Summit Football Continues To Improve Despite Loss To Webster

The Rockwood Summit football team is determined to earn respect.

“Webster Groves has a fine collection of athletes. But, our kids play hard and are coached very well. I thought we always had a shot (against Webster Groves). Coming into this game, we were pretty optimistic,” Summit coach Mike Bellers said after the on Friday night.

Webster (4-0) and Summit (3-2) have scored 143 and 114 points, respectively, so far this season. Both teams held its opponents to 25 points or less in each of their three games. Webster was coming off a bye week, so it had had two weeks to prepare and rest. For Summit, it was a regular work week in practice.

The visitors from Webster scored on its first two possessions of the game, and scored 24 points in the first half. Summit played with a great deal of emotion, but could not match talent with the Statesmen.

Quarterback Tyler Karst and running back Ian McIntosh led the Falcons offense by their example. Similar leadership came from Eric Beisel, Spencer Matthews and Joe Schenck on the defensive side. Their game ethic was contagious, and it showed as SDummit played hard to the end.

Down 24-0 at the end of the first half, the players were patting others on the back going into the locker room and saying, “Let’s get ‘em in the second!”

“We failed to achieve a balance in the first half and our passing game was off just a little bit. If we had 3-to-4 more completions, the first half score would be much different,” Bellers said.

The first half was played in a light rain. In the second half, the teams were met by large patches of fog that covered half the field. The third quarter was much different. Statesmen quarterback Rayshawn Simmons struggled to get any offensive momentum for his team. The Summit defense invaded the backfield on every play. Each tackle featured three or four additional defenders surrounding the ball.

Early in the fourth quarter, Karst moved the Falcons downfield and with 10:51 left, he hit McIntosh with a 14-yard pass on a slant pattern for a TD. Later in the fourth, Karst went to the air again and found receiver Luke Hartman on a 19-yard pass play. All the hard work by the Summit players was paying off, and it decreased Webster’s lead to a respectable 24-14 margin.

However, Webster was able to score one last time on a 15-yard pass from Simmons to Ben Arnold.

Summit gained 15 first downs, compared to Webster’s 19. Karst threw for an impressive 251 yards while McIntosh had 25 carries for 135 yards. He also caught two passes for an additional 18 yards. McIntosh returned four kickoff returns for 89 yards.

Summit was hampered by two fumbles and two interceptions.

Bellers said: “Coming out in the beginning, we were trying to match personnel. I don’t think we were very well prepared for this game. If we had 3-4 more caught passes, the outcome would have been much different.”

Summit’s defense was led by linebacker Beisel with 12 tackles. Spencer Matthews and Joe Schenck each added five tackles and two assists.

Matthews and Alex Armstrong were able to get to Simmons on two occasions, with James Crockett intercepting Simmons. Webster coach, Cliff Ice complimented the Falcons’ defensive performance.

“I don’t think we executed very well, but they did a good job at pressuring Rayshawn. They did a good job putting pressure on our receivers” Ice said.

Even though the end result wasn’t Summit’s desired choice, the Falcons had reason to be proud. Last year, Summit lost by 31 points to Webster, and also 24 points in the playoffs. On Friday, they showed noticeable improvement.

We’re taking steps in the right direction. Defensively, we played the basics and were playing very well.” Bellers aid.

“We have a great group of kids. We have strong leaders (on both sides) and I have a tremendous coaching staff. We make the most of the kids that we have, as many play offense, defense and special teams. We may not be very deep, but in every game we will play four quarters and we will play to win.”