|
|
|
St. Paul posts largest margin of
victory in the history of 49 meetings of the Monroeville
rivalry |
 |
By
Mark Hazelwood
MONROEVILLE –
The exclamation point was emphatically delivered
on the 2008 regular season for the St. Paul Flyers Friday night, as a
historic 56-14 win over rival Monroeville at Marsh Field capped off a
perfect regular season at 10-0 overall and 7-0 in the Firelands Conference.
It is the largest margin of victory in the 49 meetings of St.
Paul-Monroeville, surpassing the 55-15 win by the Flyers in the 1997 season.
The unbeaten regular season is the 8th in program history over the past 60
years, the fifth under head coach John Livengood and the third this decade
(2000, 2003, 2008).
The Flyers 510 points scored in ten games (51.0 ppg) is also a school record
for points in a regular season.
“Our first goal is always to win the FC championship,” Livengood said. “I’m real proud of the fact we were able to do
that. This is a special group of kids and it’s a real tribute to our
seniors. They’ve worked real hard. We talked before
the game that it’s a special accomplishment to go 10-0 and a difficult
thing to do. I’m proud of the kids for maintaining their focus each
week.”
The Flyers like they have done all season left little doubt early in racing
out to a 21-0 lead against the Eagles.
Adam Pugh proved to be touchdown parade marshal with a 31-yard touchdown run
and Eric
Schwieterman added the first of eight extra points.
Senior Matt Wilde then scored on runs of 3 and 1 yards for the 21-0 lead and
while
Logan Stieber got Monroeville’s first touchdown with his 1-yard run early in the second,
the Flyers scored twice before the half to take the Eagles out of the game
by building a 35-7 halftime lead.
Schwieterman found Justin Wilde from 11 yards out and Daniel Tracht
was the recipient of a 24-yard TD pass from Schwieterman for the final two
scores of the half.
St. Paul then put the finishing touches on 10-0 with with 21 more points in
the third quarter for a 56-7 lead.
Matt Wilde returned the second half kickoff 88 yards for a score while Pugh added a 30-yard touchdown run and Wilde chipped in a 52-yard
touchdown run.
Stieber’s 2-yard touchdown run was the only score in the fourth.
Matt Wilde finished with eight carries for 168 yards and
three touchdowns rushing, which puts him over the 1,000-yard mark for a
second straight season while Pugh added 86 yards on the ground and two scores.
Meanwhile,
Schwieterman was 6-of-6 passing for 75 yards and two touchdowns and
Tracht was the leading receiver with three passes for 52 yards and a score.
St. Paul will host East Canton (7-3) in a Division VI regional quarterfinal
Friday night at Warren Whitney Field.
|
|
|
|
