St. Vincent football team steamrolls Missouri Military 47-0

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- St. Vincent junior Taylor Sauer scored a touchdown and played some quarterback Friday.

Neither was expected.

He even was forced to change jerseys at halftime.

That's what happens when you go from being the center to under center.

Sauer scooped up a fumble and returned it 16 yards for a defensive score in the first quarter then was called on to switch from center to quarterback after starting signal caller Tim Schumer was injured late in the first half.

St. Vincent running back Ryan Weissing(22) gets taken down Friday, September 10, 2010 during their home game against Missouri Military. (Laura Simon)

The wackiness did little to slow down the host Indians, who rolled over the Missouri Military Academy 47-0.

The Indians needed Sauer's touchdown after two offensive drives that started in MMA's territory proved fruitless.

MMA quarterback Trent Wisnett ran to his left and tried to pitch to his running back while getting tackled. The wild pitch ended up on the ground, and Sauer picked it up and raced untouched for the score.

"I just saw option coming and chucked the end," Sauer said. "They fumbled the pitch and Derek Joggerst tackled the guy who was supposed to get it. I just picked it up and took it to the house."

It was the second consecutive MMA drive that ended with Wisnett frantically trying to pitch while getting tackled only to see the Indians recover the loose football. Joggerst recovered the first one.

St. Vincent's Taylor Sauer(57) hands off the ball to teammate Tim Schummer(5) Friday, September 10, 2010 during their home game against Missouri Military. (Laura Simon)

"In our eyes, it shows he wants to get rid of the ball more," St. Vincent senior linebacker Josh Welker said. "Scared to get hit. It definitely makes us more aggressive."

The offense kicked into gear after Sauer's touchdown. St. Vincent scored on its next three possessions. The final possession proved costly for St. Vincent.

Schumer called his own number on fourth-and-3 from the MMA 38-yard line. He faked a handoff then took off. He raced past the defense and into the right corner of the end zone. But he was hit just after crossing the goal line and stayed down. He was helped off the field and didn't return.

"He got his knee dinged up so we'll have to take it day by day and see how bad it is," St. Vincent coach Paul Sauer said.

Schumer was on crutches after the game.

St. Vincent's Ryan Weissing maneuvers past Missouri Military defender Travis Skinner during Friday's game.

Taylor Sauer switched jerseys, from No. 57 to No. 20, for the second half and took over at quarterback.

"I played a little bit last year on JV, but those [Friday] were the first snaps of the season," Sauer said. "I hated to do it because I hate to see Tim go down like that."

Sauer only attempted two passes, one for a score, but the Indians' ground game continued to enjoy success. St. Vincent scored a pair of rushing touchdowns in the second half.

Those scores were icing on the cake because Taylor Sauer's defensive touchdown in the first quarter was more than enough with St. Vincent's stout defense. The Indians limited the Colonels to 121 yards total, and 52 of those yards came on MMA's final drive when most of St. Vincent's starters were watching from the sideline.

"Just bringing a lot of people hard off the edge," Taylor Sauer said. "They weren't picking us up very well and got them out of sync."

St. Vincent defenders Lucas Carroll (64) and Mitchell Presnell tackle Missouri Military's Derek Kantorski during their game Friday in Perryville, Mo.

St. Vincent rolled the dice on the opening kickoff. It loaded the left side of the field before the kickoff and waited for MMA to adjust. Then Indians kicker Phillip Ernst pooched a soft kick to the right, where Joggerst chased it until it went 10 yards and recovered it before it went out of bounds.

"We had a plan B if they didn't shift over," coach Sauer said. "We wanted to see if they would move over and we could do that. We were patient enough for them to move over and it worked."

It was just the beginning of a busy night for Joggerst. He also recovered a fumble on defense and scored two rushing touchdowns.

While Joggerst accounted for two scoring runs, it was Mitchell Presnell who handled the bulk of the carries for St. Vincent. The senior finished with 95 yards on 13 rushes.

Senior Adam Winkler also scored a touchdown, a 10-yard reception from Sauer, to cap an emotional night after his uncle and St. Vincent assistant coach Dave Winkler died Thursday.

"We were all playing the game for Adam and his brother [freshman Alex Winkler]," Welker said.

Mo. Military 0 0 0 0 -- 0

St. Vincent 7 21 13 6 -- 47

First Quarter

S -- Taylor Sauer 16 fumble recovery (Phillip Ernst kick), 2:33

Second Quarter

S -- Ryan Weissing 1 run (Ernst kick), 9:36

S -- Derek Joggerst 1 run (Ernst kick), 6:37

S -- Tim Schumer 38 run (Ernst kick), 2:43

Third Quarter

S -- Adam Winkler 10 pass from Sauer (Ernst kick), 7:12

S -- Joggerst 6 run (kick failed), 1:28

Fourth Quarter

S -- Dylan Richardet 8 run (kick blocked), 5:10

MMA St. V

First downs 9 12

Rushes-yards 22-57 35-289

Passing yards 64 31

Passes 4-19-2 4-10-0

Punts 4-32.8 0-0

Fumbles-lost 4-2 1-0

Penalties-yards 13-106 11-112

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Missouri Military Academy, Derek Kantorski 15-26, Trent Wisnett 5-20, Samuel Udeh 2-11. St. Vincent, Tim Schumer 4-61, Mitchell Presnell 13-95, Ryan Weissing 6-55, Adam Winkler 1-5, Derek Joggerst 3-12, Taylor Sauer 4-8, Dylan Richardet 3-43, Justin Gibbar 1-10.

PASSING -- Missouri Military Academy, Trent Wisnett 3-15-49-1, Alex Belton 1-4-15-1. St. Vincent, Tim Schumer 3-8-21-0, Taylor Sauer 1-2-10-0.

RECEIVING -- Missouri Military Academy, Scott Timpe 1-(-8), Trent Wisnett 1-15, JoJo Allard 2-42. St. Vincent, Derek Joggerst 1-9, Nathan Comte 2-12, Adam Winkler 1-10.