St. Vincent’s leading tackler ‘plays bigger than he is’

During St. Vincent's 56-21 win over Bayless last week, the surprise wasn't that the Indians scored 50 points for the second time this season. It was that they gave up 20 points for the second time.

The St. Vincent defense, a unit that lost just one player from the previous season — Semoball Award winner Drake Robinson —has allowed an average of 10 points per game through the first six weeks of the season.

Valle Catholic, a Class 2 powerhouse that used to torment St. Vincent on an annual basis and is currently averaging 44.3 points per game, only mustered a single touchdown at home against the Indians. St. Vincent's 24-7 win over Valle Catholic was not only the first time the Warriors lost this season, but also the only game their offense scored less than 30 points.

The Indians' defense is a key reason why St. Vincent is the No. 2 team in Class 1 and the runaway favorite to win the Class 1 District title for the second straight year.

Junior linebacker Carson House said the secret to its success has been the continuity and chemistry within the unit.

"We only lost one starter on our defense last year. So bringing everybody back, we all work together in the offseason," House said. "We're all real close, so everybody just has that bond. I feel like we just bond, we go out, we have fun, we do our job, we execute our plays."

Last year, House and Robinson represented the only defensive duo in the Southeast Missouri area with over 100 tackles each. This year, House leads the Indians with 67 tackles and a sack through six games.

"Carson is a spark plug for sure," St. Vincent head coach Tim Schumer said.

The main difference between House and Robinson is the size of the dog. Even though he has grown in strength and speed over the offseason, House entered the season at 155 lbs. However, the size of the dog in the fight is what makes them similar.

"He plays bigger than he is and he flies around and just goes to the ball," Schumer said.

House plays a hybrid role where he locks onto the opposing running back at linebacker, but also drops back into the secondary and helps guard the opposing passing game.

"You just gotta fly the ball," House said, "be quick to the ball, use your technique."

He credits assistant coaches Tyler Unterreiner and Matt Schmidt for helping him improve his technique.

"Coach Unterreiner has taught me a lot. He's really been emphasizing my rips and how to get off blocks more, and that really helps me because when you get your lineman coming to the second level and getting off their blocks, sometimes it's hard," House said. "So you gotta know your technique and your form to get off of the block. That's helped me quite a bit this year, and I've been more DB this year. So coach Schmidt helped me get my footwork down and that type of stuff, get my DB skills back in work, because last year, I did not guard at all. I've been doing a lot of defensive back, and it's been a lot this year. It's been double roles."

So far, House is thriving in both roles and helping a St. Vincent secondary that has John Schwartz snagging four interceptions and a touchdown and Gus Unterreiner picked off the quarterback three times. That being said, House much prefers his role as a linebacker and charging toward the opposing backfield.

"I'd rather be in the box. I'm more of a downhill guy," House said. "I like to get into action and get downhill and hit somebody."

As much as he enjoys going after the ball carrier, the toughest running back he had to bring down this season was Perryville junior Barrett Wheeler, who recently ran for 260 yards and four touchdowns during a road win at Jefferson.

"He's a big boy," House said. "He's probably one of the hardest ones to bring down."

The Indians host Cuba on Friday, Oct. 11, for homecoming. Their regular season ends on the road with a pair of games against 4-2 opponents, including Jefferson, which St. Vincent defeated last year to win the I-55 Conference championship.

The road to a perfect regular season doesn't come with a smooth exit ramp, but House is confident his team has the strength and skills to complete the mission.

"It would be awesome to continue with what we had last year with this year and keep our (perfect) record going," House said.