The most important goal for the St. Vincent football team after a convincing 21-6 win over Cloverdale on Saturday afternoon is to concentrate on the upcoming third phase of the season.
"I always tell our kids that there are three parts to every season," explained St. Vincent coach Gary Galloway. "First there is pre-league and second is the league season. Now, it is time for playoff football. Our players enjoyed the second half of the game today, and that is what makes it fun."
St. Vincent evened its North Central League I South record at 2-2 on Saturday afternoon by shutting down the Cloverdale offense in the final two periods, and moving the ball just well enough to pull away from the Eagles (1-9) with a couple of insurance touchdowns down the stretch.
The Mustangs and Eagles played on almost even terms in the first half, as both clubs squandered good field position, and St. Vincent led by a margin of only 7-6 at intermission. Each team managed to put points on the board with second-quarter touchdowns.
St. Vincent took advantage of a weak 17-yard Eagle punt to score first. The Mustangs moved the ball 31 yards in only three plays from scrimmage to take the lead. Following an 11-yard run by quarterback Conner Brown, the Mustangs turned to the running game with an 18-yard burst by Aziz Atallah for a near touchdown.
With the ball on the 1-yard line, Brown got a good push from the offensive line, led by Conor Williams, and slid into the end zone. Brown added the PAT, and the Mustangs went ahead for good, 7-0.
Cloverdale, suiting only 16 players for the game, put together a fine offensive in the final minutes of the half. Taking the ball on the 25-yard line, the Eagles rambled 75 yards for a score in only seven plays. A 36-yard pass from Brett Southard to wide receiver Junior Campos set the tone.
Hard working running back Arley Trevizo alternated carries with some well-directed passes by Southard to move the ball inside the Mustang 30-yard line with time running out. Southard threw a short strike to Campos on the 18-yard line in time for one more play.
Under a heavy rush, with Mustang defenders flailing around him, Southard lofted a touchdown pass to Campos to pull the Eagles to within one point at 7-6. The PAT was wide.
The second half belonged to St. Vincent, as a Senior Day gathering at Yarbrough Field urged the Mustangs on. There were too many arrows in the Mustang quiver, and the tiring Eagle defenders didn't have enough answers for touchdowns in each of the final two periods.
Cloverdale gave it an early shot with two consecutive ball possessions, aided by a fumble recovery by Alex Navarro in the third quarter, but the St. Vincent defenders denied anything inside the 29-yard line.
Led by Anthony Battaglia, Jesse O'Keeffe, and Williams. the Mustangs kept the Eagles from consistently moving the chains. Battaglia led the way with 14 tackles. Williams, Travis Knight and Austin Hartford jammed up Cloverdale runners behind the line of scrimmage on key plays late in each series. Knight chipped in earlier with a fumble recovery, and Derek Calabrese had some good moments in the Mustang secondary.
Late in the stanza, St. Vincent moved the ball 78 yards to take a more comfortable 14-6 advantage. Brown ran for 27 yards and passed to Josh Mehta for 17 more, as the wide receiver drug several tacklers along the way. Brown connected with junior Jordan Cox for a perfectly timed finger-tip grab and a touchdown.
The Eagles surprisingly gambled on a fourth and long in the final quarter, and St. Vincent took advantage with a short-field touchdown. A pass from Brown to Vinnie Magliulo for 14 yards got he ball in position.
Junior running back Doug Garcia, who ran well in the latter stages of the game, broke away from several tacklers on a 14-yard scoring run to give the Mustangs a comfortable 21-6 margin.
"We are still playing with enthusiasm," said Galloway after talking to the team after the game. "Our coaches think that we can play with anybody in Division V. We are looking forward to the playoffs. Our practice routine will not change. It's back to work next week."
The St. Vincent junior varsity made it a clean sweep by shutting out Cloverdale, 26-0.
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