Joseph Natal brings down Boerne Geneva quarterback Will Langenbahn with help from Jacob Darilek (26) and Jack Janecek. St. Paul had six sacks on the night. [ NOTE: click photo to enlarge ]

photo by Lori Raabe

Shiner St. Paul’s defense limited the offense of a very good football team.

The Boerne Geneva Eagles were the district champs last year and had not lost a regularseason game in two seasons.

The Cardinals put a dent in Geneva’s aspirations for the former and stopped the later as they held off the Eagles 20-17 Friday night ( October 6, 2017 ) at Comanches Stadium.

St. Paul head coach Jake Wachsmuth said the Cardinal defense mixed up coverages and blitzes, sometimes going with sending six and sometimes four.

“They did get in some good passing plays but when we sent six it felt like we got the pressure and made some plays,” he said.

The Cardinals ability to control the ball on offense provided a good push.

“When we were able to get three or four yards per play and make first downs, it was big for us,” Wachsmuth said.

St. Paul also executed a couple of options plays in the game, trying to give Geneva’s defense something new to worry about.

The Eagles drove into St. Paul territory on the game’s opening possession but got little out of the drive except for a punt that forced the Cardinals start inside their own 30.

Which provided little trouble for St. Paul. Conor Kresta turned a 3-and-18 play from the Cardinal 28 into a first down at the Geneva 26 after a 46-yard pass from River Haynes. Kresta had a 16-yard run on the next play and later caught a 10-yard pass before capping the drive with a 3-yard run for a 7-0 St. Paul lead.

The Eagles stalled on their next possession thanks to a penalty and a quarterback sack, punting to set up the Cardinals at the Eagle 45. St. Paul then drove 45 yards in 13 plays. Kresta, Haynes, Tre’Zell Jenkins-Perry and Joseph Natal all contributed rushing yards; Kresta capped the possession with a 5-yard run with 9:17 left in the first half.

The Eagles got on the board with a 32-yard field goal after a 10-play, 48-yard drive.

With less than a minute left in the first half, Geneva drove 59 yards in just four plays. Langenbahn had a 23-yard pass to Zach Scott and later capped the drive with a 20-yard pass to running back Devon Ahrens.

The Cardinals opened the third quarter with a nearly-five-and-minute drive but were unable to convert a fourth down inside Geneva territory.

St. Paul quickly got the ball back in good field position after making the plays on defense. They started at the Eagle 40 and after a 1-yard rush, Kresta hauled in a 35-yard pass down to the 4 and scored on the third play for a 20-10 St. Paul lead with 3:49 left in the third.

Geneva struggled on offense but made a play on defense on an interception near its goal line to kill a St. Paul drive that would have sealed the win had the Cardinals come away with points.

Langenbahn piloted the Eagles down inside the Cardinal 10 and he capped the drive with a 4-yard pass to Easton Myrick with five seconds left in the game.

GAME STATISTICS

   Shiner St. Paul 20, Boerne Geneva 17
     Friday, October 6, 2017, 7:30 p.m.
     Comanche Stadium, Shiner


  SCORING SUMMARY:

                                 1    2    3    4      F
    Boerne Geneva                0   10    0    7  -- 17
    Shiner St. Paul              7    6    7    0  -- 20


  SCORING DETAILS:

    First Quarter
      SSP — Conor Kresta 3 run (Frank Benes kick), 5:10 1Q.

    Second Quarter
      SSP — Kresta 5 run (kick failed), 9:17 2Q.
      BG  — Austin Dennis 32 FG, 5:38 2Q.
      BG  — Devon Ahrens 20 pass from Will Langenbahn (Dennis kick), 0:57 2Q.

    Third Quarter
      SSP — Kresta 4 run (Benes kick), 3:49 3Q.

    Fourth Quarter
      BG  — Easton Myrick 4 pass from Langenbahn (Dennis kick), 0:05 4Q.


  TEAM STATISTICS:

                        Geneva      St. Paul
    First downs             12            16
    Rushing               16-7        58-268
    Passing                167            91
    Passes               10-23         4-8-1
    Fumbles                0-0           0-0
    Penalties             7-36          8-67
    Punts               5-32.4        2-15.0


  INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:

  Rushing
    BG:  Devon Ahrens 7-36, Will Langenbahn 9-(-29).
    SSP: Conor Kresta 32-174, River Haynes 13-45,Joseph Natal 5-26, Tre’Zell Jenkins-Perry 7-15,Kai Giese 1-8.

  Passing
    BG:  Lanenbahn 10-23-0-143.
    SSP: Haynes 4-8-1-91.

  Receiving
    BG:  Easton Myrick 2-33, Scott Janse 3-63, Ahrens 3-36, Zach Scott 1-23, Joel Cauldron 1-12.
    SSP: Kresta 3-91, Natal 1-0.