Gonzales Inquirer On-Line

Eagles ground it out against Cards
by Jason Chlapek
Saturday, October 8, 2011

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St. Paul wide receiver Justin Natal (17) looks to run downfield after a reception during the Cardinals’ 42-19 loss to Brazos Christian Saturday at Comanche Field in Shiner.
photo by Jason Chlapek / Gonzales Inquirer
SHINER -- St. Paul football coach Paul Johnston said it best.

"If you don’t block or tackle, you won’t be successful," Johnston said prior to the Cardinals’ TAPPS Division IV-District 3 opener against Bryan Brazos Christian on Saturday.

St. Paul struggled to do those two things Saturday against a bigger and deeper Brazos Christian team and it showed.

The Eagles ran for 423 yards in a 42-19 victory over the Cardinals at Comanche Field in Shiner.

"We had a lot of blown opportunities," Johnston said. "We missed a few tackles and a few blocks, and we didn’t execute on offense either."

St. Paul (5-2, 0-1 in TAPPS IV-District 3) lost a district game for the first time since a 43-41 loss to Sacred Heart in the 2008 season. The Cardinals also lost to Brazos Christian (7-0, 1-0 in TAPPS IV-District 3) for the first time since 2006.

In the early going, both teams struggled to move the football until St. Paul’s third drive when the Cardinals moved to the Eagles’ 10- yard line thanks to hard running from Adam Hollenbach, Brett Hodges and Martin Kennedy. But a chopblock backed St. Paul up to the 25, and an interception on the 4 ended the threat.

Following the turnover, it didn’t take long for Brazos Christian to answer.

It took just one play to be exact as Brad Brown rumbled 96 yards for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 6-0 lead with 1:28 left in the first quarter.

But the Cardinals responded four plays later as Dakota Kresta hit Justin Natal for a 50-yard score to tie the game at 6 at the 11:50 mark of the second quarter.

A trio of Hollenbach runs for a combined 21 yards set up the Kresta-to-Natal score.

On the ensuing drive, Brazos Christian struck again.

This time Jaxton McNair ran 60 yards for a score to put the Eagles up 12-6 with 10:16 left before halftime.

Three plays later, it appeared as if St. Paul scored again as Kresta hit Kennedy for a 74-yard score. But an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at the Brazos Christian 5 not only negated the score, but also backed up the Cardinals to the 20.

St. Paul eventually drove to the 8 before losing a fumble at the 3 a few plays later.

The Cardinals had another golden opportunity to score after taking over at the Eagles’ 16 on a partially blocked punt, but another chopblock penalty backed St. Paul up before the Cardinals turned the ball over on downs with 3:32 left before halftime.

Brazos Christian led 12-6 at halftime before going into ball-control mode in the second half. The Eagles opened the third quarter on a six-play, 60-yard drive, which concluded with a 37-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion run from McNair to put his team up, 20-6, at the 8:54 mark of the period.

St. Paul answered with an 11-play 55-yard drive of its own as Hollenbach scored from three yards out to cut the Brazos Christian lead to 20-13 with 4:28 left in the third quarter. Kresta ran twice for 27 yards on the drive, while both Hollenbach and Kennedy gained 12 yards on four and three carries, respectively.

But Brazos Christian was simply too much as McNair scored from two yards out and added a two-pointer to give his team a 28-13 lead at the 11:18 mark of the fourth quarter. McNair’s touchdown capped an 11-play, 55-yard drive by the Eagles.

A lost Cardinals’ fumble led to a 53-yard touchdown run by McNair on his final carry of the night, which extended the Brazos Christian lead to 35-13 with 9:08 left to play. A turnover on downs led to the Eagles’ final touchdown of the night – a 30-yard run from Brown – which put his team up 42-13 with 6:14 left in the game.

St. Paul added a touchdown with 5:16 left to play as Kresta hit Natal in the endzone from 30 yards out. Kresta hit Hollenbach for gains of 23 and 10 yards prior to connecting with Natal for the final score of the contest.

Kresta completed 15-of-30 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns. Natal led all receivers with four catches for 107 yards and two scores.

Hollenbach led the Cardinals in rushing with 35 yards on 13 carries, and also had six catches for 53 yards. Kennedy caught three passes for 72 yards and ran eight times for 30 yards.

The game was delayed for 25 minutes after Kennedy was hit hard on a play. He was taken off the field by ambulance because of a head injury, but he was said to be fine according to St. Paul school officials.

Kennedy stayed the night at a nearby hospital, but was expected to be released Sunday afternoon, according to the Shiner Catholic Schools’ Facebook page. School officials said Kennedy was taken by ambulance for precautionary reasons because he suffered a stress fracture in his lower back in the offseason.

St. Paul has a bye this week, and returns to the field Oct. 21 when the Cardinals travel to San Antonio for a showdown with St. Gerard.


St. Paul Cardinal Football   |   Return to Shiner Home Page

GO CARDINALS !

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