Friday night at Mesa College featured two teams that were in winless states.
No. 10 La Jolla Country Day went 0-4 in the Coastal League.
No. 7 St. Augustine lost all 10 regular season games.
As a result, the Saints and the Torreys had a clean slate, trying to move on in the CIF-San Diego Section Division 3 playoffs.
After the St. Augustine defense forced a three-and-out to start the game, the offense ran five run plays, capped off by a 3-yard touchdown from sophomore Pai Polamalu in the wildcat formation.
“It definitely meant a lot,” Saints senior running back Caelyb Aguirre said of the opening scoring drive. “We set the tone, and we got the energy going. Once the energy’s up with our team, we have the unlimited potential.”
The Saints’ run game was on full display as there were only six passing attempts all game, leading to a 16-0 shutout win over the Torreys to move on to next week.
St. Augustine’s first-year head coach Ron Caragher said not playing last week was a big factor in the preparation for the playoffs.
“It’s been a challenging season in many ways, but the guys, even with a bye week, they kept bringing a positive attitude,” Caragher said. “We had good practices, and it carried over to this week. It wasn’t a flawless game, but we played a good, solid, physical football game.”
During the Saints’ opening march down the field, Aguirre had two carries to set up a crucial 17-yard run from senior Charlie Berkley and another before Polamalu’s touchdown.
As the game went along, Aguirre continued to get the ball and was able to find space, including going for a 30-yard run on the fifth play of an eight-play, 55-yard drive that ended in a 2-yard touchdown run by Berkley, who recorded 11 carries for 85 yards.
That touchdown gave the Saints a 13-0 lead with 1:51 left in the opening quarter.
Caragher added that having Aguirre, Polamalu and Berkley was vital, especially when that was the difference in the game.
“It’s great to have a three-headed monster in the run game,” Caragher said of the trio, who combined for 209 rushing yards. “Those three guys are pretty electrifying. They’re all good football players and make big plays for us.”
On the flip side, La Jolla Country Day was not going to go down easily.
After the Saints (1-10) punted away with seven minutes left in the first half, the Torreys had an opportunity.
La Jolla Country Day called seven run plays and three passes. On the 11th play of the drive, the Torreys faced fourth-and-goal from the Saints’ 1-yard line. Torreys senior Garrett Ace, who rushed 19 times for 92 yards, ran right into a wall of Saints defensive linemen and was stopped at the line of scrimmage.
That halted all momentum in the first half for the Torreys (5-6).
La Jolla Country Day senior quarterback Jack Levin completed 20 of 29 passes for 157 yards. The Torreys’ leading receiver was junior Quentin Cesaire, who caught six passes for 57 yards.
Next week, the Saints will travel to Imperial County in a Division 3 quarterfinal matchup on Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. at No. 2 Holtville (10-0), who earned a bye.
No. 7 St. Augustine 16, No. 10 La Jolla Country Day 0
La Jolla Country Day — 0 0 0 0 — 0
St. Augustine — 13 0 0 3 — 16
S – Polamalu 3 run (Moore kick)
S – Berkley 2 run (kick failed)
S – FG Moore 32