Defense makes the difference as Xavier Prep earns win on road over LaSalle
Denied a chance for a season-opening home game by a lightning storm last week, the Xavier Prep Saints went on the road Friday night and produced their own lightning on defense in a 28-6 victory over LaSalle High School in Pasadena.
The Saints forced five turnovers, including an interception for a touchdown by Austin McDaniel late in the game. Xavier Prep limited LaSalle to a touchdown in the third quarter but scored three touchdowns itself in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory.
“Obviously last year our defense wasn’t to the standard at Xavier Prep,” said Saints head coach James Dockery. “So this offseason, we wanted to just get back to the smash-mouth defense we can play, and we did that tonight.”
The Saints, whose game last week against Coachella Valley was called before the first quarter was completed because of a lightning and rain storm, improved to 1-0 on the year. LaSalle dropped to 1-1. Xavier Prep didn’t practice Monday because of Tropical Storm Hilary, but did hold a Zoom practice that day to discuss the LaSalle game. The Saints then returned to practice Tuesday.
Quarterback Joe Berry started the scoring for Xavier Prep with a 4-yard run with just 1:58 left in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead that would hold up through halftime. LaSalle scored in the third quarter and went for a 2-point conversion but failed to convert, allowing the Saints to maintain the lead.
Big final period for Xavier Prep
In the fourth quarter, Berry produced his second touchdown in the game on a 43-yard pass to Tyson Ruiz with just 6:33 left in the game. Ruiz had already put his stamp on the game with two interceptions for the Saints defense. Dockery said Berry fought through some adversity in the early part of the game to make the big plays late in the game.
“We got down in the red zone a few times, but we kind of sputtered and didn’t finish the drives like we wanted,” Dockery said.
Moments after the scoring pass, the Saints were forced to punt, and while the snap went over the head of kicker Braden Cervello, Cervello was able to gather the ball and run 40 yards for a score and a 21-6 lead with three minutes left in the game. McDaniel capped the scoring with his interception for a touchdown late in the fourth period. Jesus Pazos added the fourth interception of the night for the Saints.
The Saints will be at home next Friday against Aquinas of San Bernardino.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Xavier Prep uses five turnovers for 28-6 road win over LaSalle
