Football Recap: Joseph Mesa's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Paraclete over St. Paul

By Team Reports Oct 28, 2024, 11:54am

Football Recap: Paraclete Spirits vs. St. Paul Swordsmen

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Paraclete lost against St. Paul back in October of 2023, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. The Paraclete Spirits fell just short of the St. Paul Swordsmen by a score of 31-28. Despite 97 more yards than the Swordsmen, the Spirits couldn't convert that extra yardage to scores.

Paraclete lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Joseph Mesa, who threw for 384 yards and four touchdowns while completing 80% of his passes, and also rushed for 33 yards. A healthy portion of Mesa's aerial production (153 yards to be exact) went to Erik Green, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.

St. Paul found their leader in sophomore Marley Luatua, who rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 10.1 yards per carry. Those 171 rushing yards gave Luatua a new career-high. Gabriel Castaneda was another key player, rushing for 54 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries.

Paraclete now has a losing record at 4-5. As for St. Paul, the win was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 6-3.

Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Paraclete will host Bishop Alemany at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with three consecutive losses for Paraclete and four for Bishop Alemany. As for St. Paul, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Cathedral at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Cathedral is coming into the game with three straight victories on the road, so St. Paul will have to stop a squad with plenty of momentum.

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