Cardinals hold off Indians
by Jason Chlapek, Gonzales Inquirer Sports
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Gonzales Inquirer Article | St. Paul Cardinal Football | Return to Shiner Home Page
HALLETTSVILLE -- It has been said that the decisions one makes at an early age can come back to haunt, or help, that person.
That was the case in Saturday’s contest between the St. Paul and Sacred Heart football teams. Coaches on both sides made decisions that could’ve cost their team the game, but in the end, the Indians’ decision to attempt a two-point conversion after a second-quarter touchdown proved to be the difference in the Cardinals’ 14-12 victory Saturday in Hallettsville.
St. Paul (7-2, 2-1 in TAPPS District 3-Division IV) beat Sacred Heart (9-1, 2-1 in District 3-IV) for the third time in a row. Saturday’s contest also gave Cardinals’ coach Paul Johnston a win in his first game of the series.
"This was an emotional roller coaster," Johnston said. "We had a chance to put the game away, but I made the wrong call on a play and it led to a touchdown. We should’ve a different wrinkle than what we went with."
The play Johnston referred to was a fourth-and-11 from the Sacred Heart 18-yard line where St. Paul had a chance to end the game with a first down or a touchdown. But Dakota Kresta’s pass intended for Justin Natal in the endzone was intercepted by Leighton Pilat and returned all the way to the St. Paul 25.
Pilat was destined for the endzone and a 100-yard touchdown before he was caught from behind by Brett Hodges. Three plays later, Jared Krischke hit Cole Wick in the endzone for a touchdown to cut the Cardinals’ lead to two, 14-12, with 51 seconds left to play.
Because the Indians trailed by two courtesy of their failed two-point conversion attempt in the second quarter, they were forced to go for two this time to tie the game and potentially send it into overtime. Sterling Hrncir -- Sacred Heart’s leading rusher -- received the pitch from Krischke and ran to his right where he was met by Hodges, Adam Hollenbach and Martin Kennedy.
The trio of St. Paul defenders kept Hrncir out of the endzone as the score remained 14-12. The Indians failed to recover the onside kick and a pair of kneel downs by Kresta preserved the win for the Cardinals.
"We knew Hrncir was going to get the ball on the two-point conversion so we swept to his side and kept him from crossing the goalline," Hollenbach said. "This win is our turning point for the season, but we still have a lot of work to do. We have to keep improving every week."
Hollenbach also played a big role in St. Paul’s offense. He caught a trio of passes for 116 yards and also ran eight times for 25 yards.
After snuffing out Sacred Heart’s fake-punt attempt on the opening drive of the game, the Cardinals started at their opponent’s 41 and went to work from there. A 27-yard run by Kennedy set up a 12-yard touchdown pass from Kresta to Natal to put St. Paul up 7-0 at the 5:40 mark of the first quarter.
The Indians grinded out a 15-play, 91-yard drive on their next drive as they ran on every play, including the drive-capping 10-yard touchdown run from Hrncir to cut the lead to 7-6 at the 7:48 mark of the second quarter. Sacred Heart lined up for the two-point conversion and Matt Holub was stopped short of the goalline to keep the score the same.
The Cardinals struck 30 seconds later on a 10-yard touchdown run from Hodges to increase the St. Paul lead to 14-6 with 7:18 left before halftime. Kresta hit Hollenbach for a 49-yard gain one play before Hodges’ score.
The Indians drove to the Cardinals’ 5 late in the second quarter before Cole Hybner intercepted Krischke in the endzone on the final play before halftime. The 14-6 St. Paul lead stood until the Krischke-to-Wick touchdown pass late in the contest.
Hybner also played a major role in the Cardinals’ victory. He was successful on both of his extra point attempts, and he recorded two interceptions.
"My interceptions came at key moments in the game," Hybner said. "This was a big statement win for us."
Kresta completed 10-of-20 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown, and Hodges was St. Paul’s leading rusher with 41 yards and a score on 10 carries. Hollenbach was the Cardinals’ leading receiver as his catches went for 49, 21 and 46 yards for a grand total of 116 yards.
St. Paul closes out the regular season at home against St. Dominic Savio. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Comanche Field in Shiner.
© Copyright
BaerCom - Shiner, Texas 2011