Passing game helps St. Anthony football rout Schurr in first round of playoffs

SANTA FE SPRINGS >> St. Anthony changed things up for its archetypal playoff crippled nether Raul Lara, emphasizing its aerial crippled alternatively than Sone Aupiu’s jaw-dropping runs, and backmost Conor Hochberg and the Saints defence led the mode successful a one-sided triumph implicit Schurr.

Hochberg completed 19 of 24 passes for 348 yards and 3 touchdowns arsenic the Saints took bid from the commencement and romped to a 41-7 triumph astatine St. Paul High School successful the archetypal circular of the CIF Southern Section Division 10 playoffs.

The Saints scored connected their archetypal 3 possessions. It would person been 5 but for a holding punishment arsenic Hochberg — aft a triple-pitch, to Aupiu to Kweku Claybrook and backmost to the QB — connected for a 52-yard touchdown walk to Darius Davis, who was flagged different 15 yards for a chaotic end-zone celebration.

Asked wherefore by Lara, Davis responded: “It was a legendary play, Coach.”

“You gotta emotion these kids, man,” Lara noted later.

There was overmuch to love. The fourth-seeded Saints (7-4) rolled up 497 yards successful offense, each but 24 successful the archetypal 3 quarters, portion holding the visiting Spartans (7-4) to zero rushing yards earlier halftime down a defence led by linebacker Anakin “A.K.” Aupiu and lineman Eric “Sam” Suluai.

They won for the seventh clip successful 8 games to acceptable up a showdown connected the roadworthy adjacent week against Katella (5-5) oregon Cathedral City (7-3), which look disconnected Saturday.

St. Anthony mightiness find encouragement that the past 4 teams to bushed Schurr successful the playoffs person gone connected to the final. Three of the 4 won championships.

Sone Aupiu, who had topped 200 yards successful 4 of his erstwhile 5 games, totaled 145 yards and 3 touchdowns. He had 1 signature moment, taking a surface walk astatine the enactment of scrimmage and racing done Schurr’s defence for a 41-yard people that pushed the vantage to 28-0 by halftime.

“We’ve been truly dense tally wise, truthful (opponents) are trying to fig retired however they’re going to halt the run, truthful we thought that contiguous the passing crippled was going to beryllium unfastened for us,” said Lara, who pushed his head-coaching playoff grounds to 34-10. “They person immoderate truly fast, small linebackers, and we knew they were going to sprout the gap, and that’s wherefore we thought the walk crippled was going to beryllium a small spot amended for us.”

Hochberg connected with 5 receivers, with Tyler Henry hauling successful 5 throws for 118 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown successful the last infinitesimal of the 3rd quarter, and Ryan Norried catching 4 for 96. Kweku Claybrook besides caught a TD pass.

“That’s wherever we knew we wanted to attack, and we went consecutive astatine them,” Hochberg said. “Our crippled program succeeded perfectly, and it truly showed that we tin beryllium versatile and not lone tally the ball.”

St. Anthony marched 60, 68 and 70 connected its archetypal 3 drives, with Sone Aupiu runs providing the archetypal 2 touchdowns and a Claybrook tally making it 21-0 aboriginal successful the 2nd quarter.

Schurr didn’t get its archetypal archetypal down until its adjacent possession but doubly reached the reddish portion successful the 2nd quarter. Both drives ended connected fourth-down incompletions.

The Spartans got their touchdown connected the 3rd play of the 2nd half. Jesse Preciado deed Eric Gonzalez for 30 yards, a punishment pushed them to the 20, and Matthew Salazar caught a Preciado walk successful the extremity zone.

St. Anthony answered with a five-and-a-half-minute drive, with Hochberg hitting Claybrook for a 16-yard score.

Preciado completed 10 of 27 passes for 139 yards. Efrain Martinez ran for 55 yards connected 4 second-half carries.

Isaiah Candelaria, who came successful with 883 rushing yards, was held to 6 yards connected 5 carries.

“Had we made a mates completions and worldly successful the archetypal half, it would person gave america a small spot amended of an accidental to get into a rhythm,” Schurr caput manager David Ramos said. “We ne'er rather got into that rhythm, and each recognition to St. Anthony. Their defence was lights out.”