Depth matters.

The St. Joseph Knights proved that Friday night in their 38-0 Los Padres League football victory over the Santa Maria Saints at St. Joe's Al Maguire Field.

Senior tailback Josh Cosand came in for injured starter Thomas Sua early in the first quarter and racked up 155 yards and three touchdowns in the Knights' shutout victory.

“Our backups know they could be just one play away from being in the game,” said St. Joseph head coach Mike Hartman. “Josh stepped up tonight and did a great job. He had a lot of touches and played very well against Bishop Diego. We knew he'd be ready.”

The Knights (3-2, 2-0 LPL) also relied on the arm of quarterback Chase Sanders, who had a near-perfect night with 12-for-16 passing for 200 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Cameron Sewell ran for 31-yards on three carries and Reid Perkins added another 31 yards on seven carries to help pace the Knights.

On the receiving end, the Knights' Daniel Rudolph picked up 117-yards and one touchdown on four receptions. He almost had a second TD but fumbled the ball after a 47-yard catch at the three-yard line. The ball rolled into the endzone where St. Joe's Patrick Cusack scooped it up for the score.

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Also for the Knights, Scott Cathcart had three catches for 31 yards. John Gregory had one catch for 18 yards, Cusack had one catch for 16 yards, Brandon Ancheta caught three for 21 yards and Cosand had one catch that was good for a 7 yard touchdown.

Rounding out the scoring, the Knights' kicker John Wood was a perfect 5-for-5 on points after and nailed a 27 yard field goal to cap St. Joseph's scoring.

“It was a shutout - a league shutout,” said Hartman. “Those are hard to come by. They don't come along very often and when they do - they're special.”

Santa Maria's (2-3, 0-2 LPL) leading rusher was fullback Halston Chapman who picked up 40 yards on 9 carries. The Saints' Julian Ortiz added 14 yards on 12 carries and Ray Garcia picked up 17 yards on four carries.

Santa Maria's starting quarterback Robert Rodriguez was 3-for-13 passing for 12 yards with one interception. Daniel Gauna came on in relief and was 4-for-9 for 27 yards.

“Daniel (Gauna) was all over the field on defense tonight. He played a good game on offense as a wide receiver and then at quarterback,” said Santa Maria head coach Barney Eames. “Overall he did a great job. I'm also happy with the job Robert (Rodriguez) did. It was his first time starting at quarterback and he did a good job.”

The St. Joseph defense dominated the game from the start. They forced the Saints into three-and-out situations on seven of 10 possessions before the substitutes came on in the fourth quarter.

“Our kids executed tonight,” said Hartman. “The coaches don't make the plays - the kids do. We work on a game plan all week and then it's up to the kids to execute that game plan and they did that tonight - all of them. The first team, the second team - we got every kid into the game tonight - and everyone one of them followed the plan, kept the pressure on and preserved the shutout.”

The Saints went three-and-out on their first possession. On their fourth down punt attempt, a bad snap left kicker Edgar Uriarte scrambling. Uriarte was tackled for a one-yard loss and the Knights had excellent field position on the Saints' 27 yard line.

Sanders handed off to Sua on the first play - good for 12 yards. Second play - Sua again - rambling into the endzone for an apparent 15-yard touchdown. But the play was called back on a St. Joe penalty - and Sua came out of the game limping.

“He's been fighting a leg injury all season,” said Hartman. “It's not too bad. He'll be all right.”

In came Cosand.

After an 18-yard completion to Gregory, Sanders hit Cosand in the corner of the endzone with a 7-yard touchdown pass for the game's first score.

As the second quarter began, Cosand capped a 6-play 68-yard touchdown drive by running it in from the five yard line to increase the Knights' lead to 14-0. Cosand carried the ball on all six plays.

On the Knights' next possession, they marched 58 yards on five plays for the score. Brandon Ancheta got things going with a 7 yard reception. Cusack then hauled in a 16 yard pass. Cosand finished the drive with a 25 yard burst into the endzone and the Knights went into halftime up 21-0.

In the third quarter, Sanders hooked up with Rudolph for a 27-yard touchdown pass and a 28-0 lead.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Sanders and Rudolph teamed up for a 47-yard pass and catch that looked like it was going to be another Rudolph touchdown. But he fumbled the ball near the three yard line. It rolled into the endzone where Cusack scooped it up for the score and a 35-0 lead.

Midway through the fourth, the Knights drive stalled at the Santa Maria 20. Wood came in and kicked a 27 yard field goal for the game's final score.

“Our kids played hard - they never quit,” said Eames. “I'm proud of them for working hard and playing hard right until the end.”

“The Saints are a team that's improving each week. They've got a new coach, a new system. They're learning, they'll get there,” said Hartman. “They do some things very well. They tackle hard, they play hard - they never give up.

“I'm really proud of our kids, too. They played a great game. They deserved a shutout. Now, we've got to get ready for next week.”

Both teams hit the road for next week's games. Santa Maria heads down to Santa Ynez while St. Joseph goes over to Cabrillo. Both games kick off at 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 7, 2006