If this game was nothing else, it was highly entertaining.

The St. Joseph Knights put up some big numbers in their 55-0 Los Padres League victory over the Santa Maria Saints at the Saints' Dave Boyd Field Friday night.

The game also answered some important questions - would the Knights (4-1, 2-0 LPL) suffer a letdown after their hard-fought 28-14 victory over Pioneer Valley last week? (No). Would the Saints (2-3, 0-2 LPL) be able to bounce back from their 68-0 LPL loss to Morro Bay last week? (Yes and no).

“I think both teams played well,” said St. Joseph head coach Mike Hartman. “It's a city game, a league game. The Saints came to play.”

“All game are tough, especially league games,” said Santa Maria head coach Raul Castillo. “It doesn't matter whether you win, lose or tie - they're all tough.”

Early on, it looked like the Saints just might be able to stay with the Knights.

St. Joseph was called for an illegal procedure penalty on the game's first play.

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Then, on their next play, St. Joseph quarterback Gavin Kelly lofted a pass to star wide receiver Scott Cathcart. Santa Maria's Ryan Duran went up for the ball with Cathcart, came down with an interception and the Saints were in business.

“Duran played a great game,” said Castillo. “He's a very aggressive player. Free safety fits his personality well. But we also looked at a lot of film and came up with some ideas on how to stop them.”

“They defended us pretty well,” said Hartman. “We had to make some adjustments early in the game - they forced us to make those adjustments. But we were able to make them and it worked out.”

Santa Maria had its own share of problems.

The Saints couldn't penetrate the Knights' defense.

They were forced to punt and a bad snap had punter Steven Grigg scrambling for his life. Grigg was tackled at his own 15 yard line and the Knights had excellent field position.

Three plays later, Kelly was in the shotgun formation. The snap sailed over his head. He raced back about 10 yards, picked the ball up and hit wide receiver Travis Biegel with a 14-yard strike for the game's first score. Anthony Gallegos nailed the point to put St. Joseph up 7-0 less than four minutes into the game.

The Saints fumbled away the ball on their next possession, and again, St. Joseph had the ball and excellent field position - at Santa Maria's 34 yard line.

From there, the Knights needed just five plays to move into the end zone - on an 11-yard Kelly keeper - to go up 14-0 midway through the first quarter.

While the Saints offense was held in check by the Knights' defense, Santa Maria's defense came alive on the next two St. Joseph drives.

First forcing a fumble, then grabbing another Duran interception from the Kelly-Cathcart connection.

The Knights' defense returned the favor - blocking a Grigg punt. Cathcart picked up the blocked kick and raced into the end zone - but there was a holding penalty on the play, so the ball was moved back to the Santa Maria 33 yard line.

Relying strictly on their running game, The Knights moved the ball down to the one. On fourth and goal, they were setting up for a possible 18-yard Gallegos field goal attempt when the Saints called time out.

Now, with time to discuss their options, the Knights decided to go for it. They put 272-pound offensive lineman John Sua in as a fullback, gave him the ball and he slammed into the end zone for his third offensive touchdown of the year.

“John Sua had two touchdowns. Russell Perkins had 121 yards on the ground. Bobby Puerling had 73 yards rushing,” said Hartman. “Everyone played their hearts out tonight.”

Two minutes later, running back Perkins carried a half-dozen defenders 27-yards for a score.

Gallegos came on with less than 1-second on the clock and nailed an 18-yard field goal to put St. Joseph up 31-0 at the half.

As the third quarter began, Cathcart - who doubles as a defensive end - sacked Santa Maria quarterback Robert Rodriguez and stripped him of the ball. Sua picked it up and raced 35-yards for the score.

Bobby Puerling added another TD on an 8-yard run. Gallegos hit a 22-yard field goal and Brannon Adlesh picked up a touchdown on a 24-yard fumble recovery and it was 55-0 as time ran out on the third quarter.

St. Joseph rolled up 419 yards of total offense - 367 of those on the ground. They were led by Perkins who gained 121 yards on 19 carries, Bobby Puerling with 73 yards on 14 carries, Jordan Murphy with 32 yards on four carries and both quarterbacks - starter Kelly with 41 yards on four carries and backup Chase Sanders with 32 yards on six carries.

The Saints were held to 76 yards of total offense - 41 on the ground and 35 through the air. Santa Maria was led by Sebastian Pedraza with 21 yards on 10 carries and quarterback Robert Rodriguez with 14 yards on 12 carries.

October 6, 2007