead in practice," he said. "You practice how you play. If you're dead on the practice field, you're going to be dead on the game field. Something needs to change. We need something to fight for."

St. Vincent 0 0 7 0 -- 7

Grandview 7 14 0 12 -- 33

First Quarter

G -- Christian Murphy 5 run (Dylan Villmer kick), 1:29

Second Quarter

G -- Curtis Kellar 14 run (Villmer kick), 10:13

G -- Nick Robinson 27 pass fromKellar (Villmer kick), :57

Third Quarter

S -- Adam Winkler 28 pass from Taylor Sauer (Sean Martin kick), 7:08

Fourth Quarter

G -- Kyle Ramsey 7 run (run failed), 10:11

G -- Robby Allen 5 run (kick failed), 2:16

S G

First downs 14 18

Rushes-yards 34-23 41-314

Passing yards 139 83

Passes 14-25-2 3-7-0

Punts 3-44 3-29

Fumbles-lost 3-1 3-2

Penalties-yards 3-14 9-89

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- St. Vincent, Derek Joggerst 12-43, Mitchell Presnell 5-2, Trent Elder 3-(-21), Lucas Janet 2-1, Adam Winkler 1-8, Sean Martin 1-(-22), Ryan Weissing 1-1, Taylor Sauer 5-(-3), Alex Winkler 3-15, Cole Sauer 1-(-1). Grandview, Andrew Holland 6-50, Curtis Kellar 9-22, Robby Allen 16-142, Christian Murphy 3-18, Josh Stout 3-4, Ryan Murray 1-16, Kyle Ramsey 3-62.

PASSING -- St. Vincent, Trent Elder 4-8-48-1, Taylor Sauer 10-17-91-1. Grandview, Curtis Kellar 3-7-83-0.

RECEIVING -- St. Vincent, Adam Winkler 8-64, Ryan Boxdorfer 6-63. Grandview, Macklin Parks 2-56, Nick Robinson 1-27.