Local high school football: Cards host red-hot Indians; Shiner faces S-T’s Wing-T offense

St. Paul gets a tough opponent to start district while Shiner hits the road for district game No. 4.

Sacred H at St. Paul
The St. Paul Cardinals could not have gotten a tougher district opener as they host the really hot Hallettsville Sacred Heart Friday at Comanche Stadium.
The Indians are undefeated through seven games, are scoring 37.85 points a game but more significantly, are yielding a mere 7.0 points a game and have kept three opponents completely off the scoreboard.
“They are really rolling right now,” Cardinals head coach Mike Jackson said. “They are very solid on both sides of the ball.”
Sacred Heart is balanced on the offensive side of the football.
Quarterback Andrew Steffek has completed 47-of-70 passes for 715 yards, 11 touchdowns, three interceptions, 102.1 yards a game and 15.2 yards per completion.
Brady Haas is the top rusher with 597 yards on 69 carries, 10 touchdowns, 99.5 yards a game and 8.7 yards a carry.
Nic Angerstein is the top receiver with 16 catches for 299 yards, 49.8 yards a game, 18.7 per reception and seven touchdowns.
“Our defense will need to eliminate mental mistakes, play very physical, and stop both the run and the pass,” Jackson said.
On the defensive side, Haas has 20 tackles, 36 assists, 3.0 tackles for loss;  David Brown has 3.0 sacks and Angerstein has gotten five of Sacred Heart’s nine interceptions
“Their defense is very solid and leads the district. Their kicker and punters are weapons,” Jackson said. “Our offense has to pick good spots, play clean football and score when we get inside the red zone.”
In the recently completed non-district season, most of the Cards’ opponent had larger enrollment.
“I have to think playing bigger schools has prepared for us for district,” Jackson said.5

Shiner at S-T
Shiner looks to keep its win streak going with a visit to Skidmore-Tynan this week.
Shiner started 0-5 but has won two straight.
The Bobcats  have a 2-4 record (0-2 in district), are struggling a little on offense with just 15.6 points a game and yielding 31.8 points a game on defense.
“Skidmore-Tynan has good size on their lines and they have a very physical style of play,” Comanches head coach Daniel Boedeker said.
 S-T gets just 195.8 offensive yards a game (166.5 rushing, 29.3 passing).
Leading rusher is Kolton Lopez has 141 rushes for 724 yards, nine touchdowns, 120.7 a game and 5.1 average.
Bennett Martinez has completed 16-of-40 passes for 176 yards, three touchdowns and five interceptions with  Wyatt. Widner leading with 38 yards on four catches and Dallan Cheek having one catch for 39 yards.
“Their offense runs a double tight wing-T and likes to push the ball,” Boedeker said. “S-T looks to control the tempo and are happy with a “3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust” offense. We need to establish the line of scrimmage, force some negative-yard running plays to force them to throw the ball and we need to make stops.”
Chase Shanen paces the defense with 18 tackles, 15 assists, 6.0 tackles for loss,
Cheek has 1.5 sacks for loss of 23 yards, two interceptions and three fumbles recovered.
“They got with a ’50’ front and will go balanced against our double-tight formations. The linebackers get to the football well and they have a standout defensive tackle. We will have to control the line of scrimmage and have no turnovers,” Boedeker said.