The Cardinals gang tackle Legacy Prep back Korien Burrell. St. Paul will play rival Hallettsville Sacred Heart for the second time this season at 2 p.m. Saturday at Columbus. Winner will play in the TAPPS IV state game Dec. 8 in Hewitt. [ NOTE: click photo to enlarge ]

THE WOODLANDS —- The St. Paul Cardinals bent a little but did not break in defending Beaumont Legacy Prep and their star running back Korien Burrell.

St. Paul, while giving up a couple of big plays to Burrell, forced three turnovers and controlled the ball en route to a 48-20 win over the Eagles Friday night ( November 23, 2018 ) at The Woodlands Christian Academy in the TAPPS IV regional round.

“We got some turnovers on special teams; we got some turnovers on defense. I don’t think you can totally shut down Korien Burrell. He’s a good player and they had some big guys up front to block for him,” St. Paul head coach Jake Wachsmuth said.

Running back Joseph Natal carried the Cardinal offense as he ran for 210 of St. Paul’s 442 rushing yards and had scored four touchdowns.

Quarterback Kai Giese ran for one score and threw another to Dalton Jahn while running back Carson Reese chipped in one touchdown.

“We are starting to play more physical up front and doing some other good things on offense,” Wachsmuth said. “Hopefully, we can build on that.”

The Cardinals have been on a bit of a roll lately after losing their first seven games. St. Paul won two of its last three regular-season games, all in district play, to earn second in district and won their first playoff game against the The Woodlands Legacy Prep 48-14 in Shiner.

“Proud of the kids. They have hung in there and are starting to play some really good football,” Wachsmuth said.

The Cardinals defense had a good start to the game as the Eagles went three and out on the first drive, putting St. Paul at its own 27 with the punt. On the second play, Natal had a gain of 38 from his 31 to the Eagles 31. St. Paul got to the 16 with runs by Natal, Zak Johnson and Noah Boedeker.

Kai Giese presents the ball to fullback Zak Johnson Friday night (November 23, 2018) in St. Paul’s 48-20 win over Beaumont Legacy Prep. [ NOTE: click photo to enlarge ]

photo by Mark Lube

Giese scored on a 16-yard quarterback bootleg to give St. Paul a 7-0 lead with 6:18 left in the first quarter.

St. Paul immediately got the ball back as Legacy Prep muffed the kickoff at its own 30. The Cardinals took seven plays to get the ball down to the 13 where they faced fourth down and failed to convert.

It took the Eagles just two plays to score — Gabe Silva hit Chandler Rivers for 47 yards to the Cardinal 40 and Burrell scored on a 40-yard run.The extra point was blocked, leaving St. Paul ahead 7-6.

The Cardinals came back with a nine-play, 62-yard drive with Natal getting an early 10-yard run, Giese hitting Boedeker for 13 yards; Boedeker later had an 11-yard run on the counter, Giese had a bootleg good for 19 yards and Natal capped the drive with a 3-yard run less than two minutes into the second quarter.

The Eagles fumbled the kickoff and St. Paul started at the 32, scoring in four plays on a 13-yard run by Natal. Burrell got Legacy Prep within 21-12 on a 58-yard run and the point after was again blocked.

St. Paul then used over five minutes to drive 66 yards for another score as Giese hit Jahn for a short 4-yard touchdown pass with seven seconds left in the half for a 28-12 St. Paul lead.

St. Paul started the third quarter the way it had ended the second quarter, a long drive, going 65 yards in nine plays and finished things with a 1-yard run by Natal, missing the extra point for a 34-12 lead.

The Eagles stalled on offense but pinned the Cardinals at their own 13.

A false start moved the Cardinals back to the 8 and Johnson took off on a 65-yard run down to the 27. Giese connected with Jahn on a 20-yard pass on the next play and two plays later, Reese scored from the 5 for a 41-12 lead. Legacy Prep scored quickly in two plays on a 63-yard run by Burrell and a two-point run by Silva to get within 41-20 with two minutes left in the third.

The Eagles then successfully executed and recovered an onsides kick, but the opportunity came to nothing as Jahn picked off a pass and St. Paul scored once more after a 70-yard drive, on a 2-yard run by Natal with 6:55 left in the game.

GAME STATISTICS

  Shiner St. Paul 48, Beaumont Legacy Christian 20
    Friday, November 23, 2018, 7:00 p.m.
    Christian Warrior Stadium, The Woodlands


  SCORING SUMMARY

                     1    2    3    4      F
    St. Paul         7   21   13    7  -- 48
    Beaumont Legacy  6    6    8    0  -- 20


  SCORING DETAILS:

    First Quarter
      SP: Kai Giese 15 yard run. Sam Benes, kick good, 6:18
      LC: Korien Burrell 40 yard run. kick failed, 2:06

    Second Quarter
      SP: Joseph Natal 3 yard run, Benes. kick good, 10:00
      SP: Natal 13 yard run. Benes, kick good, 7:29
      LC: Burrell 58 yard run, kick failed, 5:44
      SP: Giese 4 yard pass to Dalton Jahn, Benes, kick good, 0:07

    Third Quarter
      SP: Natal 1 yard run. kick failed. 6:30
      SP: Carson Reese 5 yard run, Benes, kick good, 3:07
      LC: Burrell 73 yard run. 2pt conversion good, 2:36

    Fourth Quarter
      SP: Natal 1 yard run. Benes, kick good, 6:55


  TEAM STATISTICS:

                     St. Paul        Legacy
    First downs            23             6
    Yards rushing      55-442        16-209
    Yards passing          65            71
    Passes              4-7-0        4-11-1
    Punts                 0-0          2-90
    Fumbles-lost          2-1           2-2
    Penalty-yards       5-25           2-10


  INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:

  Rushing
    St. Paul: Joseph Natal 31-202-4, Kai Giese 9-86-1, Zak Johnson 2-69-0, Noah Boedeker 7-52-1. Reese 6-33-1;
    Legacy:   Burrell 13-202-3. Chance Scott 2-5-0, Gabe Silva 1-2-0.

  Passing
    St. Paul: Giese 4-7-65-0-1;
    Legacy: Silva 4-11-71-1-0.

  Receiving
    St. Paul: Jahn 3-52-1, Boedeker 1-13-0:
    Legacy: Chandler Rivers 2-55. Gage Morrison 1-10. Burrell 1-6.