St. Anthony wins in overtime on touchdown catch off a tipped pass

DOWNEY » St. Anthony and St. Pius X-St. Matthias battled to the bitter end in a hard-fought, physical game and it was the Saints who found a way to grind out a 21-14 overtime win in the Del Rey League opener on Friday night.

In a game that took 3 hours and 30 minutes to be decided, filled with numerous penalties, turnovers and one defensive stand after another from both squads, St. Anthony (5-2, 1-0) outlasted the Warriors and spoiled their homecoming night.

In the first offensive series in overtime with the game tied at 14, quarterback Adrian Perez had some luck go his way as his pass attempt was tipped in the end zone but still found receiver Jasiah Lolesio-Pua for a 14-yard touchdown reception. The successful PAT gave the Saints a seven-point lead.

Perez admitted the play was nearly a broken one before the snap and Lolesio-Pua saved him.

“I had my running back on the wrong side and it was ideal to go to my running back,” Perez said. “Once I motioned to him and I realized he was on the wrong side, I was like `Oh snap,' and I hiked the ball, faked it, and I ended up going on that same side. Jasiah (Lolesio-Pua) with a great tipped catch and saved my butt.”

St. Pius X-St. Matthias still had an opportunity to tie the game or win it as it also received possession in overtime. However, the Saints defense came up with a big stop, as their constant pressure completely stifled quarterback Brady Shaffer. On a fourthand-10 at the Saints 25, Shaffer's desperate pass attempt toward the end zone was broken up and the win for St. Anthony was secured.

St. Anthony coach Raul Lara was very proud of how his defense played in the fourth quarter and overtime to shut down the Warriors' offense.

“We were worried about their athletes and there were some key reads that we were able to get off of them,” Lara said. “The guys just executed and (did) a great job. (Coach) Richard Gonzalez came up with a great defensive game plan and the guys executed it well.”

This was a tough one for the Warriors (1-5, 0-1) to swallow considering they were leading for most of the game despite turning the ball over three times, including two interceptions from Schaffer at the goal line in the first half, which would have given them a big lead heading into halftime.

St. Pius X-St. Matthias coach Devah Thomas said the tough loss came down to missed opportunities.

“Coach Lara is a great coach and made some great adjustments, we started having low snaps, and it just started not going our way,” Thomas said.

Shaffer did score on an 8-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to give St. Pius X a 14-6 lead, but the Saints would tie it in the opening minute of the fourth quarter as Perez found receiver Lolesio-Pua for a 43-yard touchdown catch. They would connect again on a successful two-point conversion to tie the game at 14.

From there, each defense got stingy either forcing the other team to punt or getting a stop on fourth down which led to the eventual overtime.

Perez completed 14 of his 28 pass attempts for 197 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Receiver Lolesio-Pua finished with six catches for 92 yards with two TDs, including the game-winner in overtime.

St. Anthony running back Josiah “JoJo” Apisala finished with 17 carries for 86 yards and a rushing touchdown.

St. Pius X receiver Jaylen Stokes had two receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown.

St. Anthony will play at Harvard-Westlake on Saturday, Oct. 7.

St. Pius X-St. Matthias will host Harvard-Westlake on Oct. 13.