St. Paul dominates Plymouth in FC opener

NORWALK — Smiles all around. After a grueling three-game stretch against Port Clinton, Edison and Tiffin Calvert, St. Paul had a pedestrian night Friday at Contractors Stadium. The Flyers scored eight touchdowns, every player got in the game, and two of the scores came from freshman on homecoming night in a 57-0 win over visiting Plymouth in the Firelands Conference opener. "It was nice to see a complete win tonight with our offense, defense and special teams all performing really well," St. Paul coach Chris Doughty said after his team improved to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in the FC. "I was really happy with how all of our backs ran tonight," Doughty said. "None of them had crazy numbers, but they took care of the football, ran hard and blocked for each other. I think our offensive line continued to develop, and I'm really just pleased with our mindset throughout the week. "Games like this don't just happen," he added. "Our kids treated this like a conference championship game, and this was step one in that." St. Paul spent most of the first quarter on the Big Red side of the field. Plymouth mishandled its punt attempt after a three-and-out and the Flyers took over at the Big Red 27-yard line. It was a quick score, as Grant Kuhnle found Connor Lindenberger for 20 yards, which set up a Nick Pocos seven-yard touchdown to the right side. The first of six first-half extra points from Nate Griffin made it 7-0 at the 9:44 mark. Plymouth then fumbled two plays into its next drive, and the Flyers recovered at the Big Red 38. This time it took three plays. Pocos ran for 22 yards to the 3, where he covered that distance on the next play for a 14-0 lead at the 8:06 mark. After another three-and-out by the Big Red, St. Paul took over at the Plymouth 39. The Flyers needed five plays, as Landon Fries scored from the 9 to make it 21-0 with 4:48 left in the first quarter. Both teams then traded possessions, followed by three more St. Paul touchdowns in the second quarter. The Flyers covered 65 yards in seven plays, with Pocos this time scoring from a yard out for a 28-0 lead with 5:19 left in the half. Another punt to St. Paul gave it the ball at midfield. It took just two plays, as Kuhnle found tight end Nate Sandor across the middle, and he did the rest on a 42-yard touchdown pass and catch for a 35-0 lead with 2:06 left in the half. Plymouth then fumbled two plays into its next drive, and Zeke Dvorak recovered for the Flyers at the Big Red 19. After going backwards for a play, Landon Fries outran four Big Red defenders for a 22-yard touchdown run with 27 seconds left in the half for the 42-0 lead. In the second half, the Flyers added a pair of touchdowns and a safety. Abel Couch capped a seven-play drive with a one-yard run with 6:13 left in the third, then Ty Reynolds added a 17-yard touchdown with 10:21 left in the game. The Big Red then fumbled a ball that they recovered in the end zone, but the dead ball resulted in a safety after Griffin touched the ball carrier in the end zone with 8:41 left in the game. St. Paul limited Plymouth (0-4, 0-1) to less than 40 net yards in the win. "I feel like our defense showed up with a fourth quarter sense of urgency," Doughty said. "They played the way we are capable of in short stretches, but tonight they put it together for an entire game. Forcing turnovers is a desire type of play. "So it's exciting to see plays like that show up after a good week of practice." Pocos ran nine times for 75 yards with the three touchdowns while Landon Fries totaled 58 yards and two touchdowns on six attempts. Casey Fries added 38 yards on four attempts. Kuhle was 6-of-9 passing for 113 yards with a touchdown, with Sandor, Landon Fries, Levi Rospert and Connor Lindenberger each catching passes. The Flyers host Western Reserve (3-1, 1-0) in the first big game of the FC slate next Friday.