De Smet Races Past Vianney

De Smet senior Durron Neal heard his coach tell the Spartans at halftime to “keep the foot on the gas” with a 14-point lead.

The University of Oklahoma recruit listened and mashed the offense’s throttle the first time he touched the ball.

Lining up in a wildcat formation after Vianney’s offense stalled in six plays to open the half, Neal found senior receiver KeVonn Mabel for a 44-yard touchdown pass to spark a 34-7 Metro Catholic Conference victory for De Smet over the host Griffins on Friday at Don Heeb Field.

“We knew coming out of halftime they would come hard,” said Neal, who also ran for a 21-yard TD in the second half. “Vianney’s always known for never giving up. They’re going to keep fighting.”

Neal found the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Mabel down the left side for the TD against single coverage, which they noticed in the first half.

“People forget that when Durron is back there, he can sling it,” De Smet coach Pat Mahoney said. “He can do everything. He’s a very versatile athlete. He played five positions for us last year; and tonight he played four.”

Neal finished with 28 rushing yards, 44 passing yards and 26 receiving yards, despite triple teams much of the night.

“Durron is probably one of the most dangerous players in Missouri, probably in the country,” said Mabel, who also caught a 24-yard TD pass from junior quarterback Conner Harrison.

“He can beat you anywhere. Punt return, kick return, quarterback, wide receiver, running back, anywhere. If he touches the ball, he can score.”

Junior running back Taylor O’Brien amassed 109 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown for De Smet.

“They have so many explosive football players on the field, and you just can’t make mistakes,” Vianney coach Mike Diffley said. “You can’t step with the wrong foot, you can’t read the wrong read, because against these guys if you’re a step behind, you’re four steps behind.”

Diffley was pleased with the Golden Griffin’s first half, despite trailing 14-0 at intermission.

“Our kids battled the first half and did everything they could do to put themselves in position to be successful,” he said. “But it’s like playing uphill the whole game. You get to a point where it just gets harder and harder.

“In order for us to be anywhere close to them, we have to be perfect. When you know you have to play perfect, it’s hard to keep that mentality going for a whole game. As soon as things starting going bad, it kind of spirals.”

Vianney sophomore back Markel Smith, who is battling an ankle injury sustained in a week one loss to Ritenour, had 85 yards on 17 carries.

But it was the second stringer’s touchdown with 2:11 left that snapped Vianney’s streak without a touchdown shy of 10 quarters.

De Smet (3-1, 1-1) hosts Chaminade next week, and Vianney (1-4, 0-2) hosts SLUH. Both games are at 7 p.m. on Friday.