Pope John Paul II drops first district game at St. Helena Central

St. Helena Central’s Darin Self ran for four touchdowns in a 34-14 district victory over Pope John Paul II Friday night at St. Helena Central.

Both teams are 5-3 overall and 2-1 in District 9-2A.

PJP’s Ross Macaluso scored two touchdowns for the Jaguars.

His first one came in the opening quarter. Pope John Paul decided to go for it on fourth-and-two from the Hawks’ 43. Macaluso took the ball, got the first down and ran all the way for the touchdown, which gave PJP a 6-0 lead after the failed extra-point attempt.

St. Helena came back and scored when Addarius Sopher connected with Ryan Byrd for a 35-yard scoring pass. The successful PAT gave the Hawks a 7-6 advantage, and St. Helena Central never looked back.

A 6-yard run by Self in the second quarter made it 14-6 as the teams headed to the intermission.

In the third period, Self struck again with a 37-yard run, making it 20-6.

St. Helena extended the lead to 27-6 in the fourth before Macaluso ran for a 2-yard score. The two-point conversion was good, to trim the lead to 27-14.

The Hawks tallied once again to cap off the scoring.

Defensively, PJP forced three turnovers. Tyler Martin and Cory Davis both had fumble recoveries, and Ryan Palmisano intercepted his sixth pass of the season for the Jags.

Pope John Paul coach Mark Jeanmard said it was a tale of two halves.

“The second half we played well offensively but struggled defensively. In the first half, our offense struggled, but the defense played well,” Jeanmard said.

The coach also said Self is a good running back, and that St. Helena’s offensive line along with fullback Yadrom Williams also deserve credit.

PJP returns to action Friday night when the Jaguars host district-rival St. Thomas Aquinas in the regular-season finale. St. Helena Central takes on Pine.

A Pope John Paul win along with a St. Helena victory mean three teams would tie for first place. Currently, St. Thomas Aquinas is in first place with a 3-0 district mark.