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Shiner St. Paul

Shiner, St. Paul football: Cardinals open at St. Joe; scrimmage reports

  • St. Paul defenders bring down a Falcon ball carrier on Friday. Photo by Mark Lube.
    St. Paul defenders bring down a Falcon ball carrier on Friday. Photo by Mark Lube.
  • Senior running back Quincy Jones dodges Tidehaven defenders during the home scrimmage on Friday. Photo by Mark Lube.
    Senior running back Quincy Jones dodges Tidehaven defenders during the home scrimmage on Friday. Photo by Mark Lube.

    St. Paul played its one preseason scrimmage against Frassauti Catholic and is set to open the regular season at Victoria St. Joseph while Shiner hosted Tidehaven and will scrimmage at Schulenburg tomorrow. 
    Cards open with road game against Flyers
    The Cardinals officially start the 2026 regular season at Victoria St. Joseph tomorrow (Friday) at 7 p.m.
    St. Paul head coach Jake Wachsmuth said the Cardinals are very focused on working on what they can be better at while getting ready for an early start.
    “We are focused on improving every day,” he said. “It is tough with starting our season a little earlier but St. Joseph is in the same boat we are.”
    The Flyers went 8-3 and 2-1 in district, and return 15 lettermen, five offensive and seven defensive starters. St. Joe will be  breaking in a new starting quarterback who will have help from athlete Charlie Stefka (601 receiving  yards, eight touchdowns; 327 rushing yards, four touchdowns) and  tight end Bludau (395 receiving yards, six touchdowns). 
    Stefka (59 tackles) and Bludau  (defensive line,43 tackles) will also help the defensive effort. Isaiah Padierna will be a key on both lines.
    St. Joe is predicted to place third in district.
    Cardinals shows flashes in Spring Frassati Catholic home scrimmage
    St. Paul scrimmaged the Spring Frassati Catholic Falcons on Friday at the Shiner Catholic School football practice field.
    “We did a lot of good things but still have a long way to go,” Wachsmuth said. 
    The Cardinals offense showed its potential but has plenty of work to do.
    “We have to improve quite a bit on the offense but you can see what we could be further down the road,” he said.
    The Falcons had a tough time moving the football against St. Paul’s defense.
    “We were able to force some turnovers and they did not have success moving the football against us.”
    Comanches play with intensity against Tigers
    Shiner hosted Tidehaven in the annual Towel and Soap scrimmage Friday at Comanche Stadium.
    Shiner head coach Daniel Boedeker said his team played with a lot of energy.
    “We competed with a lot of intensity. Did make some mistakes that can be corrected but we had a good overall starting point,” he said.
    The Comanches offense was able to put together drives and scored several times.
    “We had few negative-yard plays on offense,” Boedeker said.
    The Comanches defensive unit got to the ball quickly.
    “We played fast on defense and I was happy the way we were running to the ball  as a group,” he said. “Our defensive line did a good job pressuring the quarterback. 
    “We did miss some tackles but that usually happens early in the year. We just have to work to get better each day.”