Cardinal Rule:
St. Paul wins TAPPS Division III, District 3 title
Friday, October 30, 2015
by Tony Tsoukalas, Advocate Sports Writer
Victoria Advocate Sports Article | St. Paul Cardinal Football | St. Paul Cardinal Sports
HALLETTSVILLE - Shiner St. Paul defenders left the field Friday night with plenty of mud on their all-white jerseys.
Cardinal RB TJ Bell pushes Sacred heart's Tyler Kraatz out of his way as he runs upfield on Friday.
[ NOTE: click on photo to enlarge ]all photos by Jaime R. Carrero for The Victoria Advocate
The opposing scoreboard, however, was spotless as usual.
The stingy Cardinals defense limited Hallettsville Sacred Heart to just 97 yards of offense, as it locked up the TAPPS Division III, District 3 title with a 41-0 win over the Indians.
"We're a band of brothers out there," defensive end Reagan Beal said. "We know when we get out on the field we are going to play for each other. We are very proud of our defense. We know we are one of the top defenses in the state, and we are ready to take it on."
Before the game, Cardinals head coach Jake Wachsmuth challenged his defense, which had allowed just 28 points in its previous nine games, to shut out its Lavaca County rivals. St. Paul (10-0, 6-0) responded, letting the Indians (6-3, 3-2) reach the red zone just once all game.
"They have pride," Wachsmuth said of his defense. "We are not out to score 80 on opponents, but we really want to make sure they don't score. That's a part of the game that has been really fun to watch this year."
St. Paul's Austin Barton makes the conversion for the Cardinal's third touchdown of the first half against the Indians.
[ NOTE: click on photo to enlarge ]
Running back TJ Bell led the Cardinals on offense, carrying the ball 14 times for 189 yards and three touchdowns, the first of which came on a 75-yard dash right before the half to give St. Paul a commanding 21-0 lead.
"I thought that was huge," Wachsmuth said. "That was a big turn of events. They were getting some momentum, and he made a big play."
Added Bell, "They knew what we were going to run, so they shifted everybody over. I saw daylight, and I just busted right up the middle."
St. Paul quarterback Austin Barton had 78 yards and a touchdown on the ground, while also completing 3 of 7 passes for 42 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown to Marco Ynclan. Jed Janecek had 29 yards and a touchdown on six carries, while Ryan Geiger also had a big night with 30 yards on the ground and a 22-yard reception.
Tyler Kraatz led Sacred Heart with 45 yards on 15 carries, while Marc Raphael chipped in 22 yards on nine carries.
"St. Paul is 10-0 for a reason," Sacred Heart head coach Pat Henke said. "They got a good football team, and they got a lot of returning starters.
"Our kids will rebound," Henke added. "We've got to win next week, and we will be second place in the district. I have no doubt our kids will rebound from this."
Sacred Heart will host San Antonio St. Gerard next week in its final regular-season game, while St. Paul will look to rest for the playoffs with a bye week.
"These guys are going to be happy tonight, but they know there are a lot of things we've got to clean up," Wachsmuth said. "We just need to continue on working to get better and better, and hopefully we can do that."
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| St Paul's TJ Bell is brought down by Sacred Heart's Jordan Janak (left) and Tyler Kraatz. | Cardinal QB Austin Barton prepares to hand off the ball to TJ Bell, on his way to scoring a touchdown. | Cardinals RB TJ Bell enconters a wall of Indians during their game in Hallettsville. |
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| Sacred Heart Indians' Marc Raphael fumbles the ball as he is hit by St. Paul Dylan Mills. | St. Paul's TJ Bell finds a hole and heads for the end zone against the Indians. | Sacred Heart Indians' Marc Raphael goes airborne against the St. Paul defense. |
GAME STATISTICSsource: https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/sports/games/results/football/shiner-st-paul-at-hallettsville-sacred-heart/6133/ Shiner St. Paul 40 vs. Hallettsville Sacred Heart 0 October 30, 2015, 7:30 p.m. Hallettsville Brahma Stadium, Hallettsville SCORING SUMMARY 1 2 3 4 F Shiner St. Paul 7 14 13 7 -- 41 Hallettsville Sacred Heart 0 0 0 0 -- 0 SCORING DETAILS: First Quarter SP - Jed Janecek 4 run (Austin Barton kick), 3:59 Second Quarter SP - Bell 3 run (Barton kick), 7:36 SP — Bell 1 run (kick failed) Third Quarter SP - Bell 75 run (Barton kick failed), 11:46 SP - Ryan Malinovsky 21 run (Barton kick), 7:33 Fourth Quarter SP — Barton 28 run (Barton kick) TEAM STATISTICS: Stats Shiner St. Paul Hallettsville Sacred Heart First Downs 16 8 Penalties 5 2 Penalty Yards 50 30 Attempted Passes 7 12 Completed Passes 3 3 Passing Interceptions 0 0 Passing Touchdowns 1 0 Passing Yards 42 22 Rushes 40 31 Rushing Yards 346 75 Rushing Touchdowns 5 0 Fumbles 2 1 Fumbles Lost 1 0 Punts 1 4 Punting Yards 28 109 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS: Passing Player Comp Att Pct Yd Int Shiner St Paul Austin Barton 3 7 42.8% 42 0 Sacred Heart Braden Popp 3 11 27.2% 22 0 Rushing Player Rush Yd Y/R Shiner St Paul Austin Barton 7 78 11.1 Conor Kresta 2 11 5.50 Derek Kapavik 1 3 3.00 Jed Janecek 6 29 4.83 Joseph Natal 1 2 2.00 River Haynes 2 4 2.00 Ryan Geiger 5 30 6.00 TJ Bell 14 189 13.5 Sacred Heart Braden Popp 3 -16 -5.3 Carson Brewer 4 24 6.00 Marc Raphael 9 22 2.44 Tyler Kraatz 15 45 3.00 Receiving Player Recv Yd Avg Shiner St Paul Colton Machart 1 8 8.00 Marco Ynclan 1 12 12.0 Ryan Geiger 1 22 22.0 Sacred Heart Landon Leopold 3 22 7.33
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