St. Paul heads to Calvert looking for first win

NORWALK — This feels different. Whether the end result changes remains to be seen. But after two games, the St. Paul football team is winless for the fourth straight season. St. Paul will be looking to avoid a third straight 0-3 start at 7 p.m. Friday when it travels to Tiffin to take on longtime non-league foe Calvert (1-1). The game will be played at Heidelberg University's Hoernemann Stadium. In 2022, the Flyers were outscored by a combined 50 points in their first two games of the season against Huron and Ontario. They lost 31-28 to the Tigers to open 2023, followed by a 42-6 loss at Edison. Last year, St. Paul was leveled by Huron and Edison to start the season, getting outscored 79-2. Over the past two weeks, the Flyers lost to Port Clinton and the Chargers by a combined 32 points. Both games played out somewhat opposite, as St. Paul trailed by 28 in the fourth quarter of a 37-30 loss to the Redskins on Aug. 23. The Flyers had the ball at the Edison 24 facing a 14-10 deficit four minutes into the third quarter before losing 35-10. Further, in last season's 0-3 start, the Flyers did not have an offensive touchdown. In two games, they've scored five TDs and a field goal. "I feel like mentally our kids are in a better place than we've been the past two seasons," St. Paul head coach Chris Doughty said. "We've started off with two losses like we have the past three years, but the biggest difference is we're healthier than we've been — and the kids understand the quality of teams we are playing and what that means for us later." Doughty said the Flyers know going through a schedule of Mohawk and Keystone in scrimmages, followed by Port Clinton, Edison, and Calvert, doesn't always equate to wins. "But it opens your eyes to show you what gaps you have to fill and where we can have drastic improvements," he said. "It shows where our strengths are to build on throughout the season. They know it's part of our 10-week season, and they understand we have to make those incremental jumps week to week. "If you're able to improve each week and play your best football by the end of the season, that's when special things can happen. But it can't happen because you want it to. We have to take those steps every day in practice, and our senior leaders have done a great job of getting the rest of the team to buy in." The Senecas have also had a tale of two games so far this season. They never got untracked in a 39-6 loss at Mohawk on Aug. 21. But last week at Monroeville, the Senecas steadily pulled away from the Eagles in a 35-21 win. "The big thing I see from them is their first two weeks are similar to ours," Doughty said. "Calvert didn't look great against Mohawk. They made a lot of mistakes and didn't perform well. "Much like we did against Port Clinton, though I know we made a run at it and got it close. Then last weekend they made a huge jump with technique and some things and played really well at Monroeville." Charlie Palm (26-of-40, 320 yards, 3 TDs) is the quarterback of the Senecas, and Doughty said he settled in with a nice game against the Eagles. Tucker Coleman (9 catches, 69 yards), AJ Shoemaker, and Logan DeMoss (5 catches, 119 yards, 2 TDs) are his top targets, with Nolan Lee (107 yards, TD) in the backfield. "They do a nice job spreading the ball out to those guys, and they are huge up front, averaging 230 to 240 pounds across the board. They've got the Moyer twins (Cameron and Connor) there and are just big. "They are not going to do as much moving up front, but we need to use proper technique against some bigger bodies than we've had to do the last two weeks." Defensively, Calvert runs out of a 5-2 base. DeMoss has 25 tackles and an interception, while Anderson Hart has 21 tackles and one sack. Doughty noted in last season's 10-6 loss, the Flyers had trouble blocking the Senecas' defensive ends. "They have a lot of the same guys playing with that size up front, and containing their ends has to be a focus for us this week," he said. "We have to be able to handle their ends, and their linebackers flow to the ball well because those big bodies in front of them occupy blockers. "I think we are comparable in the way we both improved," Doughty added. "I really think it's going to come down to who makes more improvement throughout this week." Looking back on the Edison loss, Doughty noted the Chargers did not have one offensive gain over 20 yards. But despite 273 yards of offense, the Flyers turned it over on downs four times on the Edison side of the field. "The big thing that we focused on all week, regardless of the result, was improvement across the board at every position," he said. "And I really felt like at a lot of positions, we took that step forward." Junior quarterback Grant Kuhnle is 31-of-57 passing (54 percent) for 555 yards with 4 TDs and one interception for the Flyers. Senior Landon Fries has 10 catches for 121 yards and 18 rush attempts for 43 yards and a TD. Senior Connor Lindenberger has seven catches for 200 yards and 2 TDs, while junior Levi Rospert has eight catches for 176 yards and 2 TDs. Senior Nick Pocos adds 81 yards on 19 attempts. Defensively, junior Raphael Gross has 24 tackles, and Pocos has 17 with one sack. Senior Nate Sandor adds 15 tackles and a sack. "There are lessons to be learned from last week," Doughty said. "We were able to get a nice stop on a fourth-and-1 just before halftime, and we were able to drive the length of the field and get three points right before half. "That showed our kids we are capable of doing those kinds of things against a very good football team on the road. Those lessons are going to pay off huge as the season continues to go."