ST. VINCENT EDGES PARK HILLS 22-19

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- St. Vincent quarterback Jonathan Paulus rushed for two touchdowns and threw for a third as the Indians held off Park Hills 22-19 in Friday's season opener.

Paulus, who had 44 yards rushing on five carries and threw for 101 yards on 3-of-8 passing, rushed for both of St. Vincent's first-half touchdowns.

Paulus scored on a 2-yard run at the 7:32 mark of the first quarter and Derek Kutz added the PAT for a 7-0 lead.

Park Hills moved ahead 13-7 with a pair of second-quarter touchdowns. Dominic Conrad completed a 10-yard scoring pass to Ross Asher and Colby Scott scored on a 9-yard run.

Paulus answered with a 39-yard scoring run with 1:39 left in the half and Kutz scored on the two-point conversion for a 15-13 halftime lead.

Paulus hooked up with Adam Bockman on a 35-yard scoring pass with 26 seconds left in the third quarter and Kutz added the PAT for a 22-13 Indian lead.

Park Hills closed the scoring on a 19-yard pass from Conrad to Gabe Nicholson with 6:42 remaining.

Bockman finished with 44 yards on nine carries as St. Vincent mounted 134 yards rushing on the night.

Fredericktown 49, Crystal City 18

FREDERICKTOWN, Mo. -- Senior running back Clay Hendrix rushed for two touchdowns and 128 yards as the Fredericktown Blackcats opened their 2000 football campaign with a convincing victory over Crystal City.

Hendrix carried just seven times on the game as Fredericktown moved the ball at will in the first half. Hendrix scored the game's first points when he scored on a 52-yard run on Fredericktown's second possession of the game. The Blackcats added two more scores in the period for a 23-0 lead.

Fredericktown added three more touchdowns in the second quarter for a 43-6 halftime lead.

Chris Wood completed two of his three passes for 28 yards, including a 12-yard scoring strike to Dusty Merrill.

John Page and Cody Harper turned in interceptions and Steve Delaney had a team-leading six tackles.

VOLLEYBALL

Zalma wins tournament

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Zalma pulled away from Leopold in the third set to defeat the Lady Wildcats in the championship match of the Woodland Tournament.

Zalma won the opener 15-7, dropped the second set 8-15 and then won the third set 15-12.

Carrie Pixley led the way for Zalma with 14 kills. Amber Buehler added nine kills, two blocks and 17 service points, including two aces. Selena Slaughter dished out 28 assists and had five service points.

"I didn't know if we could pull it out," said Zalma coach Shannon Garner. "It was back and forth. We were lucky and rotated their big hitter to the back and were able to move out ahead."

Zalma improved to 4-0-1 on the season.

For Leopold, Holly Jansen had 14 kills and nine aces; Kyla Horrell had six kills and three aces; Jessica Bollinger had five kills; Laura Jansen dished out 14 assists; and Wendy Vandeven recorded 11 assists.

Notre Dame defeated Bell City in the third-place match.

BOYS SOCCER

Notre Dame Soccerfest

Cape Central and host Notre Dame reached the championship game of the Notre Dame Soccerfest Friday with semifinal victories.

Cape Central blanked Carbondale, Ill., 2-0, while defending champion Notre Dame posted a 4-1 victory over Poplar Bluff.

In loser's bracket action, Sikeston defeated Hillsboro 2-0 and Jackson breezed past Farmington 11-1.

Cape Central improved to 3-0 with its third shutout by goaltender Trevor Blattner. John Frank and Jon Mark Thompson supplied the offense. Frank was credited with a goal at the 28-minute mark when his long kick toward the Carbondale goal was headed by a Terrier into his own net. Thompson scored an insurance goal at the 59-minute mark on a penalty kick.

Tyler Cuba scored a pair of goals in Notre Dame's victory while Scott Wittenborn and Timmy Wencewicz tallied single goals. Notre Dame improved to 2-0.

Wittenborn opened the scoring two minutes into the game off a pass from Matt Pobst. Tyler Cuba upped the lead to 2-0 on a penalty kick at the close of the first half. Wencewicz used some nifty moves to record an unassisted goal at the 42-minute mark and Cuba deposited a pass from Tyler Arnzen at the 58-minute mark.

Action today will begin at 10 a.m. The championship game is set for 2 p.m.

SOFTBALL

Notre Dame Softballfest

Host Notre Dame moved into the championship game of its own softballfest by beating Park Hills 7-5 in semifinal action Friday.

In the other semifinal, St. Pius rolled past St. Vincent 11-1.

For Notre Dame (4-3), Mika Williamson pitched all seven innings, allowing just four hits. She also had three hits while Ashley Reinagel added two.

Earlier Friday, St. Vincent completed the first round with a 7-4 win over Ste. Genevieve behind the pitching of Julie Hager.

Today's action will begin at 9 a.m., with the finals set for 4:30 p.m.