St. Vincent collects first victory vs. Scott City

~ The indians' Alex Winkler piled up 193 yards of offense in the 25-14 win

Alex Winkler did a little bit of everything for the St. Vincent football team Friday night.

And he had plenty of help as the Indians enjoyed their first win of the season, beating host Scott City 25-14.

"It feels awesome," senior offensive/defensive lineman Zack Rollet said. "We stepped it up in the second half and came through."

The Indians, who lost at Sumner 12-8 in their opener, improved to 1-1. The Rams, who were shut out 13-0 at Herculaneum in their debut, fell to 0-2.

ABOVE: Scott City quarterback Braden Cox tries to break free from St. Vincent’s Levi Gotto during the first quarter Friday in Scott City. LEFT: St. Vincent’s Alex Winkler heads upfield to score a touchdown against the Rams during the second quarter. (Fred Lynch)

"I thought we played great," senior tight end/middle linebacker Kevin Mattingly said. "We wanted that game more than anything. We gave everything we got. It feels great."

The Indians, who never trailed, led 12-8 at halftime and put the game away with two touchdowns in a 40-second span with under three minutes left.

"We kind of got off to a slow start, but in the second half I thought our intensity picked up," St. Vincent coach Paul Sauer said. "It's good to get the first win."

Winkler had as much to do with the victory as anybody as he has recovered impressively from the torn ACL he suffered during last season's final game.

"I feel great," said Winkler, a senior tailback/safety.

Winkler rushed for 182 yards on 22 carries and scored two touchdowns, both in the first half when he piled up 159 of his yards on 14 attempts.

"He's a special one," Sauer said.

Winkler scored on a 1-yard run in the final second of the first quarter for a 6-0 St. Vincent lead. The 45-yard touchdown drive was set up when senior Zac Heberlie recovered a fumble.

St. Vincent was backed up at its 3-yard line early in the second quarter after a defensive stand kept Scott City out of the end zone.

Not to worry. With the Indians at the 16, Winkler showed off his speed by breaking off an 84-yard touchdown run to put St. Vincent up 12-0.

"All credit goes to the line. They gave me a big gap to run through," Winkler said. "I can't believe how much progress they've made from last year."

Junior wide receiver Austin Spriggs hauled in a 48-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Braden Cox and senior Zach Carlyle ran in the two-point conversion midway through the second quarter as Scott City pulled within 12-8.

That's the way things stood until the game's final minutes, when Winkler again put his stamp on things after Sauer decided to roll the dice.

St. Vincent faced fourth-and-11 from the Scott City 45-yard line with just over five minutes remaining.

Conventional wisdom called for a punt but Sauer, explaining that his punter Heberlie was cramping and that his snapper had been ejected earlier, decided to go for the first down.

Wise decision.

Sophomore quarterback Joseph Whistler hit Winkler over the middle for a 34-yard completion to the 11.

Whistler scored four plays later on a 1-yard sneak with 2:56 left after Scott City had been called for a personal foul for helmet-to-helmet contact, helping keep the drive alive.

Winkler intercepted a pass on the second play after the kickoff and senior fullback Levi Gotto iced the victory on a 17-yard run with 2:16 left.

"Our offense struggled at times, but when we needed to come through we came through," Rollet said.

Winkler, who like several of his teammates rarely came off the field, didn't look any worse for wear afterward but he said that was misleading.

"I'm definitely worn out," he said with a smile. "But it [the win] definitely makes it worthwhile."

Scott City got the game's final touchdown with 55 seconds to go as Cox hit sophomore Isiah Berry on an 11-yard strike.

"We gave up one late, but our defense has played pretty stout so far this year," Sauer said.

Scott City coach Jim May lamented his extremely young team's mistakes and lack of a running game, which is normally the Rams' staple.

"They had seven in the box and we couldn't run the football against it. If you can't run the ball against seven in the box, you're in trouble," said May, whose squad was held to 97 yards rushing.

The Rams committed three turnovers and eight penalties, including some crucial flags that hindered offensive drives.

"Penalties, turnovers, mistakes, we've got to get that fixed," May said. "We just have to keep working."

While the Indians' offense was solid enough with 313 yards -- 229 on the ground -- and their defense was stout, Sauer also lauded special teams.

Heberlie, who had a sack to halt a Scott City drive that reached St. Vincent's 20-yard line on the first possession of the second half, turned in one of the game's biggest unsung plays.

The Indians were backed up at their 10-yard line early in the fourth quarter as Heberlie came on to punt. Odds were that Scott City would take over in St. Vincent territory with a golden opportunity to go ahead.

But Heberlie boomed a 56-yarder, forcing the Rams to start their possession at their 34-yard line.

"That was huge," Sauer said. "I was really proud of our special teams. Trevor Leible, a sophomore, had a great game on special teams. He made several tackles."

Cox completed 9 of 17 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted twice. Spriggs had two receptions for 110 yards.

Scott City finished with 286 yards of offense, but 65 came on its final drive after St. Vincent had the win in hand.

St. Vincent 6 6 0 13 -- 25

Scott City 0 8 0 6 -- 14

First Quarter

SV -- Alex Winkler 1 run (kick failed), 0.3

Second Quarter

SV -- Winkler 84 run (run failed), 7:36

SC -- Austin Spriggs 48 pass from Braden Cox (Zach Carlyle run), 6:15

Fourth Quarter

SV -- Joseph Whistler 1 run (run failed), 2:56

SV -- Levi Gotto 17 run (Cole Steinbecker kick), 2:16

SC -- Isiah Berry 11 pass from Cox (run failed), 0:55

SV SC

First downs 12 12

Rushes-yards 41-229 34-97

Passing yards 84 189

Passes 5-12-1 9-18-2

Punts 4-38.5 3-36.7

Fumbles-Lost 2-1 2-1

Penalties-Yards 8-75 8-52

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- St. Vincent, Winkler 22-182, Gotto 10-49, Cole Sauer 2-3, Whistler 5-minus 2, team 2-minus 3. Scott City, Gordy Bradley 14-42, Carlyle 7-30, Caleb Sykes 5-18, Cox 6-10, Jake Elders 1-4, team 1-minus 7.

PASSING -- St. Vincent, Whistler 5-12-1-84. Scott City, Cox 9-17-2-189, Carlyle 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING -- St. Vincent, Zac Heberlie 2-22, Winkler 1-34, Kevin Mattingly 1-26, Nathan Carroll 1-2. Scott City, Carlyle 4-51, Spriggs 2-110, Dominic Hooper 2-17, Berry 1-11.