Cardinal Mahony wouldn’t dare miss this matchup
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The last time I saw Cardinal Roger Mahony (pictured left) in person, I was a geeky freshman at Paraclete High School, sitting through a gymnasium mass. I remember it was great because he gave us an extra day off from school for ‘being such good students.’ I could tell this came as a shock to our principal.
Well, I don’t know why, but I was equally shocked to see Cardinal Mahony standing behind me during the first quarter of the Crespi-St. Bonaventure game. After a brief, ‘What’s he doing here?’ thought, I quickly realized it made sense that the top man of the Los Angeles Archdiocese would be on hand to see two of the top Parochial schools in Southern California duke it out. In fact, Friday night football games are something of a tradition for Mahoney.
‘I make sure my Friday nights are always open,’ Mahony said. ‘This is real football. There’s no money, fame and all that other stuff. It’s just about the game.’
Mahony seemed to be enjoying himself as he roamed the Crespi sidelines, leafing through his game program. He also briefly chatted with some Crespi players and gave them some cheerful taps on their helmets.
And maybe his sideline presence is paying off for the Celts: They lead, 19-3, at halftime thanks to the efforts of RB Austin Shanks and a defense that has held all-everything RB Darrell Scott to less than 50 yards rushing. A 30-yard field goal by Derek Kirk got St. Bonny on the scoreboard.
However, St. Bonny Coach Todd Therrien must be frustrated by his team’s play, especially the performance of QB Tony Macarena, who has lost the ball twice on fumbles. Macarena was pulled on St. Bonny’s final possession of the second half. Ouch.
Maybe the Seraphs are just waiting to put together a late comeback like they did against Santa Margarita in their season opener.
No matter what happens, Mahony knew what the outcome would be.
‘I know for sure a Catholic team will win,’ he said.
- Austin Knoblauch
--Image by Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times