They got exactly what they needed with a 59-14 victory over Bryan St. Joseph Friday night ( September 2, 2016 ) at Comanche Stadium.
"We needed this win because the expectations are high. Last week, our players were disappointed in their efforts and the result," Cardinals head coach Jake Wachsmuth said."We made improvements and just want to take it little by little as we go through the year and hope to build on that. It feels a lot better.
I just know when you are at Week 2; you are looking at all the things that have to get better."
The Cardinals scored the first seven times they had the ball and also had an interception returned for a touchdown, taking a 32-0 lead after the first quarter and never looking back, getting all 59 point in the first two quarters.
St. Paul ran for nearly 400 yards, led by Conor Kresta, who ran for 214 yards on just eight carries and scored three touchdowns.
The Cardinal defense forced four first-half turnovers and St. Joseph punted a total of five times.
St. Paul did some good things on defense and had lots of improvement on their offense.
Late in the second quarter, St. Paul got some reserve players on both sides of the ball in to get experience.
Things got started immediately for St. Paul as their defense recovered a fumble on the first offensive play of the game at the Eagles 32. It took Kresta two plays to score on a 26-yard run.
Kresta got a pick on the next drive, setting up St. Paul at the 22 of St. Joseph. Two plays later, TrevZell Jenkins-Perry had a 31-yard touchdown run.
The Eagles then went three-and-out, giving the Cardinals the ball at their 26. Kresta took a toss and was gone for another St. Paul score.
On the next drive, St. Joseph punted and River Haynes had a return from St. Joseph 37 to the 18. Quarterback Austin Barton tossed his only pass of the game, a touchdown strike to Ryan Bell.
St. Paul scored once more this time driving 91 yards in six plays. Barton had a 13-yard run on the first play, his only carry of the game. Kresta had a 42-yard run from his 33 to the Eagle 25 and later finished the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run.
In the second quarter, St. Paul did not let up with a 32-yard run by Perry for a score; Joseph Natal's short-touchdown run and then his pick six. Malinovsky capped St. Paul scoring with a 70-yard run with 4:28 left in the half.
Haynes took over at quarterback and later in the game, Reid Yackel took over the signal calling.
With a second-half running clock, the Eagles managed two scores a 7-yard run by tight end Nick Adam and a 1-yard run by quarterback John Navjar, both in the fourth quarter.
GAME STATISTICSShiner St. Paul 59, Bryan St. Joseph 14 September 2, 2016, 7:30 p.m. Comanche Stadium, Shiner SCORING SUMMARY 1 2 3 4 F St. Joseph 0 0 0 14 -- 14 St. Paul 32 27 0 0 -- 59 SCORING DETAILS: First Quarter SSP Conor Kresta 26 run (kick failed), 11:02 1Q. SSP Tre'Zell Jenkins-Perry 31 run (pass failed), 8:45 1Q. SSP Kresta 74 run (kick failed), 6:10 1Q. SSP Ryan Bell 18 pass from Austin Barton (Frank Benes kick), 5:25 1Q. SSP Kresta 13 run (Benes kick), 0:59 1Q. Second Quarter SSP Perry 32 run (Benes kick), 10:59 2Q. SSP Joseph Natal 5 run (kick blocked), 6:51 2Q. SSP Natal 28 interception return (Benes kick), 5:48 2Q. SSP Ryan Malinovsky 70 run (Benes kick), 4:28 2Q. Third Quarter no score Fourth Quarter BSJ Nick Adam 7 run (Seth Castillo kick), 7:31 4Q. BSJ John Navjar 1 run (Castillo kick), 0:12 4Q. TEAM STATISTICS: St.Joseph St Paul First downs 7 13 Rushes-yards 21-70 30-396 Passing yards 116 18 Passes 6-24-2 1-1 Penalties-yards 2-10 5-35 Fumbles-lost 2-2 1-0 Punts-average 5-35.8 2-24.0 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS: Rushing BSJ: John Navjar 9-44, Nick Adam 4-22, Logan Lipscomb 1-4, Phillip Blaszak 7-0. SSP: Conor Kresta 8-214, Ryan Malinovsky 2-82, Tre'Zell Jenkins-Perry 4-74, Joseph Natal 3-17, Austin Barton 1-13, Eudosio Garza 3-6, River Haynes 1-2, Carson Reese 3-(-2), Team 1-(-2), Reid Yackel 4-(-8). Passing BSJ: Navjar 6-24-2-116. SSP: Barton 1-1-0-18. Receiving BSJ: Lipscomb 3-96, Noah McClure 1-14, Phillip 1-3, Joshua Saldua 1-3. SSP: Ryan Bell 1-18.
Mark Lube is the sports editor for the Shiner Gazette. Contact him at 361-594-3346 or shinersports@sbcglobal.net |