Southern grabs early momentum to eliminate St. Paul

SALINEVILLE — The game was out of reach. But facing a 28-point deficit with 7:34 left in Friday's Division VII second-round playoff game at Southern Local, the St. Paul football team had one last shot to do something. The Flyers then churned out a 12-play, 75-yard drive, capped by Quincey Crabbs scoring one last time in his star career in the 42-22 loss to the Indians in Salineville. St. Paul ends the season at 8-4 overall. The Flyers won at least one playoff game for a 19th time in 24 postseason appearances. "They knew they couldn't win the game at that point, but they could still play our brand of football — and they did," St. Paul head coach John Livengood said. Ben Burger capped the final drive with an 11-yard run with 1:15 left, then Crabbs ran in the 2-point conversion on his final high school carry. "There is a few minutes left in the game and we're down 28 points, and a lot of kids may hang their heads," Livengood said. "But we're going to pound the football and see if we can be who we are, and we were who we are. I was proud of our line and the way our backs ran. "They knew it was their last stand, and I was real proud how hard they ran and blocked for each other," he added. "A lot of teams pack it in. These guys didn't, and that says a lot about their character." Friday's game flipped early. St. Paul took the opening possession and moved 52 yards in nine plays. But faced with a fourth-and-goal from the 1, Crabbs was stopped short by no more than a few inches for the huge defensive stop. Taking that momentum, the Indians then went 99 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown. One week after not attempting a pass in a 65-21 win over South Central, the Indians burnt the Flyers with a 49-yard pass on their fourth play of the game to spur the drive on. Wyatt Morris scored on an 8-yard run, one play after converting a fourth-and-2 from the 16. Colton Soukup then ran in the conversion for the 8-0 lead at the 2:07 mark of the first. St. Paul answered on its third possession, as Drew Kuhnle got the Southern defense to bite on a play action fake. He then hit AJ Meyer in stride, and the senior receiver shook off a tackler to bull into the end zone for a 53-yard touchdown catch. Crabbs was again stopped inches short of the end zone on the conversion, but the Flyers were on the board down 8-6 less than a minute into the second quarter. But a long kick return set up the Indians at the St. Paul 35 on the ensuing drive. A 1-yard run by quarterback Ryan Exline, then a conversion pass to Soukup put the Indians up 16-6 at the 9:42 mark of the second. Faced with a fourth-and-long at the Southern 15 on the next possession, Kuhnle was then intercepted at the 1. That set up a 77-yard drive by the Indians, as Soukup scored on a 3-yard run with 4:05 left in the half for a 24-6 lead. The Flyers got a critical score just before half, with Crabbs finishing off a 66-yard drive from the 5, then Kuhnle and Meyer connected on the 2-point pass for a 24-14 deficit with 36 seconds left in the half. But needing a stop to open the third quarter, the Flyers didn't get it. Morris scored on a 62-yard run, then two interceptions on defense gave the Indians field position at the St. Paul 34 and 49 that also led to short TDs and a 36-14 lead. "You hate to think that early in the game it's a key moment, but it was," Livengood said of the opening drive. "We really had put together a nice, physical drive, but then couldn't punch it in. Then they turn around and go 99 yards with the big pass play. It was a big change in momentum." Livengood lamented his team's inability to get a key stop to stay in the game. "The bottom line though, they controlled the line of scrimmage," he said. "Their offensive line especially did. And their backs run fast and hard, and the QB makes a lot of plays as well. "Give credit to them. They have a lot of two and three-year starters out there who played well, and we give them credit for being just a very good team that was hard to stop." For St. Paul, Crabbs ran 21 times for 127 yards and a TD. He unofficially finished with 2,135 yards, the second-most in a single-season in program history, and 25 TDs. Burger added 18 carries for 81 yards and a TD, while Kuhnle was 4-of-8 for 112 yards passing, with Meyer catching a pair for 58 yards and the score. Southern 8 16 12 6 — 42 St. Paul 0 14 0 8 — 22 Scoring SO — Wyatt Morris 8 run (Colton Soukup run) SP — AJ Meyer 53 pass from Drew Kuhnle (run failed) SO — Ryan Exline 1 TD run (Exline pass to Soukup) SO — Soukup 3 run (Morris run) SP — Quincey Crabbs 5 run (Meyer pass from Kuhnle) SO — Morris 62 run (run failed) SO — Soukup 5 run (run failed) SO — Exline 1 run (run failed) SP — Ben Burger 11 run (Crabbs run)