Shiner St. Paul faces final test before district schedule
by José Torres, Gonzales Inquirer Sports
Friday, September 19, 2014
Gonzales Inquirer Article | St. Paul Cardinal Football
SHINER — Last week’s blowout win at homecoming was great for the Cardinals, but head coach Jake Wachsmuth is already looking forward to what he believes is their toughest matchup of the season.
The St. Paul Cardinals are traveling to Flatonia to take on the Bulldogs for their final non- district game before they start their six-team district schedule next week. Although this is still an non-district team, Wachsmuth mentions that he’s mainly concerned with getting the varsity group better and better. Texas Rangers IN STORY AD *
Since their opening loss against Tidehaven, Flatonia (2-1) has blown out Hallettsville Sacred Heart 38-6 and Woodsboro 35-6.
The group that is key to their successes, especially on defense, is the linebacker corps of senior Marcus Mica, senior Eddie Manzano and sophomore San Juan Ramirez.
"Those three linebackers are really good," Wachsmuth said. "They’re very aggressive and always attacking."
Offensively, the Bulldogs don’t necessarily have one key guy that will Flatonia’s lone contributor.
"They have a whole lot of different guys," Wachsmuth noted. "The biggest thing is our kids just have to recognize what things you have to do to stop their offense. They can throw the ball but they’re primarily a running team."
Last week’s blowout win had multiple Cardinals’ skill position players touching the ball. This was in fact by design as Wachsmuth gave playing time to many of the young players because the game was out of hand.
"Kids getting playing time help us," he said, "the more the kids can get in the better."
Although the Cardinals racked up some penalties, Wachsmuth wasn’t necessarily worried with them, especially since they came in late in the game.
"Things happen with kids that don’t get many reps," he explained.
What Wachsmuth does want to limit are the turnovers. As it goes for every football game, you tend to win the games where you win the turnover battle. This rings true for the Cardinals so far this year.
Wachsmuth hopes to limit those turnovers, especially against a stout defense like Flatonia.
The Cardinals away game against the Bulldogs is set for a 7:30 p.m. scheduled kickoff.
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