Tre’Zell Jenkins-Perry runs toward the line as River Haynes (17), Jaydon Darilek (21), Patrick Green (28) and Jacob Darilek (26) block to create a lane for Perry Friday night as St. Paul beat the Panthers 42-26. [ NOTE: click photo to enlarge ]

photo by Lori Raabe

The St. Paul Cardinals discovered how competitive they are Friday night ( September 22, 2017 ) against Austin Hyde Park.

The Cardinals played its final non-district game and the second of a two-game home stand as they defeated Austin Hyde Park 42-26 at Comanche Stadium.

“We found out that we are going to compete,” St. Paul head coach Jake Wachsmuth said. “We made some mistakes but when you play a good team, it’s going to happen. Our kids battled and played hard.”

St. Paul’s defense missed some tackles against very elusive Panther ball carriers but did come up with a couple of stops and defensive back River Haynes got two big second-half interceptions.

“St. Paul got a little better in the passing game as Haynes completed 3-for-5 for 68 yards and got a touchdown pass to Joseph Natal.

St. Paul’s offensive line provided space for the running backs and the backs took advantage as Conor Kresta tore through the Panthers’ defense with 307 yards and four touchdowns.

In the first quarter, the teams traded blows — the Cardinals scored on their first two drives, going 75 yards each time and Kresta capping each one, with touchdown rushes for 1 and 60 yards.

Hyde Park got a 41-yard run by quarterback DJ Bolger and later a 14-yard run by Aaron Jenkins. In the second quarter, Kresta had a 1-yard run that capped an 18-yard drive following the Panthers mishandling a punt. Extra-point holder Kai Giese tossed a twopoint pass to Tre’Zell Jenkins-Perry for a 21-14 St. Paul lead with 5:22 left in the second.

The Panthers answered with a 19-yard pass from Bolger to Cullen Burns but missed the game-tying point after, leaving St. Paul ahead 21-20.

The Cardinals had a chance to add three points at the end of the quarter as a drive that started inside their 25 was helped by a 49-yard pass from Haynes to Kresta. The Cardinals missed a 26- yard field goal as time expired.

The Cardinals scored on the their first possession of the third box as they started a drive past the 50 and were helped after an incomplete pass turned into a first down at the 12 following a personal foul and then an unsportsmanlike conduct flag on Hyde Park.

A 7-yard run by Jenkins- Perry and point after gave the Cardinals a 28- 20 lead.

The Panthers then drove 74 yards in nearly five minutes, scoring on a Jenkins 6-yard run but again missed the extra point.

St. Paul pulled away on the next drive as Kresta had a 54-yard run on a third-and-4 play from the Cardinal 31. The next play, a Haynes pass was tipped by the Panthers but into the hands of Natal.

The Cardinals opened the gap wider as Haynes made his first pick with 10:29 left in the game. St. Paul then melted over six minutes off the clock on a 98-yard drive capped by a 39-run by Kresta. Haynes’ second pick on the next drive allowed him to keep the clock going with the St. Paul running game.

GAME STATISTICS

   Shiner St. Paul 42, Austin Hyde Park 26
     Friday, September 22, 2017, 7:30 p.m.
     Comanche Stadium, Shiner


  SCORING SUMMARY:

                                 1    2    3    4      F
    Austin Hyde Park            14    6    6    0  -- 26
    Shiner St. Paul             13    8   14    7  -- 42


  SCORING DETAILS:

    First Quarter
      SSP — Conor Kresta 1 run (run failed), 8:16 1Q.
      AHP — DJ Bolger 41 run (Cole Sayre kick), 5:08 1Q.
      SSP — Kresta 60 run (Frank Benes kick), 4:32 1Q.
      AHP — Aaron Jenkins 14 run (Sayre kick), 0:07 1Q.

    Second Quarter
      SSP — Kresta 1 run (Tre’Zell Jenkins-Perry pass from Kai Giese), 5:22 2Q.
      AHP — Cullen Burns 19 pass from Bolger (kick failed), 3:31 2Q.

    Third Quarter
      SSP — Jenkins-Perry 7 run (Benes kick), 9:13 3Q.
      AHP — Jenkins 6 run (kick failed), 4:07 3Q.
      SSP — Joseph Natal 15 pass from River Haynes (Benes kick), 2:35 3Q.

    Fourth Quarter
      SSP — Kresta 39 run (Benes kick), 4:08 4Q.


  TEAM STATISTICS:

                     Hyde Park      St. Paul
    First downs             16            21
    Rushing             29-182        54-417
    Passing yards           83            68
    Passes              6-16-2           3-5
    Penalties             5-57          6-41
    Fumbles-lost           3-1           1-1
    Punts-average       2-39.0        1-32.0


  INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:

  Rushing
    AHP: DJ Bolger 12-98, Aaron Jenkins 9-40, John Nelson 5-22, Joseph Torelli 2-15, Ben Ballard 1-7.
    SSP: Conor Kresta 23-307, Joseph Natal 12-75, River Haynes 9-20, Tre’Zell Jenkins-Perry 10-15.

  Passing
    AHP: Bolger 6-14-1-83, Ballard 0-2-1-0.
    SSP: Haynes 3-5-0-68.

  Receiving
    AHP: Cullen Burns 4-56, Jacob Daniels 1-14, Torelli 1-13.
    SSP: Natal 2-19, Kresta 1-49.