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

Lindbergh Flyers hammer out win against Mehlville football team

By STEPHEN GLOVER

For the Call

With 1:30 left in the fourth quarter, Lindbergh High’s Drew Yanker hammered away a 15-yard touchdown run to give the Flyers a 24-21 come from behind win over Mehl-ville on Friday evening.

The win for the Flyers (3-0, 2-0 Suburban West) not only kept their undefeated record in tact, but also established bragging rights in the South County area.

“They (Mehlville) are a very good team and we knew that we would have our hands full,” Lindbergh head coach Tom Beauchamp told the Call. “It was one of those games where the fans definitely got their money’s worth.”

The loss for Mehlville (0-3, 0-1 Suburban West) was frustrating for head coach Gary Heyde in that the Panthers held a 21-17 advantage in the fourth quarter before Yank-er’s game-winning touchdown.

“Lindbergh is a good team and we had a shot to win the game,” Heyde told the Call. “We had some mental mistakes on the last drive and that hurt us.”

Mehlville’s record is misleading in that two of the team’s first three games have been against schools with 3-0 records.

“We’re off to a pretty tough start, but we’ve improved a lot,” Heyde said. “We’ve a pretty young team, and we’re getting better each week.”

The Flyers struck first against Mehlville with a 23-yard touchdown pass by senior quarterback Joe Haas to senior wide receiver Martin Bates, who finished the evening with two receptions for 29 yards.

“Martin made a great play,” Beauchamp said. “Joe (Haas) made a strike to him, and Martin was able to put a couple of jukes on them and slide into the end zone.”

Haas was solid for the Green and Gold with an 8 of 22 performance for 161 yards and one touchdown. He also carried the ball 17 times for 60 yards.

Lindbergh scored again with 2:17 left in the first quarter as junior defensive back Clayton Thompson recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown.

“It was a great play where the ball was bouncing around and put us in a good situation,” Beauchamp said. “The whole punt team deserves credit.”

Senior running back Jeremy Doss responded with a 96-yard kickoff return in the first quarter. Doss recorded two returns for 106 yards and also led the ground attack with 11 carries for 173 yards.

“He (Doss) had a big night with 173 yards rushing,” Heyde said.

The Panthers scored again in the second quarter as senior wide receiver T.J. Brown received a 50-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Kevin Mahler.

Brown had an outstanding evening with three receptions for 102 yards. He also scored late in the third quarter on a 32-yard touchdown pass by Mahler.

Mahler ended with a 5 of 18 performance for 146 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

The Panthers play Parkway South at 7 p.m. Friday at home. The Patriots faced their third defeat with a 33-6 loss at Hicman.

“They’re like us in that they’re off to an 0-3 start and need to get things going in the right direction,” Heyde said.

Lindbergh play Marquette at 7 p.m. Friday at home. The Mustangs are 0-3 after a 28-0 loss to Francis Howell North.

“They’ve played some very good competition and have got a very good running back and fullback along with three different quarterbacks,” Beauchamp said.

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