Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – St. Bernard’s won 39-14 at Hoopa on Friday night.
The St. Bernard’s Crusaders overcame some sloppy play and mental mistakes on the way to overwhelming the Warriors 39-14 in Hoopa on Friday night.
Senior quarterback Will Omey threw for six touchdowns in the win, three of them to senior receiver Lane Thrap.
The dynamic duo have now combined for six TD passes in two games.
Bode Joyner, Logan Petrusha and Justin Hagler each also had a touchdown reception.
Too many mental mistakes, however, led to a sloppy performance despite the win.
Sam Jones scores a touchdown on Friday.
“I didn’t think we played well at all,” St. Bernard’s head coach Matt Tomlin said. “We had way too many penalties, way too many big plays called back.”
The performance by the 2-0 Crusaders, however, wasn’t without its bright spots.
Senior Eli Moon, who just transferred to St. Bernard’s this year, had a big game on the defensive line and has wasted no time settling in, while Talimaivao Fonoti left an impression on the Warriors defense.
“He played really tough tonight,” Tomlin said of the senior fullback/defensive end. “He made some big blocks for teammates.”
Likewise with Petrusha and Hagler, as the SB receivers made some big blocks to spring their teammates.
The Warriors were playing their first game after being forced to cancel a scheduled matchup at Fort Bragg a week ago due to injuries.
Hoopa’s Carlos Aguilar pulls in an interception to set up his team’s opening score on Friday.
They made a game of it early against the Crusaders, with a Carlos Aguilar interception in the second quarter setting up a 29-yard TD pass from John Smith to Sam Jones.
Jones stepped up on both sides of the ball early on, with some big hits on defense as well.
Tristin Campbell scored the Warriors second touchdown on a five-yard run.
“We played with a lot of heart and we competed,” said Hoopa head coach Sonny Ryles. who was forced to bring up some younger players to the varsity team after a rash of early injuries. “We were playing against a really top-notch program and I’m just really proud of how we faced the adversity, without a jamboree and without a week one.
“I thought our offensive and defensive lines played really well and I thought our sophomores stepped up.”
The Crusaders host Arcata next week, while Hoopa travels to Etna.
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Ray Hamill writes at humboldtsports.com, where you can read lots more about sports in Humboldt County.
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