St. Vincent football hosts Crystal City, searches for second straight district title

It’s a quarterfinal in a district final’s clothing, and the St. Vincent Indians are dead set on punching their ticket to a second consecutive state semifinal this Friday night against the Crystal City Hornets.

Fresh off a 49-8 walloping of Van-Far in the district semifinals, the Indians bring in a wealth of momentum against a Hornets’ squad that just went the distance with Charleston, winning by a pair in overtime.

Going down a score in the opening phases of last weekend’s victory over the visiting Van-Far Indians, St. Vincent never wavered as it shelled the No. 4 Indians with seven unanswered touchdowns to turn what could’ve been a tight matchup into a rout.

Quarterback Nick Buchheit has been an infallible piece of this year’s St. Vincent team, linking up with senior classmate John Schwartz for two touchdowns, while two-way talent Schwartz got an accompanying two interceptions to keep Van-Far out of reach.

Just like last year, it’s a district championship date with Crystal City and, with a 31-point victory over the Hornets in the back of their minds, the St. Vincent Indians are primed to repeat as district champs, but will need to temper their confidence.

The 11-0 Indians are the No. 1 team in MSHSAA’s Class 1, according to both the state media rankings as well as computer analytics, and are anticipated to be a serious challenger for the state title.

That undefeated record made St. Vincent a shoo-in for the district’s top seed, enabling the Indians to host every game to this point, though their would-be semifinal would be on the road no matter which team it ends up facing.

Entering as heavy favorites, both on paper and in computer analytics, the chalk-pick Indians haven’t had any issues dispatching their district foes, nor are they expected to struggle to put Crystal City away with eyes on a state title.

The Hornets, 6-5, are riding a three-game winning streak that has turned them from two games under .500 to a district-contending squad that’ll hope to give St. Vincent a run for its money.

Senior quarterback Nolan Eisenbeis has been the center of the Hornets’ offense this season, throwing for 1,000 yards while rushing for another 300, with 22 combined touchdowns on the year.

Junior running back Landyn DeRousse’s 600-plus rushing yards and senior wideout Evan Wolfe’s nearly 600 receiving yards give Eisenbeis options, which’ll be focal points for the Indians on Friday night.

Like Schwartz, Wolfe has been a double-sided threat with plenty of defensive prowess, recording five interceptions this season to anchor a rising Hornets’ defense.

St. Vincent has won 10 consecutive games against Crystal City, matching up nearly annually with the last loss to the Hornets coming in 2011 on the road.

The Indians have three common opponents with the Hornets this season, most notably the Bayless Bronchos, who St. Vincent defeated 56-21 while the Hornets fell 34-30.

Waiting for the victor will be either No. 2 Marionville or No. 3 Adrian, with two of the top three teams in the state contesting the opposing Class 1 District 3 field on District 1’s side of the bracket.