MOBILE, Ala. — St. Paul’s football coach Ham Barnett has run out of ways to describe the Saints’ luck this fall. In the span of one week, St. Paul’s lost its starting quarterback and its leading rusher to injuries that will likely end their seasons, and a wave of illness has swept through the roster on top of it.
Junior quarterback Hayden Fincher and sophomore running back Ty Sellers were both hurt in last week’s 39-35 loss to St. Michael Catholic, a game the Saints led by 18 points in the third quarter before the Cardinals rallied to win in the final minutes.
“I don’t really know how to explain it,” Barnett said. “It’s a lot of bad luck, I guess. It’s been a year of adversity for sure.”
St. Paul’s (2-3, 1-2 in Private Class AA, Region 1) is off this week. The Saints return to action next Friday, Oct. 2, at Montgomery Catholic.
At a Glance
- Team: St. Paul’s Episcopal Saints, Mobile
- Record: 2-3 overall, 1-2 in Private Class AA, Region 1
- Injured: QB Hayden Fincher (torn ACL) and RB Ty Sellers (ankle), both likely out for the regular season
- Illness: About 20 players have missed time with strep throat over the past two weeks; several others have been out with concussions
- Next game: Friday, Oct. 2, at Montgomery Catholic
- Playoffs: All 16 Private Class AA teams qualify for the postseason
Two Starters Lost in One Night
The St. Michael game on Sept. 18 was a microcosm of the Saints’ season. Fincher left with an injury in the first quarter. Senior Roberts Law stepped in, running out of a Wildcat package the Saints had not practiced with him, and scored four rushing touchdowns. Sellers ran 18 times for 129 yards and a touchdown before leaving late in the third quarter.
Without both players, St. Paul’s could not hold its lead, and St. Michael scored the winning touchdown with 1:09 left.
Sellers’ loss is a major one. The sophomore was twice named the Cunningham Bounds Coastal Player of the Week in the first four weeks of the season. He has run for 606 yards and six touchdowns on 81 carries, an average of about 7.5 yards per attempt. In a 38-33 win at Glenwood, he ran 28 times for 210 yards and two scores as the Saints piled up 422 rushing yards.
Barnett said the one bit of good news is that Sellers will not need surgery on his ankle.
“Those guys have been at practice every day,” Barnett said. “Ty doesn’t have to have surgery on his ankle, so that’s a good thing, but you are still looking at 6-8 weeks of recovery and by then, most likely, the season will be over.”
A Frustrating Year for Fincher
Fincher, in his second full season as the Saints’ starting quarterback, had already fought through one injury this fall. He hurt his wrist in the region-opening loss to McGill-Toolen, returned and was playing well before tearing his ACL on a play with no contact.
In that McGill-Toolen game, Fincher showed what he could do, throwing a 90-yard touchdown pass to Bo Ladner and scrambling 46 yards for another score.
“The injury bug just kind of hit Hayden this year,” Barnett said. “He hurt his wrist against McGill-Toolen and then came back and was playing really well and then tears his ACL in a non-contact injury. Roberts (Law) has really stepped up, and I’ve been really proud of our offensive staff for coming up with a great plan. Guys are going to have to continue to step up, but I still feel confident we will have a good year.”
Strep Throat and Concussions
The injuries to Fincher and Sellers are only part of the story. Barnett said about 20 players have missed time with strep throat over the past two weeks, and several others have been sidelined by concussions.
That kind of attrition is especially hard on a small private-school roster, where many players contribute on both sides of the ball and on special teams. It is one reason Barnett welcomed the timing of the open date.
“I think the bye week came at a good time,” Barnett said. “We’ve got to stay healthy going into this last stretch. I think all the games are winnable if we play well. We have to come together as a team, and I think we are. We have a good group. We just aren’t finishing games right now. We had the lead late against both McGill-Toolen and St. Michael and lost in the fourth quarter. We’ve talked a lot this week about finishing those type games.”
Who Steps In
With Fincher and Sellers out, Barnett said the Saints will lean more on Law and sophomore running back Sam Frazer. Murphy Fromdahl is expected to take over at quarterback.
Law has already proven he can carry a load. Against Glenwood, he ran 18 times for 186 yards and a touchdown. Against St. Michael, with little warning, he gained 108 yards on 15 carries and scored on runs of 1, 2, 6 and 2 yards.
Barnett said the coaching staff will use the off week to build new wrinkles around the players who are healthy.
“We’ll come up with some different packages to try to give us an advantage here or there,” Barnett said. “It’s good to have a bye week. Our kids will respond well.”
A Season of Close Calls
St. Paul’s record hides how competitive its season has been. Before the St. Michael game, the Saints had scored 130 points and allowed 129 through four games.
Their three losses have come against quality opponents. Gulf Shores beat the Saints 34-10 in the season’s opening weeks, the Dolphins’ first win in the series since 2009. McGill-Toolen, ranked No. 2 in Private Class AA, scored the final 14 points to win 34-24 in the region opener after St. Paul’s had taken the lead. Then came the four-point loss to St. Michael after leading by 18.
In between, the Saints won a shootout at Glenwood, running for 422 yards in a 38-33 victory.
The Road Ahead
St. Paul’s has five regular-season games left:
- Friday, Oct. 2: at Montgomery Catholic
- Friday, Oct. 9: vs. Faith Academy
- Friday, Oct. 16: vs. UMS-Wright
- Thursday, Oct. 22: at Houston Academy
- Friday, Oct. 30: vs. Spanish Fort
Montgomery Catholic has already shown it can handle area competition, beating Faith Academy 38-7 earlier this month. UMS-Wright, a Mobile rival of the Saints, was ranked No. 5 in Private Class AA in the Sept. 19 state poll and has beaten both St. Michael and Faith Academy.
The good news for the Saints is that the postseason door remains wide open. All 16 schools in Private Class AA will qualify for the playoffs, which means the rest of the regular season is about getting healthy, finding an identity on offense and building momentum for November.
Barnett on the Public-Private Split
This is the first season under the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s new structure, approved in January, which separates public and private schools into different championship brackets. Public schools now compete in Classes 1A through 6A, while private schools compete in Private Class AA, with 16 schools, and Private Class A, with 28. Regular-season games between public and private schools continue, which is why St. Paul’s still plays Gulf Shores and Spanish Fort.
Barnett said the change has produced good football but a heavy travel burden, because the private schools in the Saints’ classification are spread across the state.
“Every game has been competitive,” he said. “I think it’s been pretty good. Travel has been awful. We’ve been to Glenwood. We go to Montgomery in a week and then Dothan later. That’s very difficult. I think in the smaller classification — if you look at the scores — some smaller schools are certainly at a disadvantage. I don’t think that’s good for stability of a program.”
Glenwood is located in east Alabama near the Georgia line, Montgomery Catholic is in the state capital, and Houston Academy is in Dothan in the Wiregrass, all long bus rides from Mobile.
Barnett said he is still reserving judgment on the new system overall, but he likes the balance within his region.
“But it’s still a wait and see approach for me,” Barnett said. “In our league, particularly in our region, I think anyone can beat anyone on a given night. No one is head and shoulders above anyone else, and that makes it interesting.”
About St. Paul’s
St. Paul’s Episcopal School, founded in 1947, is a prekindergarten-through-12th-grade school on Dogwood Lane in Mobile. The Saints have a long record of athletic success across many sports, and the school’s alumni include former Alabama and NFL quarterback A.J. McCarron, NFL safety Mark Barron, NFL defensive end Bryce Huff and former Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Jake Peavy.
This fall, the program’s biggest challenge is simply getting enough healthy bodies onto the field. If the bye week does what Barnett hopes, the Saints will head to Montgomery with a new-look offense and a chance to start a late-season push.