St. Joseph routs Gladstone

Gladstone of Covina sustained an impressive scoring drive in the first half.

The Gladiators could not sustain much else - on offense or defense - until it was far too late.

After Gladstone's nice 77-yard scoring drive, St. Joseph's defense did not allow any more points until things were academic.

St. Joseph quarterback Casey Cathcart passed for 133 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. The Knights punished Gladstone's defense with their running game in the second, and St. Joseph won in a 49-22 rout at Al Maguire Field Friday night in a CIF Division X first round playoff game.

The Knights are 8-3. The Los Padres League runner-up's quarterfinal opponent will likely be second-ranked Crespi of Encino. If that is the case, a coin flip will decide the location. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. next Friday night.

Gladstone, the Montview League's runner-up, wound up 7-4.

In the first half, "They were bringing their (linebackers) a lot," on run blitzes to thwart the Knights' running game, said St. Joseph offensive guard John Normanly.

Cathcart made the Gladiators pay with those 133 passing yards, including a 78-yard touchdown toss to Jacob Boster. So in the second half, "The 'backers were dropping back in (pass) coverage," Normanly said.

The Knights responded by running for big yardage, mainly to the right side behind Normanly and tackle Matt Ruiz. Boster caught an 11-yard pass from Cathcart for St. Joseph's first score after halftime. The rest of St. Joseph's touchdowns came on the ground.

Brad Escobar scored from 5 yards out, then Sean Wolfe and backup Robbie Moss broke long scoring runs. Wolfe went in from 19 yards, and Moss scored from 35. St. Joseph ran for 275 of its 298 rushing yards after intermission.

"They were small," Wolfe said of Gladstone's defense. "They weren't like any other defense we've played this year."

"They ran a lot of funky alignments," said Normanly. Nothing worked.

The one time the Knights lined up in punt formation, would-be punter Philip Adam took the snap, bolted with the ball, broke a tackle at the Gladstone 40 and ran in for a 39-yard touchdown that made it 20-7 with 6:04 left in the second quarter. Tim Schweigert kicked the extra point, and the Gladiators never could make it close afterward.

The 5-11 Boster outjumped 5-9 Gladstone defensive back Mark Castenada at the Gladstone 40, caught Cathcart's pass and ran in. Schweigert's kick made 1t 14-0.

The Gladiators responded with their 77-yard drive. Quarterback Castenada, who was filling in for usual starter Frankie Paris, did most of the work himself on option runs and passes.

Castenada ran for 21 yards and passed for 19 more on the march. He scored on a quarterback sneak from inside the 1, 51 seconds into the second quarter. Omar Lopez's kick made it 14-7, but Adam's run on the fake punt followed shortly thereafter.

Gladstone did not score again until the Knights had padded their lead to 35-7.

"We had trouble figuring out the option on that one drive, but then we stopped it," said Knights defensive end Jacob Bychak, who, along with defensive tackle Ryan Acquistapace and defensive back Justin Maretti, had a big game.

Acquistapace replaced Zachary Sternjacob. Sternjacob, a top defensive lineman for the Knights, tore his anterior cruciate ligament against Santa Maria last week.

Down big late in the third quarter, Gladstone ran the swinging gate on its next two offensive series. The gate slammed shut on the Gladiators both times, as Dominic Catayas and Matt McCormack intercepted passes. That was it for the Gladstone swinging gate.

"It wasn't really hard," to figure out the swinging game, said Bychak. "We'd practiced against it."

Things got sloppy late. Both teams were hit with unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, and the Knights had three in the fourth quarter.

Other than that, "Our kids played real solid," said St. Joseph coach Barney Eames.

Times sports writer Kenny Cress can be reached at 739-2237 or by e-mail at kcress@pulitzer.net

November 22, 2003