Defense, big plays power Cathedral High football over St. Francis

Big plays all night delivered the Cathedral High football team its third consecutive Angelus League title after a 28-16 victory over host St. Francis at Friedman Field on Friday night.

Both squads entered the league showdown with high-flying offenses, but it was the Phantoms’ defense that secured the victory in the clash of league-undefeated teams.

St. Francis (9-1, 4-1), the Southern Section Division 3 No. 5-ranked team, had trouble protecting quarterback Darius Perrantes and lost the battle in the trenches.

Perrantes completed 20 of 39 passes for 263 yards and one touchdown with one interception. Yet the junior was sacked four times, and the Golden Knights mustered only 29 yards in 18 carries.

“We play tough defense and we believe in flying to the ball,” Cathedral coach Kevin Pearson said. “Our team is tough and it’s known for its offense, but our defense is good.”

Conversely, Cathedral sophomore quarterback Bryce Young heated up after a slow first half and completed 20 of 26 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns. Young also rushed nine times for 71 yards.

Cathedral took the lead for good when Young connected on a 57-yard touchdown to Jabari Kindle with 11:48 left in the fourth quarter to put the Phantoms ahead 21-10.

St. Francis countered with a six-yard touchdown run from Perrantes, but Cathedral’ stopped the two-point try and kept the score at 21-16 with 8:35 remaining.

The Phantoms answered back with a dagger when Young hit Cory Payne on a 21-yard touchdown with 4:57 left on fourth and one to go up 28-16.

St. Francis turned the ball over on downs on its final drive with just over two minutes left, and Cathedral junior running back Omari Garry, who rushed 16 times for 109 yards and one touchdown, closed out the win with three straight runs.

Garry opened the game in style with a 48-yard touchdown run to give the Phantoms a 7-0 lead at the eight-minute mark in the first quarter.

St. Francis came right back with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Perrantes to Andrew Monarrez, and the game remained tied at 7 going into halftime.

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