The St. Thomas More Cougars football team has now started the 2023 season 6-0 after they beat down the North Vermilion Patriots last Friday at home 54-0. Headed into halftime, the Cougars were up by 41 points as the team put in their reserves to begin the second half, including wide receiver Landon Strother.
The third man of this three-headed monster on offense had a modest game against North Vermilion with two catches for 47 yards but was heavily involved in the gameplan as starting quarterback Sam Altmann targeted Strother a few times deep over the course of the first 24 minutes with one going for a 40-yard touchdown.
Over the season, Strother has 23 receptions for 412 yards and six touchdowns while also being the team’s punt and kick returner en route to the Cougars remaining undefeated.
Question: Headed into this game, what were you and the coaches seeing on tape that helped form the game plan against the Patriots?
Answer: We saw on tape that North Vermilion was playing far back on defense so we were able to take everything underneath. As the game went along though, we saw we could take a few shots down the field and it worked out well.
Q: Just talk about your touchdown catch and what was going on during the play.
A: Yeah, they were playing far off and they weren’t able to keep up with us. I blew right by them and Sam (Altmann) did his job and put it right in my hands.
Q: Now, you and Sam weren’t able to connect on a few throws deep before that. What does it mean to you knowing he and coach Jim Hightower still had the trust to go to you deep?
A: Oh yeah, we have so much chemistry and I didn’t hang my head on it. I knew I had to bounce back and Sam had as much trust in me as I had in him. Our whole offense trusts one another so we were able to bounce back.
Q: What’s it like being able to play alongside a quarterback like Sam Altmann?
A: Sam is talented. He’s able to make decisions and is so smart on and off the field. We love him, we trust him and he brings our team together.
Q: What will it take for this team to improve to 7-0 next Friday when the Cougars take on Northside?
A: We just need to keep doing what we’re doing. As long as we continue to trust one another, play alongside each other, keep practicing hard, and stay focused, that’ll do it.
The STM Cougars will stay at home on Friday, October 13th as coach Jim Hightower and his team will face off against the Northside Vikings. Kickoff for that game will be at 7:00 p.m. with pregame starting at 6:30 p.m. and it can all be heard on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette.