The St. Thomas Varsity football team defeated the John Paul II Cardinals 49-3 in convincing fashion on September 22nd, 2023. The Eagles came out ready to play; scoring touchdowns on their first three drives, coming from a 75-yard rushing touchdown from running back Johann Cardenas ‘24, a 70-yard rushing touchdown from quarterback Donte Lewis ‘24, and a 6-yard touchdown from Lewis to wide receiver Jackson Skaife ‘25. Even a 20-minute power outage at the start of the second quarter didn’t stop the Eagle offense, as the Eagles outscored JPII 28-3 for the rest of the game.
“After the power outage, I was kinda expecting us to come out slow, but the offense never stopped scoring, it was amazing.” Jack Brown ‘24 said.
Although they only played about half of the game, the dynamic duo of Lewis and Cardenas accounted for a majority of the total offense for the Eagles. Lewis threw for 191 yards and 4 touchdowns and added 70 yards and another touchdown on the ground. Cardenas totaled 206 yards and a touchdown on only 15 carries, averaging 13.7 yards per carry.
“Even though we knew that JPII was not going to be as much of a challenge as some of our other opponents, we knew that if we overlooked them they could surprise us. We didn’t want this game to be closer than it should’ve been.” Johann Cardenas ‘24 said.
The receiving core, led by Luke Edgecomb ‘24, combined for 191 yards through the air; and the defense, led by John Carr ‘25 and Trace Langin ‘25, combined for 68 total tackles and 6 tackles for loss. The Eagles were so comfortable with their lead that they put in backup quarterback Ben Sweeney ‘25 and running back Wells Granger ‘26. On what was a special night for Granger, he totaled 79 yards and 1 touchdown on 7 carries.
“It was the greatest moment of my life, I almost cried.” Wells Granger ‘26 said. “It was so special seeing all of my teammates waiting on the sideline to celebrate with me. It’s something I will never forget.”
Going into their last game before division play begins, St. Thomas is 4-0, scoring at least 35 points against every team they have played so far. The Eagles hope to continue this trend for their next game on September 29th against the Kinkaid Falcons, who should serve as a tougher opponent for the Eagles.
“I am excited to watch the team play against Kinkaid.” James Ulm ‘24 said. “I have many friends who go to Kinkaid, and I’m excited to brag about us beating them next week.”
