St. Paul hosts Plymouth in FC opener

The first stretch is done. And fortunately for St. Paul, it came out with a thrilling victory this time. After back-to-back 0-3 starts, the Flyers rallied from a 20-6 deficit with under 10 minutes left in a 22-20 win on Sept. 5 at Tiffin Calvert. Now, St. Paul (1-2) begins its Firelands Conference slate against Plymouth (0-3) at 7 p.m. Friday at Contractors Stadium. It's also homecoming week at St. Paul, adding an extra bit of energy to the week. "Our kids are obviously excited about homecoming," St. Paul head coach Chris Doughty said. "It's always a fun week with the various events at school and the dance on Saturday. "The kids are looking forward to those things, but at the end of the day, the week revolves around the football game," he added. "This is a conference championship game. This is the first of those seven games, and obviously we want them to enjoy the moment, but also make sure we stay focused on the task at hand." The Big Red opened with a rough 51-0 loss against Lucas but has played stronger in the past two weeks. Plymouth fell at Willard, 51-28, on Aug. 28 and are coming off a 22-6 loss to Wellington last week. "Plymouth reminds me a lot of their team from last year with that same, complicated offense," Doughty said. "They try to lull you to sleep for three or four yards at a time, and that can be dangerous, because the more their offense is on the field, the less yours is. "They do a nice job of controlling the clock, but they do throw a bit more than they have in the past." Isaiah Miller has rushed 43 times for 239 yards and four touchdowns for Plymouth. Keegan Beverly adds 79 yards and a TD on 12 attempts, while Lincoln Distl is 10-of-19 passing for 46 yards. "They have some big, strong, physical backs and some guys who are scoring threats for sure," Doughty said. "It's going to be really important that we play well up front, but specifically on defense. We know it will be a battle up front against Plymouth. "Our defensive line really rose up in the second half and was strong last week, and I was proud of the effort. But now we have to do it again for four quarters." Offensively for the Flyers, junior Grant Kuhnle is 48-of-90 passing for 712 yards with 5 TDs and two interceptions. Senior Landon Fries has caught 16 passes for 195 yards and has rushed 27 times for 72 yards and a pair of TDs. Senior Connor Lindenberger has 13 catches for 265 yards and 3 TDs, while junior Levi Rospert has 12 catches for 182 yards and 2 TDs. On the ground, senior Nick Pocos has 116 yards on 30 attempts, and freshman Casey Fries adds 69 yards and a TD on 11 rushes. "I think the big thing last week was our kids proving to themselves they were capable of coming back," Doughty said. "I think they were confident the entire game, but adversity happens. You get down 14 points in the fourth quarter; that's a really tough thing, especially for a high school athlete on the road. "To have the maturity to continue to fight and honestly believe you are still in a game is special. To have a group of kids that proved it but have done it several times going back to last season, I think they are on a good path for having a good season." Defensively for St. Paul, junior linebacker Raphael Gross has 38 tackles and forced a fumble. Senior Nate Sandor has 24 tackles with a sack and a forced fumble, while Pocos adds 23 tackles, one sack, and a fumble recovery. Casey Fries has 18 tackles with a forced fumble, and Rospert has 17 tackles with an interception. "We just want to continue to see our kids push in big moments," Doughty said. "That will pay off at the end of the season. We're going to have a close game, and there is going to be a time we are losing in the fourth quarter. "Our guys know they have a legitimate chance to come back. They've proved it to themselves over and over, and that's exciting. We know we can do it. Now, it's about playing with that fourth-quarter urgency earlier in a game."