St. Anthony picked up its third consecutive win on Friday night at Marina, as the Saints beat beat the Vikings 43-27.
Running back Sone Aupiu scored four touchdowns and piled up 260 rushing yards for St. Anthony in the win.
It was the first time St. Anthony head coach Raul Lara and Marina head coach Jeff Turley faced off against each other since Turley was Lara’s defensive coordinator back at Long Beach Poly, where the two teamed up for five Division 1 CIF-SS championships. It was also a unique meeting for the Saints as Turley was the head coach at St. Anthony before moving to Poly.
“It’s a weird thing, it’s a weird feeling for me,” said Lara. “We both respect each other and he did so much for us at Poly, we know each other very well obviously.”
Lara said that as impressive as Aupiu has been as a back for the Saints, he likes him even better at linebacker. “He and his cousin Anakin are special linebackers, I really think that,” said Lara.
The veteran coach also admitted that he’s been pleasantly surprised by his team’s rapid progress this year, as they improved to 3-3 with their third straight win.
“We just grind and emphasize to the kids what they need to work on,” said Lara. “They try really hard and we’re getting better each week.”
The Saints (3-3) open Del Rey League play next week against La Salle at St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy.
