Cards back in business
by Mark Lube and Cedric Inglehart
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Gonzales Cannon Article | St. Paul Cardinal Football | Shiner Home Page
The Paul Johnston era got off on the right foot when St. Paul rallied to claim a 28-24 win over Pettus last Friday.
"We were glad to get the win because it was tough game," said Johnston. "We got into a hole early and were behind at halftime, but the kids played the whole four quarters and just fought real hard for a win. I was real proud of them."
St. Paul held the high-flying Eagles to just 276 yards and intercepted all-state quarterback Ryan Beck twice. The new-look Cardinal offense racked up 487 total yards and Martin Kennedy ran for three touchdowns. He also caught a scoring pass from Dakota Kresta, who went 17 for 27 for 306 yards in his quarterbacking debut.
"For a first game with a new quarterback and a new system, I was pleased but we’ve got to get better," Johnston said. "We looked at the game film with the kids and went over lots of corrections. Offensively we’ve still got a long way to go and in the first half we missed quite a few tackles. We did tackle a lot better in the second half and I think that was the difference in the game."
The Cardinals will hit the road to take on San Antonio Cornerstone, who lost their season opener to D’Hanis 49-6. The Warriors, who were outgained 486-96 and didn’t score until Robert Toler found the end zone on an 18-yard jaunt, are coming off back to back 1-9 seasons.
"Teams can change from year to year," Johnston said. "I try not to look too much into how they’ve been in the past. They’ve got good size on their offensive and defensive lines, and they’ve got some skill kids who can run. Looking at them on film, it looks they have kids who can play."
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