On a rainy evening at the Blue Valley District Activity Complex, the St. Thomas Aquinas Saints struck like lightning to open each half en route to a 34-6 win over the Blue Valley North Mustangs Friday night.
On the game’s first play from scrimmage, Saints quarterback Carson Patrick threw a perfect spiral to Xavier Bachamp who, out of the backfield, slipped behind the Mustangs secondary and scored on an 80-yard reception down the right sideline for a touchdown.
After leading, 14-0, at halftime, the defensive play of the Saints (7-1) picked up from its stalwart play in the opening half and stretched their lead on an interception return for a touchdown early in the third quarter.
“It was a dominating defense and, on the other side, they (the Mustangs) should be proud of their defense,” said Saints head coach Randy Dreiling.
The Mustangs (3-5) forced two turnovers in the opening half, but they weren’t able to convert on either against the Saints defense.
“We had more turnovers than a French bakery,” said Dreiling when citing his team’s offensive inconsistencies.
Star running back sits out
Opening the second half, the Mustangs had the ball on their own 15, and Saints freshman safety Mason Arndt returned an interception for a touchdown at the 11:42 mark of the third quarter.
Mason Arndt is the younger brother of Calin Arndt, who has compiled 1,312 rushing yards for the Saints this season, but sat out the game against the Mustangs because of an ankle injury.
Despite their offensive struggles, the Saints put together their best drive of the night late in the first half. It was capped by a 25-yard TD pass from Patrick to wide receiver Arthur Witherspoon.
Going into the game, Witherspoon scored six touchdowns on his seven receptions on the year. He added a fourth-quarter TD reception to top off the Saints scoring on the night.
The Saints’ eight-play drive before halftime started with a 39-run by sophomore Colton McGinn to the Mustang 41.
The drive also featured a successful fourth-down conversion, the Saints’ first on three attempts in the first half, when Jackson Rafferty took a pitch on scampered to the Mustang 25.
Two plays later, the Saints got a touchdown and a successful two-point conversion for the two-score halftime advantage.
How Blue Valley North scored
In the second half, another Saints turnover, a fumble, resulted in the Mustangs’ only touchdown.
Deep in their own territory, the Saints fumbled and Rett Daniels of the Mustangs picked it and scored a touchdown at the 3:02 mark of the third quarter.
The 34 points scored by the Saints was their lowest total since the season-opening 21-0 victory over Blue Valley West. Four times this season the Saints have surpassed the 40-point plateau in scoring.
The Mustangs played their fourth game under Blake Mudd as the head coach after he took over for Gene Weir on October 3.
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