St. Paul's defense stands tall, blanks Shaw

St. Paul’s Wolves (2-0) rode a stingy defense led by junior end Houston Bates, downing the Archbishop Shaw Eagles, 20-0 Saturday on senior day at Hunter Stadium.

The game originally scheduled for Friday night was moved to Saturday at 1 p.m. due to Hurricane Ike.

Neither team could generate any consistent offense in the opening quarter and for most of the first half.

Bates, who kept the defensive pressure up throughout the game, said Shaw came in here last year and beat them in their house.

“Shaw is a good, strong football team (14-1 last year falling in the state championship game). Our coaches had us prepared. Our defense played hard as did our offense,” Bates said.

“I just try to key on the ball, and get off as quick as I can on the snap to beat my man,” Bates added.

Wolves’ defensive coordinator Lee Pierre credited his defense with a tremendous effort, highlighting the play of Bates.

“Houston is something else as a defensive player. He had a fantastic day. He has progressed so well from last year. I’m really happy with what he has done this year. He is reading the run so much better,” Pierre said.

St. Paul’s got on the board with senior quarterback Ricky Wendel, skirting around left end from eight yards out with 43 seconds remaining in the first quarter as the Wolves offensive line did a good job, sealing off the Eagles defenders, which cleared the way for Wendel to stroll into the end zone. Junior place kicker Jake Saltalamacchia converted the point after to give the Wolves the 7-0 lead.

Wendel was 7-for-13 passing for 67 yards. Running back Stephon Smith caught three balls for 23 yards. He led the rushers with 25 yards on six carries. Patrick Huval finished with two catches for 24 yards.

St. Paul’s coach Ken Sears praised the outstanding overall team play of his defense.

“Despite the adversity of the week, the players came through again,” Sears said. “We still have a lot of things to work on to become a better football team, but we played outstanding defense. Our defense kept us in it the whole game. My hats off to our defense.”

Sears said Bates was getting after it all day long.

“Hopefully, we can keep him healthy through the year. He’s a force to be reckoned with,” Sears added.

Following St. Paul’s taking the 7-0 lead, Shaw facing a fourth-and-seven from its 25, the Eagles got off only an 11 yard punt into a stiff breeze. St. Paul’s set up shop at the 36 with 11:06, remaining in the first half.

The Wolves picked up a key first down on a fourth-and-seven play with 9:59 left. Wendel found Will Gensler on a perfectly designed screen pass with a convoy of blockers, picking up 13-yards. The drive stalled, but the Wolves’ Saltalamacchia stepped in to boot a 37-yard field goal out of Wendel’s hold to make it, 10-0, with 8:16 left in the first half. Saltalamacchia, playing his first season of football, was the Wolves’ hero last Saturday in St. Paul’s 13-10 come-from-behind victory over the St. Thomas More Cougars in Lafayette.

With 2:09 remaining in the first half, Will Gensler boomed a 59-yard punt with a nice role as the Wolves downed the ball at Shaw 19. The Eagles ran the ball three consecutive times with Chris Current, but he was only able to pick up a total of three yards. The Eagles punted, but the kick only traveled eight yards to the Eagles 31 with just 0.5 seconds on the clock.

Saltalamacchia attempted a 48-yarder, but the snap was high and the kick fell short and wide left, making the halftime score, 10-0.

Shaw received the second half kickoff, but went three-and-out. St. Paul’s engineed a 12-play drive with three first downs, but came up empty, failing to convert a fourth-and-nine from Shaw’s 30 with 4:46 to go in the third quarter.

Two plays later Wolves’ senior cornerback Nick Trist intercepted an Andrew Starkey pass at the St. Paul’s 42, returning it to the Eagles’ 26. Wolves’ senior linebacker Jordan Bodenheimer, who plays in short yardage situations, picked up a crucial first down on fourth-and-one with 2:30 left in the quarter, to keep the drive alive. On first down the Wolves fumbled, but senior offensive tackle Nathan Quick recovered to retain possession. The Wolves converted another crucial fourth-and-three situation when the Eagles were called for pass interference with 12 seconds left in the third. On fourth-and-four from the 10, Saltalamacchia nailed a 27-yard field goal to boost the margin to 13-0 with 11:12 to play.

Shaw’s Lawrence Breaud returned the ensuing kickoff 30 yards. The Wolves’ Bates broke through, sacking Starkey for a four-yard loss. Senior running back Holden Lombard ripped off a 13-yard gain, moving the ball to the St. Paul’s 49. Lombard, who picked up 25 yards on 11 carries, was then stopped for a two-yard loss.

On the next play, Bates got quick penetration hitting the quarterback as he released the ball. Senior linebacker Nick Logarbo was jolley on the spot, taking the ball 38-yards for a score to push the lead to 19-0 with 8:30 left.

Saltalamacchia split the uprights to close out the scoring at 20-0.