Semoball

St. Vincent offense gets hot early in 28-14 win over Kelly

St. Vincent's John Wibbenmeyer throws the football, against Kelly, on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020, at Lambert Field, in Benton, Mo. (Alex Wallner/Standard Democrat)

BENTON, Mo. — Whatever St. Vincent senior quarterback John Wibbenmeyer wanted to do, he did, against Kelly on Saturday night at Lambert Field, in Benton.

The Indians’ signal-caller made it look easy against the Hawks defense, as he threw for 198 yards on an efficient 14-of-19 passing, in St. Vincent’s 28-14 win.

“He’s been kind of waiting in the wings,” St. Vincent head coach Tim Schumer said. “He had to sit behind a three-year starter, but he’s been a great football player all over the field for us — he plays defense too. He’s probably the smartest kid we have. So, along with the physical attributes, he’s got a great arm and great size; he’s also mentally there. Very excited to see what he can do the rest of the season.”

Controlling the football and getting out to an early lead proved to be the difference for the Indians. They scored on their first three drives of the game and led 21-0 at halftime.

On their opening drive, Wibbenemeyer found Jesse Robinson for a 25-yard score to make it 7-0 with 7:57 remaining.

The offense didn't stop there, though.

After forcing a Kelly (3-1) fumble on the Hawk's first possession, the Indians went back to work to make it a two-score contest.

Wibbenmeyer scored on a two-yard touchdown run, but not before he completed a pass to Robinson for 43 yards down the far sideline, on a critical fourth-down conversion, to set up the touchdown chance.

Then, after another Kelly drive that ended in a fumble recovery for the Indians, the offense picked up right where it left off.

With 10:03 left in the half, Wibbenmeyer found junior Jacob Kapp for a 34-yard touchdown. Kapp caught the ball in double-coverage, secured it, and managed to wind up in the end zone for the third score in as many tries for the guests, as they took a three-score lead heading into the break.

You couldn’t have drawn up a better start to a game, and after a 63-7 loss to Valle Catholic in Week 1, Schumer knew his team needed to start the contest with momentum.

“That’s the game we like to play,” Schumer said. “So, it was good to come out, get the ball rolling early, and then make some plays in the passing game. Very excited that they rose to the challenge and got off to a fast start tonight.”

For the first time this season, Kelly senior running back Evan Urhahn ended the game without 100 yards rushing and at least one touchdown. He finished with 69 yards on 22 carries.

“Evan still ran hard, but when you turn the ball over, that’s a momentum breaker,” Kelly head coach Lance Powers said. “That parts unfortunate, and we need to work on that more in practice — ball security — but nothing is going to change, he’s still going to carry the rock.”

After three quarters, Kelly found the end zone for the first time with 4:15 remaining.

Senior quarterback Bryce Morgan found a streaking Bryce Phelps, who caught an over-the-shoulder pass, for a 43-yard score, which made it 28-7.

Then, after Kelly blocked a St. Vincent punt attempt, the Hawks would score again, after Phelps found the end zone from the goal line to make the final total. However, Morgan highlighted the drive by connecting with junior Ty Powers on a 31-yard play to set up the touchdown.

Morgan finished with 200 yards passing on 18-of 27 passing.

There is always room for improvement, and for Powers, having his team prepare better individually is the next step he is going to take with this team.

“We need to go back and get into the film,” Powers said. “We need to study ourselves and see what we can improve on — as a team — but overall, we need to get better at preparing mentally to know that our opponents aren’t just going to roll over and give us the game.”

St. Vincent1470728
Kelly0001414

First Quarter

S — Jesse Robinson 25 pass from John Wibbenmeyer (Brendon Moonier kick), 7:57

S — Wibbenmeyer 2 run (Moonier kick), 2:17

Second Quarter

S — Jacob Kapp 34 pass from Wibbenmeyer (Moonier kick), 10:03

Fourth Quarter

S — Kapp 27 pass from Wibbenmeyer (Moonier kick), 5:21

K — Bryce Phelps 45 pass from Bryce Morgan (Ty Powers kick), 4:15

K — Phelps 1 run (Jay Noon kick), 1:32

TEAM STATISTICS

SK
First downs912
Total yards283270
Rushes-yards31-8532-70
Passing yards198200
Comp.-Att.-Int.14-19-018-27-0
Fumbles-lost1-03-3
Penalties-yards6-455-10
Turnovers15

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — St. Vincent, John Wibbenmeyer 13-5, Mason Light 17-82, Blake Schnurbusch 1-(-2); Kelly, Evan Urhahn 22-69, Bryce Morgan 3-(-6), Alex Swope 2-3, Colton Essner 4-1, Kyler Ziegler 1-3.

Passing — St. Vincent, John Wibbenmeyer 14-19-0 198; Kelly, Bryce Morgan 18-27-0 200.

Receiving — St. Vincent, Mason Light 3-19, Jesse Robinson 3-69, Phillip Ernst 1-11, Jacob Kapp 2-61, Blake Schnurbusch 5-38; Kelly, Kaleb Ziegler 2-11, Gavin Jansen 9-77, Evan Urhahn 2-12, Ty Powers 2-43, Bryce Phelps 2-48, Drew Dirnberger 1-9.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: