(Oakland) A 29 yard field goal with 1:19 left in the game gave St. Albert a 1-0 start to district play on Friday night. Kyle Irwin’s boot represented the 7th lead change of the game and gave the visitors a 30-28 with against Riverside.
Brendan Monahan starred for the Falcons with 91 rushing yards, 138 receiving yards, three offensive touchdowns, and one interception. The do-it all senior helped lead a 13-0 3rd quarter swing that got St. Albert back in business with a 27-20 advantage.
Riverside had snagged a 20-14 halftime lead with Jaxon Gordon’s one yard scoring run late in the half. It was part of a see-saw 2nd quarter. After a scoreless 1st, there were three touchdowns in a span of :31 seconds early in the 2nd. Grady Jeppesen opened the scoring on a 14 yard keeper with 9:16 to go before the break. It was set up by a JJ Wilson fumble recovery on a big 3rd and short hit. Jeppesen tallied 212 yards through the air on 10/18 passing with a TD and two interceptions along with 94 rushing yards and two scores on seven attempts. St. Albert responded in rapid fashion, going 66 yards through the air from Owen Marshall to Brandon McCall. Marshall, a sophomore QB, completed 11 passes on the night for 270 yards and four scores.
The Falcons converted their 2-point conversion after Marshall’s deep pass to McCall to take an 8-6 lead. Riverside took their turn to connect on a downfield pass with Jeppesen hitting Ayden Salais on a 75 yard score. Salais had four receptions for 134 yards. His scoring grab put the home squad back in front 12-8 with 8:47 left in the half. Each team would notch another TD before reaching the locker room. St. Albert led 14-8 after Brendan Monahan snagged a slant pattern and raced 44 yards to the house. Gordon’s one yard TD run for Riverside late in the half was part of a busy night for the promising freshman. He carried 21 times for 90 yards. The touchdown with 3:22 remaining in the half was set up by a 25 yard pass completion from Jeppesen to Kyler Rieken.
Monahan hurt Riverside’s defense with both his ability to run and catch in the 3rd quarter. His interception of a Jeppesen pass set up a three yard scoring run with 6:50 left in the frame to close within 21-20. Just over four minutes later the Falcons grabbed their first lead of the 2nd half on a 35 yard fly route to Monahan.
Jeppesen sprinted for a 40 yard TD run midway through the 4th to put Riverside back in front at 28-27. Jeppesen kept it himself on a winding two-point conversion run to re-claim the edge, but St. Albert executed well down the stretch. Despite being out of timeouts on their last offensive possession, they were able to move the ball into the red zone. Monahan had a big 20 yard reception to convert a 3rd and long and give the Falcons a chance to win it. Irwin stepped up with confidence when the game was on the line. “It felt great. It was a great feeling to make that.” Irwin says it was just the 2nd field goal of his career. He felt comfortable form up to 40 yards. “Good for momentum. We’ll have a fun time at practice getting ready for Underwood.”
Riverside had a chance to score in the final minute. Pass plays to Aiden Bell and Ayden Salais along with a Jeppesen 15 yard scramble. The Bulldogs had a chance with :06 left to lob the ball to the end zone, but the pass intended for Bell was broken up and time expired.
Riverside is 0-2 on the season. St. Albert moves to 1-1.
Riverside Stats
Passing
Grady Jeppesen 10/18 for 212 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing
Grady Jeppesen 7 for 94 yards, 2 TD’s
Jaxon Gordon 21 for 90 yards, 1 TD
Receiving
Ayden Salais 4 catches for 134 yards, 1 TD
Aiden Bell 3 catches for 27 yards
Kyler Rieken 1 catch for 25 yards
Jaxon Gordon 1 catch for 15 yards
Garrett Hough 1 catch for 11 yards
