Moore Catholic and St. Peter squared off in some playoff action on Saturday, but Moore Catholic had to settle for second. They took a 42-28 bruising from the St. Peter's Eagles. The Mavericks were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Eagles apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in October of 2023.
When it comes to explaining why Moore Catholic lost, don't look at Jayden Melendez. Despite the final result, he picked up 71 receiving yards and a touchdown, and also threw for 48 yards and a touchdown. The dominant performance also gave Melendez a new career-high in rushing yards (18). Another player making a difference was Thomas Zeh, who threw for 174 yards and two touchdowns.
Even though they lost, Moore Catholic was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 240 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Marco Aruta was his usual excellent self, picking up 120 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 83 yards and two touchdowns for St. Peter's. Aruta's longest reception was for an incredible 80 yards. St. Peter's also got a significant boost from Jeremiah Williams, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 130 yards.
Moore Catholic's defeat dropped their record down to 6-6. As for St. Peter's, the win was the sixth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 10-2.
Moore Catholic does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for St. Peter's, they will challenge St. Joseph-by-the-Sea at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. St. Joseph-by-the-Sea is coming into the contest with four straight victories on the road, so St. Peter's will have to stop a team with plenty of momentum.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
