By Angelique McNaughton
September 17, 2013
St. James Academy’s football team relied on its defense in a redemptive performance against Bishop Ward on Friday.
The Thunder (1-1) held the Cyclones (0-2) to just 36 yards on the ground in their 50-13 victory.
“We jumped out early and our defense played great,” St. James coach Tom Radke said. “I also really liked the way our guys really focused on flying around the ball.”
After dropping the season-opener to Paola last week, the Thunder spent the past week simplifying its offense.
“All week we didn’t do much hitting and instead focused on running plays and eliminating any confusion,” Radke said.
Senior quarterback Alex King led the offense with 53 yards, completing 5 of 8 passes. King ran for 80 yards, including a 47-yard run and one touchdown.
“We executed our offense up front so well that the quarterback had so much room to do what we needed to do,” Radke said.
Senior outside linebacker Keith Winger returned an interception for a touchdown toward the end of second quarter, putting the Thunder ahead 37-7 at halftime.
“It kind of sealed the deal and at that point we knew that we were going to win the game,” Radke said of Winger’s interception.
Winger tied for a team-high six tackles, including three tackles that resulted in a loss of yards. Defensive lineman Dylan McHugh also had six tackles, with one resulting in loss yards, while junior defensive back Braxton Lewis came up with two interceptions Friday to bring his season total to three.
Six players scored a touchdown during the victory, including two from senior tailback Jake Bade. Bade had 18 carries for 155 yards, with a rushing and receiving touchdown.
Juniors Zak Hensely and Jake Lecluyse each scored one rushing touchdown, contributing to a total of 284 total rushing yards for the game.
The Thunder will travel to Baldwin (2-0) on Friday in a non-conference match up.
With Baldwin’s size and strength, Radke said the team will mainly be honing the defense this week in preparation.
“We had too many missed tackles so far and we can’t have that against Baldwin,” he said. “We didn’t dumb anything down last week, we just spent more time focusing on the fundamentals.
“If we stay focused on that and make a few more tackles, we will be good to go this week,” Radke
Angelique McNaughton 