St. Vincent knocks off Hayti in district title showdown

~ The Indians won 24-13at home to clinch their eighth district titlein 11 seasons.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- St. Vincent recovered a fumble deep in Hayti territory on the opening play of the game and did not look back in clinching the Class 1 District 2 football title Thursday with a 24-13 win at home.

Hayti entered the game ranked No. 7 in Class 1 and sporting a 7-2 record.

The fumbled snap from center on the first play from scrimmage seemed to knock the life out of the visiting Indians, and gave St. Vincent all the momentum it would need.

Senior running back Greg Finger completed the short drive with a 1-yard run to give St. Vincent a 7-0 lead less than 3 minutes into the game.

"That was a good way to start a ballgame," St. Vincent coach Keith Winkler said. "We got a little momentum and stuck it in."

With an early lead in its pocket, St. Vincent's defense took charge. On Hayti's first several drives, St. Vincent kept Hayti from gaining much of anything on the ground.

Once St. Vincent (6-4) was able to force Hayti to punt, good field position followed. Hayti averaged less than 30 yards a punt, and St. Vincent took advantage of its field position.

On its third offensive drive, this one starting at Hayti's 48, Finger again found the end zone. Finger broke several tackles to turn what could have been a negative play into a 41-yard touchdown run. The extra point led to a 14-0 lead after one quarter.

The 41-yard run was one of two Finger runs which covered more than 40 yards. Finger added a 55-yard run in the second half, and finished with 174 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 27 carries.

"He had some big plays," Winkler said, "but you have to look at some of the blocks of [running backs] Lucas Robinson and Chris Fischer. He got some good cutback lanes and hit them well."

Hayti edged within 14-6 on a 1-yard score from William Norris early in the second quarter.

St. Vincent continued to put pressure on Hayti in the opening half, but Robinson missed wide left on a pair of 39-yard field goals, and the score remained 14-6 at intermission.

St. Vincent's first drive of the second half stalled, forcing a put near midfield. Sophomore punter Justin L'Hote fumbled the snap, but recovered and ended up turning what could have been a disastrous play into a great one by hemming Hayti down on the 3-yard line with his punt.

"That looked like it'd be bad news for us, then all the sudden Justin he made a good play and got the ball out of there," Winkler said.

Hayti nearly surrendered a safety as St. Vincent's defense pushed Hayti back on three carries. The Hayti punt gave St. Vincent the ball at Hayti's 25, and Robinson converted the good field position into points with a 25-yard field goal for a 17-6 lead.

Finger put the game out of reach midway through the fourth with a 1-yard run. St. Vincent took more than 5 minutes off the clock with the scoring drive, which started after Hayti failed to convert on a fourth-and-2 on the first play of the final period.

"The boys came out and played their hearts out," Winkler said. "They knew this could be their last game on this field, those six seniors, and didn't want to let that happen."

St. Vincent hosts a Class 1 sectional game on Wednesday night.

The opponent will be decided tonight when Brentwood hosts Valle, a team St. Vincent defeated 13-12 in conference play earlier this season.