NORWALK - It had been a long time since the St. Paul football program and it’s fan base felt what it did Saturday night in a non-conference game against Tiffin Calvert at Warren Whitney Field.

A loss.

Timely passing and a big interception to stop a late St. Paul drive allowed the Senecas to escape with a 14-13 win, ending the Flyers 28-game regular season winning streak in the process.

It’s just the eighth home loss for St. Paul in 15-plus seasons, ending a 21-game winning streak at the venue since a 23-12 Week 3 setback to Elyria Catholic in 2006.

“Calvert did a good job, they outexecuted us, outprepared us and outplayed us, St. Paul coach John Livengood said. “They did a good job of ball control in the second half and we couldn’t get anything going offensively.

“They mixed up their fronts and gave us some defensive looks we weren’t prepared for and weren’t able to sustain drives for various reasons and they were able to.”

After a fourth down pass by the Senecas fell incomplete, St. Paul took over at it’s own 18 with 4:56 left while trailing 14-13.

Seven consecutive running plays by Adam Smith and Eric Bradt put the Flyers at the Calvert 47 with under three minutes remaining. Quarterback Joe Hinckley then found Bradt out of the backfield for a 10-yard gain and Smith reeled off a 15-yard run and suddenly St. Paul was in business at the Calvert 22 with 1:51 remaining.

But two straight runs by Bradt netted just two yards, and on third-and-eight at the 20, Hinckley rolled out and tried forcing a pass to Smith, who was well-covered.

The pass was intercepted by Calvert’s Alex Herzog, who rumbled 54 yards the other way, allowing the Senecas to take a knee and run out the clock for the win.

“It’s a mistake,” Livengood said of the interception. “Mistakes happen. Joe has done a good job with the position he’s been put in. You hope every situation is a learning experience, and that you learn and get better from it.”

The Flyers had just 90 yards of offense in the first half while the Senecas converted timely third downs to take up a good portion of the game clock.

Calvert struck first with a 13-play, 77-yard scoring drive that took just under four minutes. The Senecas converted on a pair of third downs and a fourth down through the air, including a 7-yard touchdown pass on third-and-goal as Nathan Ritzler found Austin Kontek for the score with 48 seconds left in the half.

The Senecas 7-0 halftime lead was the first time St. Paul was shutout in the first half since a 34-12 season-opening loss at St. Mary Central Catholic in 2004.

A 41-yard kickoff return by Alaric Newcomer to start the second half set up a 7-play, 41-yard scoring drive for the Flyers that took three minutes. Smith capped the drive with a 1-yard score with 8:48 left in the third and Scottie Slauterbeck added the PAT to tie the game at 7-7.

However, after each team exchanged punts, Calvert got the play of the game when Derek Frey hauled in a 27-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-11. The diving grab with 2:28 left in the third put Calvert up for good at 14-7.

“We had them in third down all night it seemed like and they were able to continue picking them up,” Livengood said. “We have to get better at our coverage and find more ways to get to the quarterback.

“I thought this was a tough game coming in with the skilled positions they have, and they hit third down passes at critical times to keep possession and take time off the clock.”

St. Paul answered with a 13-play, 74-yard drive as Bradt scored on a two-yard run with 10:14 left. Slauterbeck’s PAT hit the right goalpost, however, and in the end proved to be the difference in the final score.

Calvert then turned it over on downs to set up the final St. Paul drive, but the key was the Senecas taking 5:13 off the game clock in the process.

“They were able to sustain some drives in the second half and take time off the clock,” Livengood said. “The things we were able to do in the second half, that didn’t make a good situation for us having a long field all the time either.”

Smith ran for 165 yards on 25 attempts, including 105 yards on 18 attempts in the second half. Bradt added 68 yards on 17 attempts, including 67 yards in the second half.

Hinckley was 3-of-8 passing for 30 yards. The Flyers did not attempt a pass in the second half until the key third down pass to Smith with under three minutes left to play.

“We worked on some things at halftime and I thought the kids executed the things that we could do pretty well, offensively,” Livengood said. “Effort-wise, I thought the kids gave a good effort.

“I’m not disappointed with that. I’m disappointed with the outcome and some of the mistakes we made. But like anything, you learn from your mistakes hopefully.”

St. Paul hosts Huron (2-0) next Saturday.

“It gets a lot more difficult,” Livengood said. “We need to come back with a good week of practice, get better and learn from our mistakes. That goes for the coaches too.

“And I take full responsibility for that. I think Calvert had a nice gameplan and we weren’t quite able to overcome that.”
 

-Scoring-

CAL — Austin Kontek 7 pass from Nathan Ritzler (Stephen Smith kick)

STP — Smith 1 run (Scottie Slauterbeck kick)

CAL — Derek Frey 27 pass from Ritzler (Smith kick)

STP — Bradt 2 run (kick failed)