Archives > Sports > Schools
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
JPII rushes past El Paso Cathedral: Cardinals get first Homecoming victory
BY Bill Conrad, bconrad@starlocalnews.com
John Paul II (2-7) snapped a seven-game losing streak Friday night with a 44-10 home victory over El Paso Cathedral (3-5).
The Cardinals used a balanced rushing attack to earn the 8-year-old school's first ever Homecoming victory.
"We challenged our guys early in the week," said David Gaffney, John Paul head coach. "We had really struggled in district and we really just needed a win. We told them that when you are in a bad place you have to keep going. They worked hard and earned a victory."
With Cook leading the show, the Cardinals' running game rolled up 360 yards on 47 carries. Cook, who finished with 103 yards and a score, was one of five John Paul players who gained more than 30 yards on the ground.
"We felt like we matched up well with them up front," Gaffney said. "Whenever you can move people a little bit you are going to have a better running game. We have some kids that run hard."
The Cardinals got on the board early after an interception by sophomore Merek Pierce gave John Paul the ball at the Fighting Irish 28-yard line. Once on offense, the Cardinals needed only three plays before junior Andres Nunez ran the ball in from 5 yards out for the opening score of the game.
John Paul added another touchdown several minutes later on a 1-yard run by Cook.
A Fighting Irish field goal made the score 14-3 midway through the second quarter, but the Cardinals quickly answered back on an 18-yard pass from Cook to junior running back Austin Barnes with 1:26 left in the second quarter. The Cardinals add another score before the half ended when Nunez connected on a 36-yard field goal with no time left.
While the offense was moving the ball at will, the defense wasn't allowing Cathedral's offense to gain any momentum. Gaffney felt his defense played with a more attitude and was more physical than they had been in recent games.
"We played better on defense," he said. "We felt like we had an idea of what they were going to attack us with. I thought we did a good job of scheming that and were in better places and spots to defend. I also thought we tackled better."
The second half was nearly identical to the first, with Cook leading the Cardinals' offense up-and-down the field seemingly at will.
Cook scored on a 19-yard run five minutes into the second half. After a Cathedral rushing touchdown, Cook found Pierce wide open on a post pattern for a 25-yard score with two minutes remaining in the third. Gaffney noted that Cook is getting more comfortable at quarterback and the coaching staff is able to add a few more wrinkles to the playbook each week.
"We feel like he can make plays with his feet and his arm," Gaffney said. "He definitely has been a pleasant surprise. We knew he had a good arm since he is the starting shortstop on the baseball team, and now he is fitting into the offense a little better."
With a comfortable lead, Nunez took over the quarterback duties and picked up where Cook left off. With nine minutes left in the game, Nunez connected with Nick Finer on a short screen pass that the senior running back turned into an 18-yard touchdown.
Cook completed 13-of-20 passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns. His leading receiver was Barnes, who caught five passes for 60 yards while adding 43 yards rushing.
The Cardinals got 81 yards from Nunez on 15 carries, and 63 yards from Finer on nine attempts. With the game wrapped up, sophomore running back Khang Tran moved into the feature back position and ran out the clock with 31 yards on six carries.
John Paul finishes the regular season at 7:30 p.m. Friday when it hosts Trinity Christian Academy.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: John Paul Ii «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
