Defensive TDs spark St. Paul in rout

NEW LONDON — For two-plus quarters, St. Paul couldn't pull away. But a pair of defensive touchdowns in a 2:23 span in the third quarter was the spark the Flyers needed in Friday's 47-6 win over New London in a Firelands Conference game at Wildcat Stadium. With the win, the Flyers got back to the .500 mark at 3-3 overall and are 2-1 in the Firelands Conference. New London fell to 2-4, 0-3. "To start things off, it reminded me of our Port Clinton game where every couple plays we'd have a penalty, and a lot of the yardage added up," St. Paul coach Chris Doughty said. "That slowed us a bit in the first half, but it was nice to see us get going right away in the third quarter. "Our defense stepped up with great pressure up front and from our linebackers, then the two touchdown returns were huge for us. It was nice to see our defense really step up in big spots tonight." St. Paul got a defensive stop to open the second half, then moved 52 yards in six plays with Nick Pocos scoring on a 14-yard run at the 8:03 mark of the third quarter. The extra point hit the right post for a 26-6 lead. Just 20 seconds later, junior Levi Rospert jumped on a Jarrett Mencl pass and was able to shake off some tacklers up the home sideline for a 32-yard interception return for a touchdown. Nate Griffin's point after made it 33-6. New London then was able to find some momentum and were moving the football. But after an 18-yard run by Gabe Ellis to the St. Paul 10, this time senior Landon Fries snapped an interception at the 4. Fries was able to find an opening around the 35, and it was a foot race from there for a 97-yard interception touchdown. The extra point by Griffin made it 40-6 with 5:20 left in the third. The Flyers then added one more touchdown on a three-yard run by Casey Fries with 10:43 left in the game. "We played physical with them and making them earn it in the first half," New London coach Jon Harrison said. "We get the ball to start the second half, but too many mental mistakes on our end, and St. Paul stepped it up. "They came out ready to go in the second half, we made mistakes, and they were able to capitalize and we fell behind there in a hurry." After punting on their first penalty-filled drive, the Flyers quickly moved 52 yards in three rushes by Pocos. He ran for 28 and 16 yards, respectively, before following his blockers on a toss sweep to the left side for an 8-yard touchdown run. The Griffin extra point made it 7-0 at the 6:30 mark of the first quarter. After stopping New London on its next drive, the Flyers won the field position battle and took over at the NL 48-yard line. St. Paul needed five plays to cover that distance, as Landon Fries caught a 19-yard pass from Grant Kuhnle, then scored three plays later on a three-yard run. The point after was just wide right, but the Flyers had a 13-0 lead with 26 seconds left in the first quarter. St. Paul's next possession ended when New London blocked a 39-yard field goal attempt by Griffin with 5:32 left in the half. The Wildcats then took advantage of three SP penalties that went for first downs, and cashed in when Mencl found Jackson Mitchell across the middle for a six-yard touchdown pass with 3:26 left in the half. The try for two points failed, but the 'Cats were on the board at 13-6. St. Paul had a quick answer, however. The Flyers went 58 yards in six plays, as Kuhnle connected with Connor Lindenberger for three passes. The last saw the junior quarterback keep a play alive and found Lindenberger open up the right sideline for a 28-yard touchdown pass with exactly one minute left in the half. Griffin's extra point made it 20-6, which is where the score stood at halftime. Pocos ran 11 times for 155 yards and two touchdowns for St. Paul. Kuhnle was 9-of-12 passing for 102 yards and a touchdown, with Lindenberger catching three passes for 37 yards and Landon Fries had four catches for 36 yards. "Nick looked good tonight and we're really happy with how he ran and broke tackles as well," Doughty said. "We want to continue to move forward and continue to get better. We have a big one at Crestview next week, and I think our kids will be ready for it." For New London, Mencl was 11-of-20 passing for 61 yards with the touchdown pass to Mitchell, who caught four passes for 29 yards. The Flyers have another key FC game next week at Crestview (4-2, 3-0), while the Wildcats host Plymouth (0-6, 0-3). "It's been a gauntlet with Crestview, Monroeville, and St. Paul," Harrison said. "We have to go into these games and compete. We wanted to be better than what we were last year, and we have been. Now we have to work for that next step over. We have to put it together now."