Football Preview: Servite Friars vs. St. Paul Swordsmen
After each having a week off, the Servite Friars and the St. Paul Swordsmen will dust off their jerseys to challenge one another at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Servite is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt wants to keep things rolling.
Two weeks ago, Servite made easy work of Notre Dame (SO) and carried off a 38-17 victory. The Friars might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three matches by 20 points or more this season.
It was another big night for Quaid Carr, who rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns. His rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 141 rushing yards dating back to last season. Gavin Gutierrez was another key rusher, rushing for 90 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries.
Servite wouldn't let Notre Dame (SO) keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Servite can thank Elijah Rincon and Isaiah Leilua for forcing both of them. Leilua also set a new season high mark in total tackles with eight. Servite got some further help from Tomas Cernius: he picked up two sacks, made four total tackles (3.0 for loss), and made four total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Servite was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 289 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 224 rushing yards in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, St. Paul lost 38-14 to Los Alamitos two weeks ago. The Swordsmen have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Despite the loss, St. Paul had strong showings from Gabriel Castaneda, who threw for 204 yards and two touchdowns, and Kalai Benavente, who picked up 92 receiving yards and a touchdown. The dominant performance also gave Castaneda a new career-high in rushing yards.
Servite's win bumped their record up to 4-0. As for St. Paul, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-2.
Everything went Servite's way against St. Paul when the teams last played back in September of 2023, as Servite made off with a 34-13 victory. Does Servite have another victory up their sleeve, or will St. Paul turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
