The562’s coverage of football in 2024-25 is sponsored by The Terry Donahue Memorial California Showcase.
The562’s coverage of St. Anthony athletics is sponsored by Jane & B.I. Mais, Class of 1949.
After a long trip out to Indo, the St. Anthony Saints were able to grind out a 20-13 victory over Shadow Hills on Friday night, punching their ticket to the CIF-SS Division 10 semifinals.
The Saints continue to play winning football over the last two months, winning four in a row and seven of their last eight contests.
The St. Anthony offense wasn’t quite as explosive as it has been in recent weeks, but did enough to secure the win. The Saints opened the scoring after a 10-minute drive in the first quarter, settling for a Christian Martin field goal to take the 3-0 lead.
After an interception from Jerrel Jones, the Saints were able to tack on another field goal to take a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter.
A Shadow Hills TD gave the home team the lead, but the Saints were able to respond with a TD pass from Aidan Jones to Andres Mendoza just before halftime to take a 13-7 advantage into the locker room.
Jones had one of his best games of the season according to head coach Jeff Magdaleno, going 16/25 for 226 yards and the score. Mendoza was his favorite target with 8 catches for 162 yards and a TD.
The score remained 13-7 until the fourth quarter, when the Saints defense got another interception to set up a crucial score. Jasiah Lolesio-Pua picked off a Shadow Hills pass, setting up Jeremiah Taufi for a TD run to extend their lead to 20-7 in the closing minutes.
In addition to his INT, Lolesio-Pua ran for 92 yards in the win.
The Knights were able to answer back with a TD of their own, scoring in the closing seconds to make the final score closer, but it was too little too late as the Saints picked up the quarterfinal win.
This is the deepest playoff run for St. Anthony since the 2021 season, when they reached the Division 10 championship game.
St. Anthony will be at home next Friday night, hosting Pacifica High out of Garden Grove in the semifinal round. The Mariners have won seven straight after starting the season 0-5. They defeated La Canada 7-3 in their playoff opener before beating Brentwood 27-23 in their quarterfinal game.
Brentwood is a common opponent for both teams, losing to St. Anthony by a score of 27-14 back on Sept. 20, giving the Saints their first win of the 2024 season.
