Cardinals clinch district championship
Thursday, November 5, 2015
St. Paul Cardinal Football | St. Paul Cardinal Sports
HALLETTSVILLE -- The St. Paul Cardinals put the finishing touches on a undefeated regular season with a 41-0 win over Sacred Heart to take the TAPPS Division III District 3 title Friday night (October 30, 2015) at Brahma Memorial Stadium.
Shown above are Cardinals #12 Derek Kapavik, #54 Reagan Beal, #7 Conor Kresta, #16 Jed Janecek. Shown in the back are #50 Alex Hull, #32 Colton Marchart, #76 Dylan Mills.
[ NOTE: click on photo to enlarge ]all photos by Lori Raabe
Tailback TJ Bell and a smothering defense helped the Cardinals shut out the Indians for the first time since 1987.
Bell led a running game that produced 342 yards rushing. Throw in 42 yards passing by quarterback Austin Barton, the Cardinals totaled 384 yards on the night and held Sacred Heart (6-3, 3-2) to 100 yards total offense.
Bell scored on runs of 75, 1 and 3 yards, while Barton contributed 88 yards rushing on just 7 carries and one touchdown while completing 3 of 7 passes for 42 yards and one touchdown.
Sacred Heart’s deepest penetration ended in failure at the Cardinal 20 just before the half.
The Cardinals, who punted just once in the game, scored on five of their first six possessions.
On its first possession, St. Paul put together a pedestrialtype drive of 66 yards in 7 plays to put the first points on the board.
Senior #32 Colton Machart catches the ball from quarterback Austin Barton, while #9 Ryan Malinovsky gets ready to block.
[ NOTE: click on photo to enlarge ]
A 41-yard run by Bell set up Jed Janecek’s 4-yard touchdown run. Barton kicked the first of five extra points for a 7-0 lead.
After the Indians went three-and-out, St. Paul drove 60 yards in 7 plays to go up 14-0.
A 34-yard keeper by Barton sparked the march which ended on a 12-yard pass from Barton to split end Marco Ynclan on the second play of the second period.
After St. Paul stopped the Indians on its own 20, Janecek gained 5 yards before Bell went right up the center of the Indian defense for 75 yards for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead at the half.
The Cardinals opened the second half with a 64-yard, 8-play drive climaxed by a 3-yard run by Bell.
Later in the third, Bell scored from 1 yard out after a 62-yard drive. A 22-yard pass from Barton to Ryan Geiger was the big play in the drive.
The Cardinals’ final score came after a 64- yard drive early in the fourth stanza.
Bell started the drive with a 31-yard run and ended it by scoring from 28 yards out.
Colton Machart, one of many leaders on the defense, had one reception for 8 yards.
The Cardinals have a bye week before hosting a bi-district playoff game.
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