St. Paul's hosts Archbishop Shaw Eagles

St. Paul’s Wolves (1-0) host the Archbishop Shaw Eagles tonight at Hunter Stadium. The Wolves kicked off their season last Saturday in Lafayette with a dramatic come-from-behind, 13-10, victory over the St. Thomas More Cougars. Originally, the Wolves were supposed to play John Ehret at home last Friday, but that game had to be cancelled, courtesy of Hurricane Gustav.

The Wolves rode the leg of junior place kicker Jake Saltalamacchia, a first-year football player who booted two field goals, including the game winner from 33 yards out as time expired.

St. Paul’s head coach Ken Sears said his team made the most of its opportunity against St. Thomas More in dramatic fashion.

“It was a great victory for us, but I told our football team, now we have to focus on a very good Shaw team. They have lost quite a few players from last year, but they are still a good club. They have some tremendous athletes and are always well coached. We will have our hands full. We just want to come out of the game healthy as we prepare for a tough district season,” Sears said.

The Wolves’ defense played its heart out in Saturday’s victory against a quality St. Thomas More squad. Senior linebacker Jordan Bodenheimer posted seven solo tackles with an assist. He also caused a fumble.

Bodenheimer said it was a big emotional win over St. Thomas More, but they have already put that victory behind them.

“It was a great way to finally open the season, but now we are totally focused on our next opponent. We forgot about that game Sunday when we were watching game film of Shaw,” Bodenheimer said.

Bodenheimer shared his thoughts on tonight’s opponent.

“I think our defense needs to be able to control the Shaw offensive line. They have a good offense so our defense needs to match their intensity.”

Bodenheimer was able to tally a key touchdown as part of what St. Paul’s calls its meat package, scoring from two yards out to get the Wolves back in Saturday’s game. His short run cut the lead to 10-7.

“As a defensive player, you really don’t get much of an opportunity to run the ball. Mainly I got into the end zone because of the blocking up front. Mickey Johnson (6-2, 295) helped clear the way. He is a big reason why I was able to score the touchdown,” Bodenheimer added.

Johnson, a sophomore defensive tackle, enters the game in short yardage situations as part of the meat package. In last week’s victory, Johnson recorded four solo stops with two assists.

Quite a few defensive players turned in strong performances for the Wolves in their opening victory. Senior defensive back Greg Blasiar recorded eight individual tackles, while junior defensive end Houston Bates contributed two solos, five assists and two sacks. Senior linebacker Tyler Adams chipped in with three individual tackles and six assists along with a sack.

Offensively, senior quarterback Ricky Wendel clicked on 11-of-19 passes for 186 yards. His top receiver was Patrick Huval with three receptions covering 122 yards. St. Paul’s rushed the ball 34 times last week, picking up 126 yards. Sophomore Mikhail Washington led the way with 56 yards on seven carries, averaging eight yards per carry.

Shaw head coach Scott Bairnsfather said his school finally got power back on Sunday. “I’m sure our players are ready to get back to playing football. We are approaching things like we will be playing on Friday night. We will deal with things as they happen,” Bairnsfather said.

Bairnsfather described St. Paul’s as a very physical team up front.

“They have a new quarterback (Wendel) who looks pretty good,” Bairnsfather said. “We will have to play good at every level to beat them. They can do a lot of things offensively, and they take advantage of your mistakes. They mix it up with their running game, running lots of option and Wing-T along with other odd power plays.”

Shaw finished 14-1 last year, with its only blemish a 38-14 loss to Bastrop in the Class 4-A state championship game.

Shaw only returns three of 22 starters from last year’s squad, so the Eagles are in a rebuilding mode. Junior starting quarterback Andrew Starkey (6-0, 200), who took over in week seven after the Eagles starting quarterback was injured, returns to operate the offense.

Bairnsfather said the Eagles’ running game features senior Holden Lombard (5-9, 170) and junior Chris Current (5-9, 175).

“Our rebuilding has been tough. We still need lots of improvement, and we face a challenging schedule to get it done,” Bairnsfather said.

The Eagles’ two returning starters on defense are senior free safety Chad Boyd (5-10, 195) and senior middle linebacker Darius Robinson (5-10, 205).

Bairnsfather referred to Boyd and Robinson as two excellent defensive players who are physical and bring experience.