St. Vincent’s basketball season begins as football ends

St. Vincent saw its magical football season end in a 38-7 loss to Marionville in the Class 1 state semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 26, in Marionville, Mo.

It’s a sad way to end a great football season that ended with the Indians’ first district championship since 2009. However, for 10 players on the football team, there is no time for tears.

One day separates the end of the football season and the beginning of the basketball season, as the Indians travel north on I55 for the week-long Crystal City Tournament, starting with a matchup against Herculaneum on Monday, Nov. 27.

St. Vincent went 16-12 last season, which ended in a loss to Principa in the Class 2 District 4 championship game. The Indians were led by the senior trio of Blake Monier, Grant Abernathy, and Simon Unterreiner.

With them moving on, the Indians will lean on senior Jacob Schremp to switch his football cleats for basketball shoes. Schremp, who played tight end on the gridiron, caught a receiving touchdown in his final football game.

St. Vincent tight end Jacob Schremp leaps in the air in celebration of a touchdown with Clayton Gremaud against Crystal City in the Class 1 District 2 championship game on Friday, Nov. 17, at St. Vincent High School in Perryville, Mo. Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

He and fellow senior Payton Strattman averaged five points per game in limited offensive opportunities last year but this season is their chance.

"They're our two seniors and they've played a lot of varsity ball for us last year, and they are going to be our leaders," St. Vincent head coach Bruce Valleroy said back in June during the Chaffee Varsity Summer Shootout. "We expect great things out of those guys on and off the court."

Juniors Eli Abernathy will see an extra presence in the backcourt, while Boston Tarrillion, a lineman in football, will be counted on to crash the boards and grab rebounds.

Max Wheeler and Wyatt Winkler are two young players who are likely to see plenty of varsity time on the court immediately after playing football. Wheeler, a sophomore, saw playing time early as a starter last year.

The gridiron reinforcements fill the basketball team’s 13-man roster just in time. Just as it was during the summer, Valleroy is likely to remain with his "We play everybody" mantra this season.

"We're going to be very young and a little inexperienced varsity-wise because we lost a lot of seniors from last year," Valleroy said. "So we'll probably end up starting two seniors, one junior, and two sophomores with a freshman coming off the bench. So we'll be a little young for the first time in a long time."

St. Vincent�s Payton Strattman during the Chaffee Summer Shootout in June 6 in Chaffee, Mo. Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

St. Vincent will host Oak Ridge for its first home game of the season on Dec. 8. After road games at Chaffee (Dec. 12) and Scott City (Dec. 15), the Indians will return to Perryville to take part in the Border War games on Dec. at the Perry Park Center.

After that, only the Valle Catholic Tournament (Dec. 27-29) wedges between a stretch of six straight home games, an important time to truly establish the direction of their season.

St. Vincent would then finish the season with six of their final nine games on the road, including the rivalry game against Perryville on Jan. 27.

Principa has moved on to another district, but St. Vincent will still contend with Crystal City for the crown in Class 2 District 4 this season. It is a favorable field for the Indians, who are the only team in the district to have a winning record last year.