Sherman Leads the Attack, St. Genevieve Romps, 35-7

Quarterback Andy Sherman completed 18 of 33 passes for 269 yards and 3 touchdowns Saturday night, leading St. Genevieve High to a 35-7 romp over Elsinore in a Desert-Mountain Conference quarterfinal game at Tom Bradley Stadium.

The game marked the return of the Valiants’ standout running back, Jeff De La Cruz, who was returning from an ankle injury that sidelined him in St. Genevieve’s first-round win over Carpinteria. He averaged 109 yards per game during the regular season.

De La Cruz, however, re-injured the ankle in the first quarter--on an eight-yard touchdown run--and did not return to the game.

It didn’t matter.

The way Sherman was passing the ball, the Valiants (10-2) could have managed without any running backs.

Sherman completed 14 of 22 for 226 yards in the first half as St. Genevieve enjoyed a 28-7 lead at the intermission.

It was Elsinore (8-4) that looked like it might run away with the game in the early going, however.

On the Tigers’ first play from scrimmage, running back Brian Anderson took a pitch and sprinted 71 yards to give Elsinore a 7-0 lead.

Anderson finished with 186 yards on 21 carries, but committed three fumbles.

His first fumble led to an eight-yard touchdown run by De La Cruz with 5:48 left in the first quarter. The score tied the game, 7-7.

The rest of the game was a showcase for Sherman to display his wares.

“Our game plan didn’t change at all once De La Cruz left the game,” Valiant Coach Lindon Crow said. “We kept going along the same plan. You can just about bet that we’re going to pass the ball 30 times and run it 30 times no matter who’s in there.”

Crow wasn’t lying. St. Genevieve rushed 32 times and passed on 33 occasions. But the runs were just to give Sherman’s receivers some time to rest.

Brendan O’Connor added a pair of scoring catches and running back Eric Gunther, who rushed for 74 yards on 17 carries, scored on a one-yard run.

St. Genevieve will meet Leuzinger next week in the semifinals at a site yet to be determined.