SANTA FE SPRINGS – After a rough start to the season, which saw the St. Paul football team fall to 2-4, the Swordsmen rallied to win four consecutive games to give themselves a chance to play for the Angelus League title on Friday against Cathedral.
However, the clock struck midnight on the Swordsmen as their 36-yard game-winning field goal attempt sailed wide left as time expired and Cathedral held on to win 16–14 to claim the league title.
Cathedral finished 9-1 and 5-0 in league play while St. Paul finished 6-4 and 4-1. Both teams have qualified for the CIF Southern Section football playoffs with the pairings to be announced on Sunday.
St. Paul head coach Mike Moschetti said his team’s inability to move the ball in the second half iwas the deciding factor.
“The second half, they (Cathedral) put it to us,” Moschetti said. “Offensively they shut us down, but our kids battled. We just came up short.”
St. Paul quarterback Gabriel Castaneda ran for 61 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
It was a rough first half for the Cathedral offense. The Phantoms managed to come up with only three points as St. Paul forced the Cathedral offense to play from behind for the majority of the opening half thanks to untimely penalties and missed opportunities.
The Swordsmen struck first on their first possession of the half thanks to a physical drive that resulted in a 12-yard touchdown run by Castaneda for a 7-0 lead with 4:10 left in the first quarter.
St. Paul’s defensive pressure continued to give the Phantoms’ offense fits. However, quarterback Jaden Jefferson began to settle in as the game progressed. Penalties continued to bog down Cathedral as an offensive pass interference knocked the Phantoms out of the red zone and they settled for a field goal at the beginning of the second quarter to cut the St. Paul lead to 7-3.
St. Paul came close to going up by double digits in the second quarter, getting inside Cathedral’s 20-yard line with 4:11 left in the first half, but back-to-back penalties sent the Swordsmen out of field goal range and they wound up turning the ball over downs unable to convert a fourth-and-32.
The Swordsmen opened the second half with a surprising decision to go for it on fourth down at their own 28 with 9:04 left in the third quarter, which they did not convert.
Moschetti said despite the result of the play, he stands by his decision to go for it on fourth down.
“That was something our whole staff said let’s go and the kids wanted to go,” Moschetti said. “Cathedral beat us up on that play and we didn’t get a first down.”
With a short field to manage, Jefferson scored two plays later by finding Brian Prince for a 6-yard touchdown pass with 7:25 left in the third quarter to take a 10-7 lead.
St. Paul took the lead back in the fourth quarter as Castaneda ran in his second touchdown from 7 yards with 10:12 left to surge ahead, 14-10.
Less than a minute later, Jefferson connected with Antonio Walton for a 55-yard touchdown pass and the Phantoms led 16-14 after the extra point attempt was no good.
The two teams exchanged a few possessions before the Swordsmen wound up with the ball with 3:22 left in the game.
After a couple of key conversions on third and fourth downs, Swordsmen kicker Jesse Riperto lined up to kick a potential game-winning field goal and would miss wide left to give Cathedral the win.
Originally Published: