South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

Flyers get third win over Central

Don’t try and tell members of the Lind-bergh Flyers high school football team that their Suburban West rivals over at Park-way Central are not as good on the gridiron as in the past, because it’s not likely they’re buying it.

Unbeaten at 2-0 coming into their game at Central last weekend, it would have been easy for the Flyers to assume the Colts were off a bit in 2003, having lost each of their first two games to Mehlville and Parkway North.

That, as it would soon learn, is not the case.

In a game that remained in doubt until the last minute, Lindbergh held off the pesky Colts, 17-14, turning to its ground game in the second half to secure the victory.

“We knew we were going to have our hands full against these guys,” Lindbergh Coach Tom Beauchamp said after the game. “That was a good defense we went up against.”

When they ran into some trouble with their usually potent air-attack, the Flyers decided their best option was to turn to their ground game, and senior tailback Charlie Schinsky answered the call. “We have a lot of confidence in Charlie,” Beauchamp told the Call. “We needed to keep the ball out of Central’s hands and to try and run some time off the clock, and we felt Charlie could help us do that.”

Schinsky took center stage in the second half where he racked up a good portion of his team-leading 97 yards rushing, including a one-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

“I’m just glad the coaches gave me a chance,” said Schinsky, who was quick to credit his teammates for his success.

“Our offensive line has been unbelievable, opening up some big holes,” he added.

Flyers quarterback Brock Bond, playing with a wrapped left hand covering the 11 stitches he received following an injury last week against Mehlville, also did his part against a very quick and potent Parkway Central defense. Bond completed four passes for 88 yards and added 41 yards rushing, while Dan Gabris added a one-yard touchdown dive that opened up a 10-0 first quarter lead for Lindbergh.

The Flyers’ Andrew Spitzfaden opened the scoring at the 7:54 mark when he hit a 30-yard field goal, and also caught two passes in the game for 29 yards.

Gabris also was in on 11 tackles, and added a key sack in the fourth quarter to help ice the win. Ron Fink and Chris Geisz had interceptions for Lindbergh, and Bryan Bracken also picked up a fumble to cap off a three-takeaway night for the Flyers.

Even with the strong defensive effort, though, the game remained in question until the end.

With under two minutes to go and clinging to a 17-14 lead, Lindbergh was facing a fourth down and three on the Parkway Central 40 yard line. Punt? Call timeout to talk it over? Call for a hard-count at the line to try and draw the Colts offside?

No, no and no. Instead, the Flyers lined up and calmly handed off the ball to Schinsky, who picked up the first down to secure the win.

Beauchamp had only a smile when questioned about the call not to punt and pin the Colts deep instead of risking giving them the ball near midfield, needing only a field goal to tie.

“We wanted to keep the ball in our hands,” he explained in a very matter-of-fact manner. “We had to keep the ball out of their hands.”

Instead it kept it in the hands of Schinsky, who took the ball and secured the win.

“I knew the line would put a big hole out there,” he said. “They always do.”

Lindbergh’s next game is Friday against 0-3 Fox at Fox High School, 751 Jeffco Blvd. Game time is 7 p.m.

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