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St. Mary's football triumph over Central Catholic to win 2023 Holy Bowl

shannon mia belt, the stockton record
·3 min read

Apparently, God does have favorites when it comes to high school football in the 209. That was the case for St. Mary’s during its annual Holy Bowl matchup against Central Catholic on Friday.

The Rams hosted their familiar foe in a battle that would go blow for blow until the last second. With the football Gods on its side, St. Mary’s walked away victorious beating Central Catholic 42-33.

St. Mary's Samson Hunkin, left, celebrates with teammate Xavier Johnson after scoring touchdown during the so-called "Holy Bowl" varsity football game against Central Catholic at St. Mary's Sanguinetti Field in Stockton on Aug. 25, 2023.
St. Mary's Samson Hunkin, left, celebrates with teammate Xavier Johnson after scoring touchdown during the so-called "Holy Bowl" varsity football game against Central Catholic at St. Mary's Sanguinetti Field in Stockton on Aug. 25, 2023.

“Man I’m just so hyped right now,” said Omari Gayles, St. Mary’s senior safety. “I’ve never been so energized about a game, especially the Holy Bowl, and to just come away with it this is crazy.”

Here are the highlights from the Rams' second win of the 2023-24 season.

Quarterback showdown

St. Mary’s quarterback Samson Hunkin came into the catholic school showdown locked in. The 6-foot senior moved the chains in the air and when that didn’t work he was getting first downs himself. He scored the Rams first of many touchdowns of the night, a seven-yard rushing touchdown.

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He would go on to throw for 212 yards and two touchdowns connecting with sophomore Ivan Huerta from 27 yards out and sophomore Kenneth Moore III from 20 yards out. Hunkin was near unstoppable and had a hand in three of the Rams' five touchdowns.

“Samson did a great job,” said Tony Franks, St. Mary’s head coach. “He did a really nice job out there for our offense.”

St. Mary's Ryan Gaea, left, sacks Central Catholic quarterback Tyler Wentworth during the so-called "Holy Bowl" varsity football game at St. Mary's Sanguinetti Field in Stockton on Aug. 25, 2023.
St. Mary's Ryan Gaea, left, sacks Central Catholic quarterback Tyler Wentworth during the so-called "Holy Bowl" varsity football game at St. Mary's Sanguinetti Field in Stockton on Aug. 25, 2023.

Hunkin wasn’t the only quarterback who was in the zone. Central Catholic’s Tyler Wentworth was a huge threat offensively making the Rams pay any chance he could. The 6-foot-5 senior kept the Raiders alive following every St. Mary’s score with a score of their own.

He threw for 214 yards including an 80-yard dime to wide receiver Trace Hernandez in the second quarter. Wentworth’s air show and the Raiders' ground-and-pound game kept the Rams on their toes the entire game, a huge difference from last year’s matchup that ended in a 47-7 loss for Central Catholic.

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“I think we're a little better this year as a team and we didn’t play our best game last year,” said Roger Canepa, Central Catholic’s head coach. “Last year we didn’t show up and this year we planned on playing more like ourselves.”

Central Catholic's Trace Hernandez, bottom, is tackled by St. Mary's Ahmyri McGee-Hall during the so-called "Holy Bowl" varsity football game at St. Mary's Sanguinetti Field in Stockton on Aug. 25, 2023.
Central Catholic's Trace Hernandez, bottom, is tackled by St. Mary's Ahmyri McGee-Hall during the so-called "Holy Bowl" varsity football game at St. Mary's Sanguinetti Field in Stockton on Aug. 25, 2023.

Rams defense holds their own

The Raiders may have felt like they fully redeemed themselves at the start of the fourth quarter. After a quarter-long drive in the third quarter, Central Catholic held its first lead of the game, 33-27. With both teams' lethal offenses running the show, defense became the focal point in the final 10 minutes.

“I feel like defense kind of started off slow and then we kind of slowly picked it up and got more momentum at the end of the game,” Gayles said. “We come out here and we work our butts off every day and we expect more from the defense. So after halftime, we changed the game plan and we came out here and we executed.”

St. Mary's Asante Carter, left, tries to fend off Central Catholic's Anakin Link during the so-called "Holy Bowl" varsity football game at St. Mary's Sanguinetti Field in Stockton on Aug. 25, 2023.
St. Mary's Asante Carter, left, tries to fend off Central Catholic's Anakin Link during the so-called "Holy Bowl" varsity football game at St. Mary's Sanguinetti Field in Stockton on Aug. 25, 2023.

That execution showed itself in the final few minutes of the game. Once the Rams regained the lead, Central Catholic marched down the field looking to snatch it away. On fourth down at the 17-yard line, St. Mary’s defense became a wall that no Raider could get through.

The turnover on downs was just the beginning of the end for Central Catholic. St. Mary’s senior running back Asante Carter busted through the seams for a 42-yard touchdown to put the nail in the coffin. He finished the game with 111 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

“It was an absolute battle right down to the finish against a really good football team,” Franks said. “It’s an awesome win, a character win. We showed a lot of guts and character in this one.”

Record reporter Shannon Belt covers sports. She can be reached at sbelt@recordnet.com or on Twitter @ShannonBelt3. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: 'Absolute Battle': St. Mary's tops Central Catholic in 2023 Holy Bowl