The Shiner St. Paul Cardinals were in the lead only once in their state semifinal battle against Bryan Brazos Christian Friday night in The Woodlands, but their timing was excellent.

A 1-yard run by Conor Kresta gave St. Paul a 41-38 lead with just 27 seconds left in the ball game as it completed a Cardinal rally from a 38-28 deficit.

The win sends St. Paul to their second straight state championship game and their fifth appearance in seven seasons. St. Paul was runner up in 2011 and took home the crown in 2010, 2012 and last year (2015).

The Eagles took a 7-0 lead 24 seconds into the game with a 71-yard run by Tucker Hartis and the Cardinals got on the board with a 58-yard run by quarterback Austin Barton at the 10:18 mark of the first quarter.

BBC took a 14-7 lead on the 1-yard run by Garrett Fleming later in the quarter.

St. Paul again tied the score, 14-14, on a 1-yard run by Kresta. The Eagles ended the frame with 10-point surge — a 7-yard run by Hartis and a 39-yard field goal by Blake Griffin.

Kresta got St. Paul within 24-21 with a 3-yard run at the at the 7:07 mark of the third box and The Eagles reestablished the 10-point window with a 5-yard run by Fleming with 2:27 left in the quarter.

St. Paul responded with a 62-yard run by Kresta for his third score of the game.

BBC went up 38-28 with 11:06 remaining in the game on a 28-yard pass from Jacob Jordan to Tyler Chism.

The Cardinals cut it to 38-35 with 7:58 left with an 8-yard run by Kresta, minutes before his game-winning score.

GAME STATISTICS

  source: Shiner Gazette


  Shiner St. Paul 41, Bryan Brazos Christian 38
    November 25, 2016, 7:30 pm
    Warrior Stadium, The Woodlands


  SCORING SUMMARY
                               1    2    3    4       F
    Bryan Brazos Christian    14   10    7    7  --  38
    Shiner St. Paul            7    7   14   13  --  41


  SCORING DETAILS:

    First Quarter
       BBC — Tucker Hartis 71 run (Blake Griffin kick), 11:36 1Q.
       SSP — Austin Barton 58 run (Frank Benes kick), 10:18 1Q.
       BBC — Garrett Fleming 1 run (Griffin kick), 5:49 1Q.

    Second Quarter
       SSP — Conor Kresta 1 run (Benes kick), 10:13 2Q.
       BBC — Hartis 7 run (Griffin kick), 6:18 2Q.
       BBC — Griffin 39 FG, 0:33 2Q.

    Third Quarter
       SSP — Kresta 3 run (Benes kick), 7:07 3Q.
       BBC — Fleming 5 run (Griffin kick), 2:27 3Q.
       SSP — Kresta 62 run (Benes kick), 1:37 3Q.

    Fourth Quarter
       BBC — Tyler Chism 28 pass from Jacob Jordan (Griffin kick), 11:06 4Q.
       SSP — Kresta 8 run (Benes kick), 7:58 4Q.
       SSP — Kresta 1 run (kick failed, 0:27 4Q.


  TEAM STATISTICS:

                       St. Paul  Legacy Christian
    First downs              19                17
    Rushes-yards         57-435            19-132
    Passing yards            37               190
    Passes                  1-4             17-30
    Penalties-Yards        3-25              6-55
    Fumbles-Lost            0-0               3-3
    Punts-Average         0-0.0            3-39.3


  INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:

    Rushing
     BBC: Tucker Hartis 22-225, Garrett Fleming 8-37, Jacob Jordan 2-2.
     SSP: Conor Kresta 36-284, Austin Barton 9-91, Joseph Natal 7-57.

    Passing
     BBC: Jordan 12-28-0-157.
     SSP: Barton 3-10-0-107.

    Receiving
     BBC: Hartis 5-68, Tyler Chism 3-42, Ben Weber 2-24, Parker Smith 1-15, William Lockett 1-10.
     SSP: Natal 2-50, River Haynes 2-57.