St. Paul bounces back
by Jason Chlapek
Friday, September 23, 2011
Gonzales Inquirer Article | St. Paul Cardinal Football | Return to Shiner Home Page
SHINER -- On the surface, it looks as if the St. Paul football team bounced back on Saturday.
St. Paul linebacker Mitchell McElroy (25) returns an interception for a touchdown in the Cardinals’ 70-13 rout of St. Joseph Saturday in Shiner. photo by Lori Raabe
A week after losing their 17-game winning streak in a 21-17 loss to Flatonia, the Cardinals responded with a 70-13 rout of Bryan St. Joseph Saturday at Comanche Field in Shiner. While St. Paul (4-1) accounted for 488 yards of total offense and limited St. Joseph (0-5) to 248, Cardinals’ coach Paul Johnston still sees plenty of room for improvement.
"We have to work on our blocking assignments," Johnston said. "I’m proud of the kids for bouncing back, but we still have a lot of work to do."
St. Paul took off in the first quarter as it built a commanding 35-7 lead after 12 minutes of play. Dakota Kresta threw a trio of touchdown passes -- two to Adam Hollenbach and one to Justin Natal -- while Martin Kennedy scored on a run and Mitchell McElroy returned an interception for a score.
Kresta struck again in the second quarter as he hit Natal and Dylan Barton for touchdowns. The Cardinals led 49-13 at halftime.
Brett Hodges scored on a touchdown run and Kresta hit Cole Hybner for a score in the third quarter, and Natal had a touchdown run in the fourth quarter. St. Paul led 62-13 after three quarters of play and 70-13 at the end of the contest.
Kresta completed 9-of-13 passes for 252 yards and six touchdowns. Natal was the leading receiver with 152 yards and two scores on three catches, and he also ran three times for 48 yards and a score.
Hollenbach was the Cardinals’ leading rusher with 10 carries for 83 yards. He also caught three passes for 72 yards and two touchdowns.
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