Central Catholic not enough for speedy, skilled St. Mary’s in Holy Bowl loss
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- St. Mary's used second-half surge to outscore Central Catholic 31-6 and win 52-28
- Kenneth Moore III led a dynamic Rams offense with 173 total yards and two TDs
- Central Catholic’s McHenry-Perino duo connected for 169 yards and three scores
Pace and space is not just a phrase recently adopted by basketball junkies to describe a fast-paced offense that includes launching threes and playing with nearly all players on the perimeter. It is also a way of life for the offense on the St. Mary’s of Stockton football team.
The Rams are fast, physical and after Friday night, winners of four straight Holy Bowls.
St. Mary’s welcomed Central Catholic onto its home turf and, after a slow first half, took off into the horizon, running away with the game and outscoring the Raiders 31-6 in the final two quarters for a 52-28 win.
The Rams were fast from start to finish. UCLA commit Kenneth Moore III ran deep, intermediate and short routes, sweep plays or direct handoffs. As soon as he got the ball, he could go for anywhere from five to 50 yards.
“You’ve got to make plays at any given moment,” Moore said. “It’s just being explosive and when you see a hole, you’ve just got to burst through the hole as fast as you can.”
While Moore dazzled outside the numbers, catching six passes for 97 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 76 yards and a score on four carries, Diego Hernandez and Jeremiah Brown took care of offensive production between the tackles. Hernandez rushed for a score and Brown added a pair of touchdowns on the ground.
Moore, Hernandez and Brown took turns finding the end zone. and the Rams’ offensive line was a constant force. Tony Franks said the guys in the trenches are what makes the St. Mary’s operation go. And they put together two great weeks.
“I really like what our offensive line is doing this year,” the veteran coach said. “(We’ve) run the ball well the last two games … our offensive line is coming together. I’m really looking forward to how that’s going to progress as the season goes on.”
The Rams scored more than 50 points for the second straight week. Their 52-point outburst comes just seven days after they hung 51 on Bishop Manogue of Reno, a top-four team in Nevada. Hernandez rushed for two scores and Brown reached the end zone once.
“We like to keep the pressure on the defense in multiple ways,” Franks said.
St. Mary’s now has won four straight Holy Bowls, and the Rams have scored at least 40 points in three of them. Moore, the speedy 5-foot-10 receiver who is a four-year varsity player, went a perfect 4-0 against the Raiders in his high school career.
“They’re going to come out playing tough just like us,” Moore said of playing in the Holy Bowl rivalry. “They’re going to be as fierce and ferocious as they can be and try to get the game started early. It’s a good environment, (the place) is packed out.”
St. Mary’s dominates the second half
Central Catholic started the game fast, driving 66 yards in about four minutes on the first possession of the game to take a 7-0 lead. The Rams answered with a touchdown, but it took the Raiders just one play, a 63-yard touchdown connection from quarterback Kayden McHenry to Fresno State commit Chase Perino, to regain the lead. St. Mary’s answered on its next possession, forcing the game’s second tie with 51 seconds left in the opening frame.
The Rams took a seven-point lead midway through the second quarter. The Raiders’ offense stalled until late in the frame, when McHenry and Perino connected for their second score of the game. A St. Mary’s penalty on the extra point moved the ball forward a yard and the Raiders successfully converted the two-point conversion to take a 22-21 halftime lead.
The Raiders only scored once in the second half, as the Rams put together stops and the offense put up 24 straight points, opening up a 45-22 lead. St. Mary’s capped the scoring with a 37-yard pick-six.
“At times (we play with) tempo but not always,” Franks said. “We like to have the ability to put our foot on the gas when we choose to do that and at the same time back off, get our rhythm and see if we can get some first downs and get the ball down the field.”
Canepa’s message: Don’t count us out
Head coach Roger Canepa said the Raiders have been in this position before. And they have. In 2022, they finished 1-4 after five nonleague games.
Canepa’s response now is the same as it was then. “We’ll be OK,” he said. “Don’t worry about the Raiders. … We’re going to get better every week and that’s why we play the people we play.”
McHenry and Perino’s connection was one of the bright spots for Central Catholic, which is playing without a few starters and with a hampered Carter Meeks. The Sacramento State commit is battling through a hamstring injury.
McHenry found Perino for 10 catches for 169 yards and three of the Raiders’ touchdowns. Isaiah Faagata scored the first touchdown on a two-yard run up the middle. McHenry in total completed 18 of 29 passes for 254 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
“They’ve been on the same page all year,” Canepa said.
The Raiders are still improving, Canepa said, but despite the loss, this week was better than their season opener against Pleasant Valley of Chico. He said the team came out flat and lacked effort in Week 1. He saw the opposite Friday night.
“We need to fix the little things. But we played a lot better tonight,” he said. “That was a good first half, up 22-21 on the road. That part is good, but in the second half … it wasn’t that we didn’t play hard. We didn’t execute.”
Now the Raiders move forward because the loaded preseason schedule, which Canepa believes is the toughest in the Stanislaus District, doesn’t get any easier. Next week, the Raiders welcome Central Catholic of Oregon, the No. 3 team in the state.
