When St. Patrick-St. Vincent senior quarterback Akil Edwards missed a couple games due to injury earlier this season, his absence was evident on the field for the Bruins, as they were shutout in losses to Benicia and El Cerrito. Friday night, in St. Pat's playoff opener against TCAL-Rock rival Saint Mary's, Edwards showed he is at full strength for the most important stretch of the season, as he ran for a whopping 358 yards and six touchdowns, while throwing for another score in the Bruins' 55-34 victory to open the North Coast Section Division IV playoffs.
A touchdown run just before the half from Saint Mary's back Taj Castaneda cut the Bruins' lead to 20-13 at the break, but Edwards took over in the final two quarters. The dual-sport standout ran for touchdowns of 12 and 18 yards in the third quarter, and then exploded for a 70-yard jaunt early in the fourth quarter, a run which opened up a 41-13 lead.
Saint Mary's answered with a pair of touchdown passes from Nick Gaspardone, to Castaneda and Antoine Morales, but Edwards responded with a 40-yard scoring burst to push the lead back to 21 points, 48-27. Gaspardone connected with Naeem Broxton for his third touchdown pass of the night, but Edwards iced the game with a 25-yard scoring run.
St. Pat's bolted to an early lead in the first quarter, when Edwards hooked up with Bobby Brooks for a 25-yard touchdown pass, and a blocked punt led to a two-yard touchdown run from Kareem Newton for a quick 13-0 lead.
With the win, St. Patrick-St. Vincent has earned a rematch with top seed Moreau Catholic. The teams met in the season opener, when the unbeaten Mariners emerged with a 48-26 victory. St. Pat's has won the past two Division V titles, but is playing in Division IV this season due to competitive equity bylaws.
