ST. VINCENT'S LARGE ROSTER IS A RESULT OF TEAM'S SUCCESS

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- It's a chicken-and-egg type of thing.

Which came first, St. Vincent's big success or St. Vincent's big numbers?

Either way, the percentage of students who play football for the Indians is nothing short of astonishing.

There are between 92 and 95 boys enrolled at St. Vincent High School.

There are 71 players listed on the Indians' roster.

Granted, that includes freshmen players, but it is well above 70 percent of the student body. That is by far more than any other school in the region and likely the highest percentage in the state. Most schools in Class 1A have a roster of half St. Vincent's size.

"The success of the team has a lot to do with it," said senior receiver Ryan Brown. "When a team has success, everyone wants to be a part of it."

But the numbers have been up for a while now, even before the team advanced to the state final game in 1998. Brown, in his fourth year, hasn't been part of a team with less than 60 players.

St. Vincent athletic director Bruce Valleroy points to the school's changing from the Mineral Area Activities Association to the Jefferson County Conference in 1994 as a turning point in the program.

Before that time, St. Vincent was taking on one 4A school after another and, as a result, didn't win many games. Now, although the Indians still play several larger schools, their schedule is one which allows them to compete on a more consistent basis. With the talent the team has had in the past three years, St. Vincent has won an overwhelming number of its regular-season games. The Indians are 24-3 over the last two seasons. In the postseason, it has established itself as a state power in 1A football.

But, says Valleroy, there's more to the recent surge in numbers than a different conference.

"Our school is like a family," said Valleroy. "Everyone gets along real well freshmen and seniors get along and are friends. So if one guy plays football, they all want to be a part of it."

Valleroy's family theory was supported by a couple players after the jamboree last Friday night.

When answering a reporter's questions, Brown and St. Vincent quarterback Jonathan Paulus would finish each other's sentences.

"Yeah, we spend a lot of time together," Paulus said.

Paulus and Brown agreed that having such huge numbers is definitely an advantage.

"There's always someone there to step in," said Paulus. "If you have 70 guys, there's going to be some good players there."

First-year coach Keith Winkler, who was a St. Vincent assistant coach back in 1989 when there were 38-40 players on the roster, says there's additional advantages to the large roster other than more available backup players.

"You can run three programs, a varsity, JV and freshman team," said Winkler. "We don't have seventh- and eighth-grade programs, and before, we were throwing freshmen out there on the varsity. Now, they have time to mature and adjust to the change of speed in varsity football. That makes a big difference."

ST. VINCENT

Mascot: Indians

Enrollment: 184

Coach: Keith Winkler

Conference: Mississippi Area Football Conference

District: Class 1A, District 1

Last year's record: 11-2

Key losses: Josh Robinson, LB; Gabe Hotop, OL; Cory Strattman, WR/DB

Key returners: Derek Kutz, K; Jonathan Paulus, QB; Mark Gotto, RB; Ryan Brown, WR; Nathan Thomas, LB