St. Vincent offense stunted, ends season with shutout semifinal loss at Adrian

Against strong winds and icy temperatures, the St. Vincent Indians’ state title dreams came crashing down in a 21-0 loss to Adrian in a semifinal battle of MSHSAA Class 1 favorites on Saturday afternoon.

A week removed from knocking off reigning state champion Marionville, the Blackhawks physically outclassed the visiting St. Vincent, running all over the Indians and stomping out their offense too.

Pass-heavy, the Indians have historically struggled in poorer weather, having put up scoreless halves against Perryville and Hayti in the pouring rain earlier this season when the passing game wasn’t as favorable.

Doing the same against Adrian, the colder weather and the harsh conditions again came back to bite the Indians, this time spelling their first and final loss of the season as the Blackhawks mounted a major lead early and never looked back.

The win advances Adrian to the state championship game, taking on Penney in an MSHSAA Class 1 showdown that the Blackhawks enter as heavy favorites in.

Now 12-1, it’s 11 consecutive victories for Adrian after beginning the season at 1-1 with a Week 2 loss to Warsaw, never looking back and quickly becoming a contender, and now a favorite, for a state championship.

The loss ends the perfect season for St. Vincent in the semifinals, a second consecutive final-four berth and exit for the Indians after putting together a regular season for the ages, falling to 12-1 for the season.

Building one of the top offenses in Southeast Missouri, the Indians ran into one of the top defenses in all of Class 1, including a fiery secondary that worked to dash any hope of a second St. Vincent state title on Saturday.

Opening the game with a punt, the Indians stalled early and didn’t show much sign of life on the front end, and Adrian didn’t waste any time capitalizing on this sluggish start.

Andrew Kendrick, the big-bodied power back, stripped a tackled and powered his way across the goal line to give the Blackhawks the early 7-0 lead, and that spelled out how the offensive efforts for Adrian held in the first half.

A blocked punt for a touchdown and a 34-yard scoring run from quarterback Colton Miller built a three-score first-half lead, and looking for answers, the door was left unopened even with a handful of opportunities for St. Vincent on the road.

After falling into a 21-0 hole to begin the first half, St. Vincent fought to keep its hopes alive with its final drive of the first half cutting deep into Adrian territory.

Coming down to a fourth-and-2 pass from quarterback Nick Buchheit deflected off the hands of senior Jake Seabaugh and out for a turnover on downs to end the first half empty.

The sides exchanged the ball through the third quarter, and just when the Indians looked to be in scoring position on goal-to-go at the Adrian 9-yard-line, Kendrick made the play of the night on a diving pick to snare any hope of breaking that seal.

A last-gasp effort on their own goal line came up short, and Adrian kneeled out the clock to ice out a 21-0 domination of the Indians at home to claim its spot in the state championship game.