St. Paul shifts focus to Calvert

NORWALK — Things weren't drawn up this way. But despite the setbacks, first-year St. Paul football head coach Chris Doughty sees things trending in the right direction. The Flyers (0-2) are coming off a 41-2 loss to Edison on Aug. 30. When sophomore quarterback Grant Kuhnle was lost for the game to injury, it meant less than two minutes into the second quarter of the second game, St. Paul was without its entire starting backfield. After starting just three seniors on offense and four on defense — including four sophomores on both sides — the Flyers now turn their attention to one last non-conference matchup on Saturday. St. Paul will entertain longtime foe Tiffin Calvert (1-1) at 7 p.m. at Contractors Stadium. "Watching the film back, I was really pleased with the improvements we made in some areas," Doughty said of the loss to Edison, a game that was scoreless after one quarter. "Our blocking up front overall was much better than it was against Huron. We challenged the kids at halftime. At that point, they had a choice to tuck their tail or keep battling and fighting. We needed that kind of effort going into a game like this, and they responded in a nice way." Doughty referenced a lengthy drive in the second half, which ultimately came up short of the end zone when the Flyers fumbled near the goal line. "And in general, we were able to do some things that earlier in the game, and the week before, we had not necessarily been able to do," he said. "It was good to see the kids respond in the moment and work to improve within the adversity of the situation. "We were pleased with how some of your young guys responded, Sophomores Rafael Gross (linebacker) and Adam Dowdell (center) both playing for the first time, did a nice job. Same for Zeke Dvorak at wingback and corner … and when Zach (Roth) had to come in for Grant, he didn't have all that many reps. But we had zero exchange issues and he did a nice job of doing what he was supposed to do." After a 28-27 win over Mohawk in the season opener, the Senecas are coming off a 23-9 loss to Monroeville (2-0) on Aug. 30 in Tiffin. Freshman quarterback Tucker Coleman is 16-of-25 passing for 252 yards with a pair of touchdowns and interceptions. His top targets include John Schumacher with six catches for 84 yards and Logan Demoss with four catches for 121 yards. Behind him in the backfield is Cal Warnament, who already has 51 rush attempts for 239 yards and 2 TDs. Calvert also has a first-year head coach, as Mike Lento shifted over from SBC River Division Lakota this season. "Personnel-wise, it's your standard Tiffin Calvert team," Doughty said. "They have big, strong physical lineman on both sides of the ball, and they have some real good athletes and spread the ball out to get it in their hands. "The Warnement kid gave us fits last year and he's back again and looks good. Coleman looks pretty athletic at quarterback, and as a whole, we will face some similar challenges from them that we've seen in the past. Coach Lento has them going in the right direction of a typical Calvert team." For St. Paul, Landon Fries has 80 yards on 28 rush attempts after starting the season at wide receiver (three catches, 22 yards). Nick Pocos moved from center to running back and totaled 70 yards on 18 attempts last week. On defense, Pocos has 14 tackles and Nate Sandor has 13 with one sack. Tristan Nickoli has 10 tackles and a sack, while Levi Rospert also has 10 tackles. This week's game will be the second of three straight home games for the Flyers, including two straight Saturday matchups. St. Paul will host Mapleton next week in the Firelands Conference opener. "It's always good to be at home obviously, and right now, it's welcomed at this point of the year," Doughty said. "Having the extra day this week, it's nice to improve on some little things and our mental focus. "We always enjoy playing at home, but just having that extra day to work through some things is good for this team right now."