By Alex A. Gonzalez
Santa Fe Springs—The St. Paul Swordsmen struck first against the visiting Damien Spartans Friday night at St. Paul High School but then watched Isaiah Arriaza, who threw three touchdown passes in the contest, lead his offense to three consecutive scores and ultimately secure the 37-10 win over St. Paul.
“I believe we have the best offensive line in the SGV. I believe we have the best coaching staff in the valley,” commented Arriaza after the game. “So when we get those two things, it’s much easier.”
In front of a packed stadium, St. Paul took the opening kickoff and went right to work by establishing the run behind Joseph Lafferre and Marley Luatua. Then, on the third play of the series, quarterback Gabriel Castaneda connected with Nathan Villasana, who took it 72 yards to set his team up at the Damien 14-yard line. Three plays later, Luatua reached pay dirt with his 3-yard carry into the end zone with 8:29 remaining in the first period.
The Spartans answered by giving St. Paul a taste of their own medicine when establishing the run. James Taylor and Arriaza took turns carrying the ball as they marched down the field on their opening drive. Arriaza completed all four of his passes on the 10-play drive, including a 22-yard laser to Travon Garrison, tying the game at seven apiece.
Then, the Spartan defense took over, forcing St. Paul to punt on their next two series, giving Damien a shorter field as they went back to work on offense.
Arriaza’s second touchdown pass of the night came as the second quarter started when he dropped back to pass and connected with Gavin Lannon on the crossing route. The point-after attempt was missed, etching the score at 13-7 with 11:55 remaining in the second frame.
On the third series for Damien, Taylor joined the scoring barrage as he took the handoff and bulldozed his way into the end zone for a score, increasing the Spartan lead to 19-7 after a failed 2-point try.
St. Paul responded as the second quarter ended, orchestrating a 10-play drive that lasted more than four minutes. However, the Spartans could stuff the run, forcing the Swordsmen to convert a 29-yard field goal thanks to Jesse Riperto.
Damien went into halftime up 19-10 and set to receive the second-half kick.
Once the offense retained possession of the ball, the Spartans only needed three plays to extend their lead. Arriaza’s last touchdown pass of the night came when he connected with Gavin Williams, who then broke an arm tackle and outran the rest of the defense for the 59-yard pitch-and-catch.
Damien was able to put the game to rest with 4:29 remaining in the third when Taylor scored his second touchdown of the night, making the score 34-10.
“This offense is built for everyone,” said Arriaza when discussing his team’s offensive production. “There is not a specific guy who gets the ball every play, so everyone gets to touch the ball and gets some love.”
Then Preston Yado capped the night off by converting a 46-yard field goal, pushing the score to 37-10.
Following the field goal, Damien substituted the second unit of offense and defense and was able to run the ball out.
With the win, Damien remains undefeated at 3-0 and will look to stay perfect next week when they host Mira Costa. For St. Paul, it is the first loss of the season, and they will look to bounce back next Friday as they host Los Alamitos.
Damien came into this rated 48, while St Paul was 29. This was a step-up game for the Swordsmen, and a chest-beating night for the Spartans.