Prep football: Dragons conquer in the mist
Ste. Genevieve’s Will Vaughn (left) tackles Greg Martin from Bayless during Friday’s Class 3 District 2 first-round playoff game at Dragon Field. Vaughn paced the Ste. Genevieve defense with 12 tackle points in a 56-8 rout. (PHOTO BY ERIC VICCARO/Herald staff)
By ERIC VICCARO
eviccaro@stegenherald.com
The Ste. Genevieve High School football team opened Friday’s Class 3 District 2 first-round game as Mason Nix recovered an onside kick.
That decision helped set the tone for what proved to be the Dragons’ fourth straight blowout victory.
“We had a feeling that we could potentially come out flat on Friday with the students not having school, and with the weather being wet and cold,” Ste. Genevieve head coach Jay Pope said. “We felt that we need to get a spark early, and the onside kick did that.”
During film study leading up to the game, Pope saw that Bayless struggled with short kickoffs — and that certainly played out — as Ste. Genevieve blasted the Bronchos, 56-8, on a chilly, misty Friday night at Dragon Field.
Ste. Genevieve advances to play in-town rival Valle Catholic at 7 p.m. Friday at Father John Dempsey Field in the Class 3 District 2 semifinals. It’s going to be a playoff version of “The Old Settlement Showdown.”
Both teams suffered through the weather, and the game featured nine total turnovers.
“Wet conditions make our style of offense very difficult to execute as effectively as possible,” Pope admitted.
Still, Ste. Genevieve managed 396 yards in total offense, Aiden Boyer threw TD passes on each of his six completions, Zach Boyer recorded 152 receiving yards and Wyatt Springkamper racked up 95 all-purpose yards.
By the end of the first quarter, it was same old song and dance we’ve seen for the past month — Ste. Genevieve clearly in front by 21 points. By intermission, the Dragons were ahead 42-0.
Even the scoreboard clock quit in the second half, so officials kept “turbo time” on the field.
The Dragons picked off four Bayless passes and snagged three Broncho fumbles in the most opportunistic performance of the season.
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