ST. VINCENT FINDS 21-19 WIN JUST DIVINE

In a football game played between two parochial high schools, it was only fitting the contest would have a miraculous finish with a "Hail Mary" pass providing the deciding points.

That was the case Friday night in Festus, when St. Vincent of Perryville beat St. Pius 21-19 in a Jefferson County small school division contest.

"It was a miracle," said exhausted St. Vincent coach Paul Sauer. "Both teams played really hard and we got a couple of breaks. The fans got their money's worth."

The JeffCo battle came down to the final seconds, with the outcome finally being decided when an attempted 42-yard field goal by St. Pius fell precariously short.

"It was a half-yard short and right down the pipe," said Sauer.

St. Pius had actually moved the ball down to the St. Vincent 19-yard-line, but two incompletions and a quarterback sack moved the ball back to the 27 where the Lancers were forced to try the field goal with less than 10 seconds left.

"Thank God we sacked them," Sauer said. "Their kicker didn't take the normal seven-yard drop. He was probably back about five yards, but he got the ball up quick."

St. Vincent appeared to have "A Higher Power" on its side for most of the game. The Indians took a 21-13 lead just before the half when quarterback Joey Ponder hooked up with Nick Janet on a 48-yard desperation pass.

"We threw the Hail Mary and our prayers were answered," Sauer said. "Dustin Moll tipped the pass in a crowd of people and Nick Janet caught it at the 15 and ran it in."

St. Pius also missed two extra point attempts that proved costly. The Lancers missed a PAT kick in the first half and failed to tie the game on a two-point conversion midway through the fourth quarter that provided the final score.

The victory puts St. Vincent in the drivers seat for another second-place finish in the JeffCo small division behind Herculaneum (6-0). The Indians improved to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the league. St. Pius fell to 2-4 and 2-1.

Larico on the loose

Charleston running back Larico Coleman ripped off his second five-touchdown performance of the season Friday night in the Blue Jays' 46-22 homecoming victory.

Coleman totalled 210 yards on 15 carries, scoring on runs of 55, 73, 41, 6 and 2 yards. In a 32-30 loss to Sikeston earlier in the year, Coleman erupted for over 300 yards of rushing and five scores.

"He's a special player," said Charleston coach Dan Kesselring. "You can't teach what he can do. There aren't too many teams that can stop him."

Coleman's performance ranks him as the top rusher in the area, despite the fact he's missed the equivalent of two games because of an ejection and one-game suspension the following week. Coleman has rushed for 911 yards and 14 TDs on only 79 carries. He averages 11.5 yards a carry.

Charleston improved to 2-4 overall and completed its SEMO Central Conference schedule at 2-2. Dexter fell to 2-4 and 0-1 in the SEMO Central.

Woe is Chaffee

Not only is Chaffee losing football games, the Red Devils seem to be losing players each week to either injury or illness.

Senior fullback/linebacker Nick Swinford missed his second game of the season after getting severely ill Thursday night. Chaffee lost to East Prairie on the road Friday 13-0, dropping the Red Devils record to 1-5 overall (1-3 SEMO South). East Prairie improved to 3-3 (2-0 SEMO South).

"Nick had to go to the emergency room Friday and didn't make the trip," said Chaffee coach Brian Horrell, indicating it may have been food poisoning. "He's a key player for us, but the kids stepped up and played hard."

Tommy Stidham led the Chaffee offense with 79 rushing yards. Matt Graham threw for 59 yards.

The Red Devils, with no game scheduled this week, will have an extra week to get healthy before districts begin. The Red Devils play state-ranked Valle of Ste. Genevieve Oct. 24.

All-District softball

The Cape Central Lady Tigers and Jackson Lady Indians had several players selected to the Class 4A, District 1 All-District softball team.

For the Lady Tigers, Amy Harris, Ashlie Voerg and Amber Voerg were named to the first team. Caroline Harper and Melissa Palmer were named to the first team for Jackson.

For a complete list of the all-district team, see Scoreboard.

Some information provided from the Southeast Missourian News Network.