After the first three quarters of the NCS Division 6 title game on Saturday night, few would have expected a scoreless fourth quarter. But that's exactly what the St. Bernard's defense produced against top-seeded Kennedy-Richmond, forcing a pair of turnovers in the final 12 minutes to hang on for the 31-28 victory, the Crusaders' second section title in a five-year span.
Guillermo Perez-Estrada hit a 37-yard field goal in the final minute of the third quarter to give St. Bernard's its three-point lead, and the Crusaders' Elijah Moon recovered the ensuing onside kick, a strategy which the Crusaders have run to near-perfection in recent years, as Moon recovered two of them during the game. That allowed St. Bernard's to chew up valuable time off the clock, even though the drive ended in an interception deep in Kennedy territory.
"Guillermo is an exchange student from Spain who had never played American football before this year," said St. Bernard's coach Matt Tomlin. "Last night was a very special night for him and his family, who was watching the live stream in Spain."
Kennedy (11-2) did have two more possessions in the final quarter, but the first ended on a fumble near midfield from usually reliable playmaker Camron Young, and the final Eagles' drive ended in an interception deep in their own territory, snagged by Lane Thrap, after St. Bernard's had taken a few more minutes off the clock and Kennedy was in desperation mode. Despite the loss, Eagles' coach Greg Marshall had nothing but praise for his team that reached the school's first section championship game in 31 years.
"Tonight was simply a great effort by both teams," Marshall commented.
Neither team was willing to back down, even after St. Bernard's (10-3) built a 21-7 lead in the second quarter on a 68-yard touchdown pass from Will Omey to Damarte Prudhomme. Before the game, Marshall had commented on the importance of defending all of the Crusaders' weapons, not just the well-known ones such as Thrap and Justin Hagler, who ran for a pair of first-half scores. Indeed, his concerns turned out to be prophetic with the big play in the second quarter.
The Eagles, however, responded in quick-strike fashion. Young scored on a six-yard rush and Trey Baker then returned an interception 68 yards for a score.
"Hats off to Coach Marshall and his players. They coached a great game and his players are absolute warriors," Tomlin said. "I am very proud of my boys. They left it all on the field and we earned a victory against a very good football team."
St. Bernard's regained the lead early in the third quarter, after recovering an onside kick to start the half. That drive ended in a one-yard touchdown run by Omey, but Kennedy responded with a quick drive. Williams connected with Young on fourth-and-six for a 25-yard gain to extend the drive, and Baker then burst through the middle of the Crusader defense for a 20-yard scoring run to tie the game at 28.
"We knew how talented Kennedy was and told the kids during the week that we would need to recover two onside kicks to have a chance to win. We had to maximize our opportunities and minimize theirs. Trey Baker was every bit as good as advertised," Tomlin added.
With the win, St. Bernard's advances to the CIF bowl game series for the first time since 2015, when it captured a CIF title.
