St. Vincent takes perfect football record to Ukiah

“They will be better prepared for us this time,” said St. Vincent coach Trent Herzog. “We caught them by surprise last time, but they will be ready this time.”|

The road just doesn’t get any smoother for the St. Vincent football team.

So far, St. Vincent has battled its way to four straight victories against the likes of St. Bernard’s and St. Helena. Friday night, the Mustangs take on the Goliath of their season playing at Ukiah against a school with an enrollment of more than 1,600 students compared to St. Vincent’s 220.

Yet, going into the game at Ukiah, it is the Wildcats who will be seeking to even the series with the Mustangs after St. Vincent shocked the North Bay League Oak team with a decisive 24-7 victory during the COVID-shortened spring season.

Ukiah enters the game 1-3 for the current season. The game will give the Mustangs a good opportunity to see how they might match up in their own North Bay League Redwood Division. Ukiah played Montgomery, the Redwood favorite, nearly even in its opening game, losing 23-16.

Ukiah also lost a close game against Eureka, expected to be one of the top teams in the Humboldt-Del Norte Big 4 League, losing 23-15. The Wildcats’ lone win came last week over Redwood from the Marin County Athletic League 17-12.

“They will be better prepared for us this time,” said St. Vincent coach Trent Herzog. “We caught them by surprise last time, but they will be ready this time.

“Ukiah is a tough place to play and they will have a big crowd for homecoming.”

That doesn’t mean the Mustangs are backing down from their bigger foe.

“That win last year really built our confidence,” the coach said. “We know we can win, but we are going to have to play our best game. They are the best 1-3 team around.”

Last week the Mustangs took care of business with a 42-0 win over Sonoma Valley.

St. Vincent had its usual balanced offensive attack against the Dragons, rushing for 179 yards behind Kai Hall’s 134-yard, two touchdown effort, and passing for 124. Backup quarterback Eddy Stone had the most eye-popping statistic of the game, attempting two passes and completing both for touchdowns for a combined 108 yards.

Defensively, St. Vincent had 17 players credited with tackles, led by Jake DeCarli with 13, Dante Antonini with 12 and Liam O’Hare with 10.

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