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Shiner St. Paul

St. Paul football: Flyers rally in fourth quarter to edge Cardinals 21-12 in 2026 season opener

  • Carter Chilek
    Carter Chilek

    The St. Paul Cardinals football team came within a quarter of opening the season with a win but a fourth-quarter Victoria St. Joseph rally gave them the win Friday night at Victoria Memorial Stadium.
    The home side Flyers came into the fourth quarter, trailing St. Paul 12-7.
    A 55-yard pass from Cannon Carbonara to Charlie Stefka put VSJ ahead 14-12 and the Flyers sealed the deal with a 19-yard run by Brady Parker with 3:20 left in the game.
    The Cardinals scored their first touchdown of 2026 less than two minutes into the game with a 1-yard run by Carter Chilek at the 10:17 mark of the opening quarter with point-after no good, leaving St. Paul ahead 6-0.
    St. Paul doubled the lead with 18 seconds left in the quarter on an 8-yard pass from Tyler Pendley to Jack Ehirg. St. Paul point-after play was no good.
    St. Joe got on the board with 10:15 left in the third period on Carbonara’s 63-yard pass to Stefka.
    Chilek led the St. Paul offense as he had 31 carries for 203 yards and a touchdown to lead all rushers. 
    Pendley led the passing attack, completing 3-for-9 for 18 yards, one touchdown and one interception. 
    Ehrig had three grabs for 18 yards and one touchdown.
    Jude Boedeker led the Cardinals defense with eight total tackles.
    For the Flyers, Carbonara was 7-of-15 passing for 152 yards, two touchdowns and one pick. Stefka had two grabs for 118 yards, both touchdowns; Mason DeMontamal led the VJS ground game with 34 yards.
    St. Paul will be on the road for the second straight game, taking on Austin St. Andrews Episcopal this Friday.
    St. Paul defensive stats — Tyler Pendley, 3 total tackles, 1 initial tackle, 2 tackles for loss; Gabe Werner, 6 total tackles, 3 initial tackles, 3 assists, 1 pass knocked down; Deuce Blaschke, 1 total tackle, 1 initial tackle, 1 fumble forced; Donnie Jones IV, 3 total tackles, 2 initial tackles, 1 assist; Andrew Nunez, 4 total tackles, 3 initial tackles, 1 assist; Jack Ehrig, 1 total tackle, 1 initial tackles, 1 interception; Elijah Rodriguez, 3 total tackles, 1 initial tackle; Casen Watts, 4 total tackles, 4 initial tackles, 1 fumble forced; Jude Boedeker, 8 total tackles, 5 initial tackles, 3 assists; Carter Chilek, 1 total tackle, 1 initial tackles; Gabe Darilek, 3 total tackles, 3 assists; Jacob Arriola, 1 quarterback hurry; Kash McNabb, 1 total tackle, 1 assist; Jack Leonard, 1 total tackle, 1 tackle for loss;  Evan Rother, 6 total tackles, 6 initial tackles; Trevor Garcia, 1 total tackle, 1 assist.
    Victoria St. Joe 21, St Paul 12
    SSP    0    12    0    0    12    
    VSJ    0    0    7    14    21    
    SSP-Carter Chilek 1 run (kick failed), 10:17 1Q.
    SSP-Jack Ehrig 8 pass from Tyler Pendley (2-point failed), 0:17 1Q.
    VSJ-Charlie Stefka 63 pass from Cannon Carbonara (George Osuchukwukick), 10:15 3Q.
    VSJ-Stefka 55 pass from Carbonara (Osuchukwu kick), 11:05 4Q.
    VSJ-Brady Parker 19 run (Osuchukwu kick), 3:20 4Q.
    Team stats    SSP    VSJ
    First downs    16    8
    Rushes-yards    50-231    20-106
    Passing yards    23    152
    Passes    4-11-2    7-15-1
    Total plays-yards    61-254    35-258
    Penalties-yards    3-20    3-20
    Fumbles-lost    1-1    3-1
    Punts-aver    2-26.0    3-28.66
    Individual stats
    Rushing — SSP: Carter Chilek 31-203, Jack Ehrig 7-14, Tyler Pendley 7-11, Jude Boedeker 2-7, Casen Watts 1-1, Donnie Jones IV 1-(-1), Andy Nunez 1-(-4). VSJ: Mason Demontamal 5-34, Brady Parker 4-31, Charlie Stefka 5-22, Parker Janak 4-17.
    Passing — SSP: Pendley 3-9-1-18, Nunez 1-1-0-5, Chilek 0-1-1-0 VSJ: Cannon Carbonara 7-15-1-152.
    Receiving — SSP: Ehirg 3-18, Levi Morkovsky 1-5. VSJ: Stefka 2-118, Parker 2-27, DeMontamal 1-6.