St. Paul remains unbeaten with win over Sacred Heart
Friday, October 27, 2017
by Marcus Gutierrez, Advocate Sports Reporter
Victoria Advocate Sports Article | St. Paul Cardinal Football | St. Paul Cardinal Sports
HALLETTSVILLE - Conor Kresta understands every time Shiner St. Paul takes the field that teams are going to want to beat the two-time defending state champion.
Shiner St. Paul's Conor Kresta escapes a tackle by Sacred Heart's Jordan Janak during Thursday's game in Hallettsville.
[ NOTE: click any photo to enlarge ]all photos by Olivia Vanni, Victoria Advocate
Kresta is certain the Cardinals are ready for any challenge.
"Coach tells us all week we're going to have a target on our back because everyone wants to beat St. Paul," the senior running back said. "That just gives us motivation to bring it every game and to just keep on fighting every game."
Kresta rushed 26 times for 111 yards and a touchdown as the Cardinals defeated Hallettsville Sacred Heart 16-6 in a TAPPS Division III, District 5 game on Thursday night at Brahma Memorial Stadium.
Shiner St. Paul coach Jake Wachsmuth wants the Cardinals to realize they will get their opponents' full attention.
"I'm not quite sure we understand that sometimes," Wachsmuth said. "It's tough and I think sometimes I tell the kids achieving success is harder, but sustaining it might be just as hard because you have to keep grinding and it is not easy."
The Cardinals (8-0,5-0) remained unbeaten and extended their winning streak to 16 games dating back to last season.
"We started off slow and it really wasn't how we wanted to come out," Kresta said. "Coach always knows the way to get us fired up and we started rolling. We figured out what we had to do in order to get the win."
Sacred Heart (2-6, 2-3) drove down the field on a 13-play drive that ended on the Cardinals' 13-yard line.
On a second-and-five, St. Paul's River Haynes intercepted a pass by quarterback Sam Brown.
"It was man to man," Haynes said. "I read the quarterback and made a play on the ball."
Haynes, who also plays quarterback, led the Cardinals on a 5-play, 62-yard drive that ended with a 42-yard touchdown pass to Kai Giese for a 7-0 lead in the second quarter.
"When I rolled out, I saw that he was open in the corner of the end zone," Haynes said. "That play really turned it around for us and we went into the locker room with the lead."
The Cardinals extended their lead to 9-0 before halftime when Kresta sacked Brown in the end zone.
"Our defense made some plays," Wachsmuth said. "Give them (Sacred Heart) credit, they played hard and we had to grind it out. Our defense played well with the short field, but were able to make plays when we needed to."
Shiner St. Paul's Ryan Mudd makes a catch over Sacred Heart's Jordan Janak for a touchdown during Thursday's game.
[ NOTE: click any photo to enlarge ]
Sacred Heart coach Brad Wright, who was hired in June, was pleased with his team's efforts.
"It's a rivalry game and both teams were up for it," Wright said. "It was our best game that we played so far. These are a great group of kids that have worked hard and it showed tonight. It's a little disappointing to come out with a loss, but the effort was there."
St. Paul scored its final touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 17-play, 95-yard drive capped by Kresta's 3-yard touchdown run.
"It felt great to get in the end zone," Kresta said. "I can't do anything without my offensive line and give them all the credit."
The Indians responded quickly on their next possession.
Brown connected with Corey Heger for a 68-yard touchdown pass with 2:40 remaining.
"Offensively the only way you're going to win is up front," Wright said. "We're going to have to get bigger and stronger and that's what we have been working on. We will work on it more in the offseason, but our kids are doing a great job right now since we have come in."
The Indians defense forced one turnover, which was an interception by defensive back Jared Brown.
"Our defense has been good all year," Wright said. "We did a good a job on defense scheme wise and attacked the ball."
The Cardinals will go back to work in their bye week.
"We haven't been consistent all the time and we have to work on that," Wachsmuth said. "We have to come out strong against whoever we are playing."
MORE PHOTOS
[ NOTE: click any photo to enlarge ]
Sacred Heart's Corey Heger jumps over a tackle by Shiner St Paul's Dalton Jahn during Thursday's game.
Sacred Heart's Sam Brown runs the ball down the sideline during Thursday's game against Shiner St. Paul.
Marcus Gutierrez is a sports writer for the Victoria Advocate.
Contact him at 361-580-6588 or mgutierrez@vicad.com
Olivia Vanni is a multimedia intern for the Victoria Advocate.
Contact her at 361-575-1451 or ovanni@vicad.com.
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