PJP (5-2) is 2-0 in district play. A win by the Jaguars will have them competing for the district title next Friday when they host St. Thomas Aquinas, who is 3-0 in district.
St. Thomas Aquinas is playing out of league this week against Southern Lab at home.
 Morse |
“District is important, but it would almost guarantee us getting into the playoffs, and it would guarantee us playing for a district title,” Jeanmard said.
St. Helena Central (4-3) is 1-1 in league competition.
Pope John Paul, which recorded its third shutout of the season last week, is coming off a 24-0 win over Springfield after scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter. St. Helena is trying to rebound from a 41-34 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas.
St. Helena won last year’s meeting, 12-0.
Pope John Paul is led by its defense. So far this year the Jaguar defense has not allowed a point in two district games. PJP has outscored its league opponents by a combined score of 52-6. The points Pope John Paul allowed were on an interception return for a score against Pine.
The Jaguars have given up a total of 59 points (8.4 a game).
Last week, the unit forced four turnovers and allowed just 97 yards of total offense to Springfield.
Defensive back Ryan Palmisano has five interceptions. Tyler Lusignan is second on the team with three, including one last week.
Also getting interceptions against Springfield were Timmy Turner and Cory Davis. It was the first this season for both players.
Andrew Morse recovered a fumble for PJP at the Jaguars’ 16-yard line, which ended a potential scoring drive for Springfield. At the time, Pope John Paul was holding a 7-0 lead.
Going into last week, Bobby Mayfield had 22 tackles, while Brad Alfonso had been in on 16 stops.
They will be facing an offense that runs multiple formations. St. Helena coach Dwayne Severio said his club can line up in the I-formation or get into the shotgun and spread it out.
The Hawks’ running game will depend on their back Darin Self (6-foot-1, 235 pounds). This season, he has carried the ball 153 times, while getting 1,052 yards (6.8 yards a carry) and 10 touchdowns.
“We’re going to give Darin his touches,” Severio said. “I really don’t think defenses like to tackle him, but one thing we can do this year is throw the ball, so they can’t load the box on us.”
When St. Helena does attempt to pass, senior quarterback Addarius Sopher will be pulling the trigger. This year, he is 45-of-91 for 839 yards with nine touchdowns and three interceptions.
His main targets are sophomore Ryan Byrd, juniors Nicholas Spain and Gemelle Washington and senior James Leonard.
Byrd is the leading receiver with 13 catches for 329 yards and four scores. Washington has caught 11 passes for 105 yards. Spain has eight receptions for 143 yards and three TDs, while Leonard’s five catches have him at 101 yards with a score.
Offensively, PJP runs the veer with Nathan Hewitt taking snaps at quarterback. Last week, he hooked up with Tommy Gritten for a 13-yard touchdown pass.
This season, Hewitt has thrown for 300 yards and two TDs. The important stat for the signal caller is that he has yet to throw an interception.
The running back is senior Ross Macaluso. Against Springfield, he had a big game with 27 carries for 163 yards and a pair of scores. This season, Macaluso has 137 totes for 693 yards (5 yards per run) and three TDs.
PJP was also able to control the clock with the lead last week. Jeanmard said the Jaguars had an eight-minute drive in the third quarter with a 7-0 advantage.
They will be going against a Hawks’ defense that bases out of the 4-2-5, but will change depending on the situation.
Severio said senior lineman Jerry Gutter and senior back Bryant Burton have played the best for his team. The coach also said sophomore cornerback Marvin Lee is coming back from injury and will start.
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