Family history carries St. Paul captains
Nov. 3—NORWALK — There is no second chance at a first impression.
A little more than 14 years ago, longtime St. Paul head football coach was introduced to a young group of kids who have made their marks on his program.
"We were at one of our team manager's graduation party, Cassi Moore, in 2008," Livengood said. "We were outside and a group of kids kept hounding me to throw the football around with them."
The names of all participants have been forgotten by now. There were so many of them.
But the coach of 32 years of the Flyers can recall seeing several little Meyer boys. And of course, Rospert, Stieber, Stoll and Crabbs' boys as well.
Livengood soon found out the young boys were serious. So he started throwing the football a little farther each time.
"And they were diving and laying out for the ball," he said. "Next thing you know, some of them start playing defense against these passes."
It was then, outside playing harmless catch on an innocent summer day at a graduation party, the coach saw what his program was in for.
"I don't remember which one it was, but one of them is laying out to catch about a 40-yard pass and the other one comes screaming across the field and lays them out like Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott back in the day," Livengood said. "This is a group of kids who are in maybe kindergarten or first grade at the time."
The coach wanted to be mortified. But he could only muster up a laugh and smile.
In many ways, Livengood still has that same reaction in 2022.
Twin siblings AJ and Andy Meyer, along with their cousins, Quincey Crabbs and Chase Rospert, are main cogs for the Flyers (8-3) as they prepare for Friday's Division VII second-round playoff game at Salineville Southern (10-1).
Not only are the four seniors the team captains for this season, but they have been part of a record-breaking year — while playing a brand of football that they've embraced their entire lives.
"The thing about that story is, they'd get up from those hits with the biggest smiles on their faces," Livengood said. "They were just hitting each other as hard as they could. The average kid would be laying there groaning in pain. They got up wanting more."
Or, as Crabbs eloquently describes it, "The feeling of hitting someone and knocking them off their feet is pretty satisfying. You can't really have a much better feeling than knocking someone's head off, honestly."
From the start
AJ and Andy Meyer are the youngest of eight siblings of parents Steve and Jesse.
Oldest sibling, Maddie, played volleyball in the fall at St. Paul. Brothers Cal, Nate, Eli, Sam and Ben also played football for Livengood.
Rospert is the oldest of three (Lydia and Levi) kids of Steve and Laurie. Crabbs' older brothers Thane, Eric and Camden also all played for Livengood in recent years. Georgia, a freshman, is the youngest sibling of parents Tim and Teresia.
Four cousins from large families in the same class has meant plenty of time spent together.
"When we we real little, we'd go to each other's houses and play football and make up our own games," Chase said. "It was very competitive growing up."
Many Sundays were spent playing football somewhere. The older siblings and cousins were more than happy to toughen up the four boys back in those days.
"They'd have us play with them and show us how to play each position," AJ Meyer said. "My brothers taught me everything about football, and they cheer us on now."
For Andy Meyer, the memories of watching his brothers and cousins are a huge motivation for him.
"Just seeing my older brothers and cousins play has been the best thing about St. Paul," Andy said. "We grew up watching those guys forever, so this is a big part of me and our family.
"Having us four now, I think it's great. We're friends and we're all close. It's a unique situation that we all embrace."
Hard-hitting
The exploits of the need for contact among the relatives are well-known.
One St. Paul coach recalled the time Crabbs was playing in a fifth-grade game against St. Mary Central Catholic. He was taken out of the game at running back, because he had totaled more than 200 yards and 4 touchdowns.
But he was left in on defense. Crabbs then stripped the ball out of a player's hands and returned it for a touchdown. The very next defensive play, he did it again — but his coaches yelled for him to go down and not score.
Because the coaches took him out on offense, Quincey started creating his own carries — on defense.
As ball boys, AJ and Andy often tried to find themselves in the action. In 2017, the Flyers scored eight times in a 45-7 win over Tiffin Calvert in a second-round playoff game at Don Paul Stadium in Fremont.
The venue, however, is situated in a neighborhood, with a street lined with houses just outside. Every time Joey Catalano made an extra point or field goal, the Meyer twins were attempting to run and catch the football — then see how many parked cars they could bounce off of while doing so.
In 2020, the Flyers visited Warren John F. Kennedy in a second-round playoff game. The Eagles had two defensive tackles that weighed 240 and 250 pounds.
And they lined up right on top of Rospert, the center, who was a sophomore weighing 140 pounds.
"And he did very well, because he's such a hard-working kid," Livengood said.
Many times, Livengood said a game plan may start off with a double-team block to help Rospert out with a bigger kid.
"And then he usually tells us he doesn't need help and will handle it," Livengood said. "It's stuff you try to teach, but a kid has to have that desire and ability to do it. That's Chase."
Lofty records
The defense was struggling. The offense wasn't.
On a night when junior standout running back Ben Burger had gone down less than a minute into the second quarter, the Flyers needed to find a way to outlast host Edon on Oct. 7.
In the first quarter, Crabbs had 77 yards and 2 TDs. He'd run for more than 300 yards after that.
The Flyers certainly needed it. By game's end, Crabbs ran 38 times for 408 yards and 5 TDs. St. Paul had traveled two hours and survived for a 60-52 win over the Bombers — which also served as Livengood's 300th win at the school.
It was the 60th reported game in Ohio history of 400-plus yards by a single player, and broke the school mark by 73 yards.
"I didn't realize I had that many (yards) — but I knew my line was opening some big holes for me," Crabbs said. "The teamwork we put in will always stand out. Everyone was so together.
"We knew we had to outlast them and and give our best to get the win for Coach Livengood."
Along the front lines, Crabbs has Rospert blocking for him at center, with AJ at receiver and Andy at tight end.
"I thought it was awesome," Andy said. "I'd do it all over again just for him. But this whole team was a part of that crazy number and game."
The 408 yards in Week 8 also allowed another huge number to suddenly become realistic. In a program that has produced 13 All-Ohio running backs in 30 years, the 2,000-yard mark had been reached just three times.
Crabbs closed the regular season with 1,790 yards. He needed 210 in the final home game of his career in a first-round game vs. Lisbon David Anderson on Oct. 28.
On his final carry, a 12-yard run in the fourth quarter, he reached the mark. And it came because AJ Meyer and Burger had cleared the left side for him to get past the line of scrimmage.
"It makes me happy that Quincey got the chance to do it, and that we're all a part of it," AJ said. "We wanted it bad for him ... he's worked hard for it."
With 2,008 yards and 24 TDs in 11 games, Crabbs joined Dan Pugh (2,368) in 1997, Jason Pugh (2,008) in 1999 and Brad Smith (2,006) in 2014 as the lone 2,000-yard rushers in program history.
He also was the quickest to the mark by a wide margin. Dan Pugh reached it in his 13th game, and it was the state title game in Week 15 for Jason Pugh and Smith.
"I didn't think it was impossible, but I thought it'd be really hard," Crabbs said of 2,000 yards. "But then when our line got off to the start they did this season and the blocks I was getting — then the Edon game ... I did start to think maybe.
"It was always a dream. Growing up, my uncle Gabe (Stoll) would tell me I'd be a 2,000-yard rusher. I always thought it would be too hard. It's a dream. To do it with family, too ... it's hard to describe that it's real."
With a style of running and blocking predicated on contact, perhaps no single play represented the four captains better than a 40-yard TD by Crabbs on Oct. 21 at Monroeville.
Crabbs cut back up the middle about 10 yards into the run — bouncing directly off an opening created by Rospert. As he reaches the Monroeville 20, Andy Meyer sees a defender attempting to close in.
But at the 10, Crabbs had cutback to his left and juked one player, then went back to his right to run by a second defender inside the 5 on his way into the end zone.
It was then, however, that Andy Meyer came barreling in from the left and wiped out a third Monroeville defender that had no chance at tackling Crabbs — who turned his head and watched them go by in front of him as he stumbled into the end zone standing up.
"Well, Coach Livengood always says don't stop until the whistle is blown — and I didn't hear a whistle," Andy explained. "I guess I wanted to make it that much easier for him."
Andy immediately jogged off to the sideline without breaking stride. AJ and Quincey soon followed, no reaction — just an average play for them.
That trait was also passed down over time.
"I was always excited for Thane when he'd do something," Quincey said of his oldest brother. "But he never had a reaction to it. Same when I was a sophomore with Camden as a senior.
"You just have to be cool with it. Keep everyone else calm by acting that way yourself."
