Shiner
Shiner Catholic School

St. Paul football: Brazos Christian downs Cards in regional playoff game

  • The St. Paul Cardinals went 5-7 (2-3) and were TAPPS IV regional finalists in head coach Barry Wolf’s first year. Photo by Mark Lube.
    The St. Paul Cardinals went 5-7 (2-3) and were TAPPS IV regional finalists in head coach Barry Wolf’s first year. Photo by Mark Lube.

    The Cardinals’ second game with Bryan Brazos Christian went a lot like the first game.
    The Eagles scored plenty of points; the Cardinals did not.
    Brazos Christian beat St. Paul 52-8 in the TAPPS IV regional round Nov. 23 at Hippo Stadium in Hutto.
    The Eagles took a 13-0 lead in the first quarter and St. Paul answered with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Zeke Rodriguez to Holden Jacobs with the PAT no good. The Cardinals got within 13-8 after the defense picked up a safety via Carter Chilek.
    The Eagles scored one touchdown on the ground and two more through the air and kicked a 33-yard field goal to go up 38-8 at halftime.
    They added one touchdown in each of the third and fourth quarters.
    It was a tough day for the Cardinal offense as they ran the ball 34 times for 29 yards, led by Sam Perez who had 18 carries for 30 yards. Rodriguez was 9-of-20 passing for 98 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
    Andrew Nunez had the most receiving yards with one catch for 38 yards and Gus Collins had three grabs for 25 yards.
    On defense, Perez had three tackles and three assists; Brody Biehunko had three tackles, one assist, one sack and one tackle for loss.
    St. Paul loses seniors Rodriguez, Cody Malinovsky, Blaine Humes, Collins, Jacob, Jackson Seibert and Gage Anders.
    St. Paul stats — Rushing: Sam Perez 18-30, Gus Collins 4-7, Zeke Rodriguez 12-(-8). Passing: Rodriguez 9-20-2-98, 1 TD. Receiving: Gus Collins 3-25, Cody Malinovsky 3-5, Andrew Nunez 1-38, Holden Jacobs 1-30, Sam Perez 1-0. Defense: Perez, 3 tackles, 3 assists; Brody Biehunkko, 3 tackles, 1 assist, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss; Rodriguez, 2 tackles, 1 tackle for loss; Jackson Seibert, 2 tackles, 2 assists; Jack Ehrig, 2 tackles, 2 assists; Ezekiel Basquez, 2 tackles, 1 assist; Collins, 1 tackle, 1 assist; Tyler Pendley, 1 tackle, 3 assists; Nunez, 1 tackle, 1 assist; Carter Chilek, 1 tackle, 1 tackle for loss, 1 safety; Jacobs, 2 assists; Gage Anders, 2 assists; Evan Rother, 1 assist. Kickoff returns: Nunez 2-20, Ehrig 2-2, Pendley 1-0. Kickoffs: Chilek 2-91. Punting: Seibert 7-41.0 average. Total plays-yards: 56-127. First downs: 4. Third-down efficiency 2-13 (15%). Fourth-down efficiency: 1-8 (13%). Turnovers: 2. Interceptions: 2. Penalties-yards: 2-5.
    Season stats
    Total yards: 3,249. Passing yards: 635. Passing yards per game: 52.92. Passing completions/attempts: 52-121. Pass completion rate: 42.98 %. Passing touchdowns: 4. Rushing yards: 2,614. Rushing yards per game: 217.83. Rushing plays/average: 462/5.66. Rushing touchdowns: 33. Third-down conversions: 40/120 (33.33 %). Fourth-down conversion: 13/35 (37.14 %). First Downs: 150. Turnovers: 26. Sacks: 9. Rushing: Sam Perez, 283-1,731, 6.12 average, 144.25 yards a game, 66 long, 22 touchdowns, 9 fumbles. Gus Collins, 43-345, 8.02, 28.75, 63, 3 touchdowns; Jace Matias, 44-206, 4.68, 22.89, 55, 5 touchdowns, 3 fumbles; Evan Rother, 21-116, 5.52, 12.89, 19, 1 touchdown, 1 fumble; Holden Jacobs, 8-83, 10.38, 8.30, 68, 1 touchdown; Donnie Jones, 16-46, 2.88, 9.20, 16, 1 touchdown, 1 fumble; Zeke Rodriguez, 26-46, 1.77, 5.75, 44, 1 fumble; Jacob Arriola, 6-33, 5.50, 6.60, 24; Jack Ehrig, 2-7, 3.50, 0.64, 5; Taylor Pendley, 1-6, 6.00, 0.60; Andrew Nunez, 4-(-5), -1.25, -0.45; Clayton Watkins, 4-(-10< -2.50, -1.43. Passing: Matias, 33-77-3-372, 42.86 completion, 4.83 yards per attempt, 41.33 yards a game, 47 long, 3 sacks; Rodriguez, 18-38-3-272, 47.37, 7.16, 34.0, 47, 4 touchdowns, 3 sacks; Watkins, 1-6-2-(-9), 16.67, -1.50, -1.29, 1 sack. Receiving: Nunez, 20-268, 13.40 yards a reception, 24.36 yards a game, 38 long, 2 touchdowns; Ehrig, 6-104, 17.33, 9.45, 47; Perez, 4-66, 16.50, 5.50, 47 , 1 touchdown; Pendley, 4-61, 15.25, 6.10, 21; Cody Malinovsky, 7-49, 7.0, 9.80, 24; Collins, 6-45, 7.5, 3.75, 22; Jacobs, 2-36, 18.0, 3.6, 30, 1 touchdown; Gabe Darilek, 1-9, 9.0, 1.13, 9; Matias, 1-6, 6.0, 0.67, 6; Arriola, 1-(-9), -9.0, -1.80. Defense: Jackson Seibert, 83 tackles, 27 solo, 56 assists, 3 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions for 38 yards, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries for 96 yards, 2 defensive touchdowns; Gage Anders, 53 tackles, 9 solo, 44 assists, 2 tackles for loss; Perez, 52 takcles, 16 solo, 36 assists, 2 sacks, 5 tackles for loss; Ezekiel Basquez, 50 tackles, 14 solo, 36 assists, 2 sacks, 5 tackles for loss; Brody Biehunko, 44 tackles, 12 solo, 32 assists, 2 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries; Pendley, 37 tackles, 12 solo, 25 assists, 1 sack, 4 tackles for loss, 1 interception for 40 yards; Rodriguez, 27 tackles, 10 solo, 17 assists, 1 tackle for loss, 5 interceptions for 161 yards; Jacobs, 27 tackles, 12 solo, 15 assists, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery; Ehrig, 26 tackles, 18 solo, 8 assists, 1 tackle for loss, 3 interceptions; Rother, 22 tackles, 6 solo, 16 assists, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery; Nunez, 22 tackles, 13 solo, 9 assists, Carter Chilek, 21 tackles, 9 solo, 12 assists, 1 sack, 4 tackles for loss, 1 safety, 1 forced fumbles; Collins, 20 tackles, 13 solo, 7 assists, 4 interceptions for 65 yards; Wyatt Siegel, 9 tackles, 2 solo, 7 assists; Darilek, 7 tackles, 1 solo, 6 assists, 1 fumble recovery; Jones, 6 tackles, 6 solo.
    Matias, 5 tackles, 4 solo, 1 assist, 1 tackle for loss, 3 interceptions for 37 yards; Arriola, 4 tackles, 2 solo, 2 assist; Watkins, 2 tackles, 1 solo, 1 assist; Rylan Jalfuka, 2 tackles, 2 solo; Jack Leonard, 2 tackles, 2 solo, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss; Malinovsky, 2 tackles, 2 solo; Michael DeSarro, 1 tackle, 1 solo, 1 tackle for loss. Kicking: Chilek, 0-1 field goals, 29-40 extra points, 72.5%. Punting: Seibert, 36-1,256, 34.89 average, 104.67 a game, 7 inside 20, 73 long. Kickoff returns: Ehrig, 17-314, 18.47 average, 28.55 yards a game, 35 long; Matias, 8-103, 12.88, 11.44, 30; Nunez, 4-63, 15.75, 5.73, 25; Pendley, 4-38, 9.50, 3.80, 15; Perez, 1-18, 18.00, 1.50, 18; Rodriguez, 2-14, 7.0, 1.75, 14; Watkins, 4-10, 2.50, 1.43, 5; Chilek, 5-5, 1.00, 0.42, 5. 
    Punt returns: Matias, 1-15, 15.00 average, 1.67 a game, 15 long; Rodriguez, 1-15, 15.0, 1.88, 15; Jones, 1-12, 12.0, 2.40, 12; Nunez, 1-2, 2.0, 0.18, 2.