LAKEPORT — The Clear Lake Cardinals lost one quarterback before the game started and another early in the first half Friday night, but that didn”t stop them from giving the undefeated St. Helena Saints a legitimate scare before falling 26-13 in North Central League I varsity football action at Don Owens Stadium in Lakeport.
Trailing 18-0 at halftime, the Cardinals (2-3, 4-4) closed to 18-13 before Pepe Gallegos” second touchdown run of the night, this one a 36-yarder, sealed St. Helena”s victory with 3:15 left to play. Gallegos also added the two-point conversion run.
Clear Lake”s first score came on a Vince Rave 1-yard run just 27 seconds into the fourth quarter. Raul Randon added the extra-point kick to make it 18-7. The Cardinal defense then forced the Saints (5-0, 8-0) to punt. Clear Lake took over and Luke Punzalan”s 55-yard touchdown run with 5:24 remaining made it 18-13.
Clear Lake”s defense was on the verge of stopping St. Helena again but a long run by Gallegos on a third-and-long play gave the Saints a first down. Gallegos then broke free for his 36-yard score a short time later.
“We would have had a shot had we held them on that third-down play,” Clear Lake coach Milo Meyer said. “We still had a lot of time left and one timeout.”
It was the closest any team has come to beating the Saints this season, something that wasn”t lost on Meyer.
“The kids played extremely well,” Meyer said. “And when you consider what happened to us at quarterback, the kids did a great job.”
Andre Buendia, a running back, played nearly the entire game at quarterback for the Cardinals. Kenny Henninger was unable to start the game because of a groin pull and his backup, Adrian Adams, was knocked out of the contest with a shoulder injury midway through the first quarter.
“Andre hasn”t taken a snap all year and for the most part did exceptionally well,” Meyer said.
The Clear Lake defense also turned in a strong showing, especially in the second half.
“Other than that last big run they had, they were going backwards in the third and fourth quarters,” Meyer said.
Two lost fumbles in the first half hurt the Cardinals as the Saints parlayed both turnovers into touchdowns while opening up an 18-0 halftime lead.
Danny Brink”s 10-yard run with 8:14 left in the first quarter made it 6-0, and a 3-yard run by Gallegos with 1:11 left in the period pushed the Saints” advantage to 12-0.
Clear Lake”s defense held St. Helena in check until the final seconds of the first half when quarterback Richard Hoppe hooked up with Joey Brink on a 10-yard touchdown pass, capping a 70-yard drive. St. Helena was facing a third-and-25 late in the drive when Clear Lake was flagged 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Saints went on to get the first down and eventually scored.
