Fresh off an exciting road victory over Valley Christian, the St. Patrick-St. Vincent High varsity football team will try to remain in the Tri-County Athletic League title chase when it hosts the powerful St. Mary’s Panthers on Friday night at Dante Magnani Field.
The Bruins (2-5, 2-1 TCAL) had their offense working last week against Valley Christian (4-4, 1-3 TCAL). Sophomore quarterbacks Anthony Olmes and Michael Pappas each threw touchdown passes. Wesley Galloway had a touchdown catch and a TD run, Marcus Gay caught a touchdown pass, and Marquis Perrilliat ran for a touchdown.
“Our offense was clicking on all cylinders,” said SPSV head coach Lane Hawkins. “We had a good scheme set up and the young men executed the scheme well.”
SPSV has scored 96 points in its last three games after scoring 71 points in its first four games.
“We’re running the same stuff but I think the players are becoming more familiar and more comfortable with it,” Hawkins said. “They’re not guessing or thinking about it, they’re just playing ball. We have multiple options on each play and they’re becoming more comfortable with the options.”
SPSV’s defense struggled last week and will face an even tougher test against the Panthers (7-1, 3-1 TCAL). St. Mary’s is averaging 35 points per game and had a seven-game winning streak snapped last week in a 30-23 loss at Salesian (5-2, 3-0 TCAL).
Sophomore quarterback Ryan Jenkins (jersey No. 10) has thrown for 976 yards and 12 touchdowns. Junior running backs Tamarick Pierce (No. 24) and Stevie Harvey have combined for 1,263 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns, with Pierce accounting for 10 of those TDs. Senior Erik Phillip (No. 19) leads the Panthers with five TD catches.
“They’re loaded,” Hawkins said of the Panthers. “They’ve always had a very good running game and been stout on defense. But we’ve always played them tough here. We’re looking to recapture some of that.
“You can’t turn the ball over against teams like St. Mary’s and Salesian. They’re too good to do that. So we have to protect the ball and minimize the mistakes.”
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