Springfield scores comeback victory in delayed season opener

Brown caught the ball, broke free from a defender and sprinted 69 yards for the go-ahead score with five minutes remaining as the Wildcats held on to beat St. Louis (Mo.) De Smet Jesuit 29-22 on Saturday afternoon at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory Academy in Indianapolis.

The Spartans, however, drove to Springfield’s 1-yard line in the final minute, but De Smet quarterback Christian Cotton’s pass with 16 seconds remaining flew out of bounds. The Wildcats took victory formation, kneeling on the ball to seal the victory.

“We believe that we’re one of the best defenses out there,” said Wildcats coach Maurice Douglass. “(De Smet) was a very, very good team with a lot of skilled perimeter guys. When it mattered, we stepped up. I’m excited about that.”

Schondelmyer threw four touchdown passes including three to Brown and another to senior Shawn Thigpen. The Wildcats, however, struggled with five turnovers on the day as well as several miscues and penalties in key moments.

“We won the game and that’s about the only thing good about it,” Douglass said. “We won the game and showed some perseverance, some fight, some grit. That’s what you’re supposed to do.”

The Spartans took a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter on a 12-yard TD run by Notre Dame commit Christian Gray. After stopping Springfield on its next possession, Schondelmyer blasted a 58-yard punt, pinning De Smet on its own 1.

On the next play, Wildcats senior Robert Owens, Jr. tackled Cotton in the end zone for a safety. A few plays later, Schondelmyer found Brown on a 12-yard TD pass to give Springfield a 9-7 lead.

Midway through the second quarter, Schondelmyer hit Thigpen on a 35-yard TD pass to increase Springfield’s lead to 15-7.

De Smet responded on a 1-yard TD run by KeShawn Ford to make it 15-13 at the half.

The Spartans grabbed the lead on the first possession of the second half when Ethan Wehmueller hit a 22-yard field goal to make it 16-15.

Springfield reclaimed the lead with 27.1 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter when Schondelmyer hit Brown on a 14-yard TD pass to make it 21-16.

With 4:51 remaining, Cotton found Gray on a 30-yard TD pass to give the Spartans a 22-21 lead.

On the next play from scrimmage, Schondelmyer connected with Brown for the winning score.

“(Brown) won on two corner routes for touchdowns earlier in the game, so we knew we could come back with the corner post for a big play,” Schondelmeyer said. “The o-line did their job, receivers did their job and I put the ball where it needed to be and we won the game. It was an ugly game for me in the first half for sure, but we got a win. We’re only going up from here.”

The Wildcats defense forced six turnovers.

It was Springfield’s first game since playing in the state championship game against Lakewood St. Edward at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium last December.

“It’s crazy just to be in this atmosphere again,” said Brown, a University of Kentucky commit. “It’s surreal. I felt like we did good, but we’ve still got work to put in.”

The experience should help the Wildcats down the road, Schondelmyer said.

“You need these wins at times,” he said. “We played an ugly game and still won. That’s a good thing. We can only go up from here. That’s a good team. (De Smet) is going to win a lot of games.”

Springfield improved to 1-0 after its season-opening game against Cleveland St. Ignatius was canceled last week due to inclement weather. The Wildcats were initially without a game in Week 2 when De Smet reached out about playing in Indianapolis.

“It was worth the trip because we got a W,” Douglass said. “We had to play somebody. Hopefully the people in Ohio will start playing the Ohio teams and not teams from Canada.”

After traveling more than 1,100 miles for road games in the first month of the season, the Wildcats will return home to play rival Trotwood-Madison at 7 p.m Friday at Springfield High School.

“We’ve got to be prepared and have a great week of practice,” Douglass said.