MODESTO—The St. Mary’s High football roster lists Kenneth Moore III and Osani Gayles not by position, but by description.
Their position is described simply as "ATH," as in "Athlete." And it’s not exactly by accident.
“They’re gifted young men, gifted athletes,” St. Mary’s coach Tony Franks said. “We’re thrilled that they’re with us.”
The speed displayed by Moore, a junior, and Gayles, a sophomore, defined St. Mary’s 27-14 victory over Central Catholic on Friday night. The Rams also will point to a stingy defense that held the Raiders to only one touchdown on offense.
But it was the Rams’ big-play explosiveness – illustrated by Moore and Gayles (five catches, 123 yards) -- that kept Central Catholic off-balance most of the night at Patton Field.
St. Mary’s (1-1) built a 19-0 lead early in the third quarter, and Gayles’ against-the-grain 65-yard blitz all but put the game away 27-7 with 4:08 left. Central Catholic (1-1) will bemoan several chances missed, but the Rams’ 473-203 advantage in total yardage does not lie.
“Our defense played great,” Franks said. “Parts of our game were good. At times, it was excellent… We’re not a complete football team right now.”
They didn’t need to be great, however, against a Central Catholic team that – for the third straight year – stood solemnly as a unit on one side of the field post-game while the Rams again posed with the Rev. William Burke Memorial Trophy. St. Mary’s extended its lead in the series to 24-10.
This year’s Holy Bowl lacked the star-power of previous years, but that might shortchange Moore and Gayles. Both were instrumental in St. Mary’s march to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II finals in 2023.
On St. Mary’s third snap, quarterback Timmy Karagounis fired quickly toward the sideline to Moore, a classic “get the ball to our fastest guy in space” call. Moore obliged, bursting past the CC secondary 76 yards for the game’s first score.
Moore, a constant threat, also contributed as an effective corner and intercepted a pass. His presence helped the inside running of Landon McClendon Jr., who carried 21 times for 51 yards, two touchdowns and a conversion.
The game, in fact, was decided in the first half. St. Mary’s walked into the locker room with a 13-0 lead that felt odd because Central Catholic ran 31 plays to St. Mary’s 18 and built a massive time-of-possession advantage.
CC's first march resulted in a missed 32-yard field goal. Minutes later, an iffy interference penalty erased Chase Perino’s long pass reception inside the SM 5-yard line. Raiders coach Roger Canepa drew a personal foul penalty to worsen matters, and that drive finished without points at the SM 26.
“We didn’t play well,” Canepa said. “We had problems moving the ball. …(It was) the little things. It wasn’t like we got our butts kicked.”
Regardless, Central Catholic must sharpen on offense. Featured tailback Joey Alcutt was limited to only 42 rushing yards, and junior quarterback Kayden McHenry overthrew open receivers more than once.
The Raiders were goose-egged, in fact, until the defense contributed in the third quarter. Karagounis’ off-target deep pass was intercepted on the run by sophomore safety Dylan Ridenour who quickly covered 33 yards for the touchdown.
The Raiders’ offense finally found the scoreboard with two minutes left. McHenry targeted Perino, who made a leaping catch for the 14-yard TD strike.
Central Catholic surprisingly was in business again following a poor St. Mary’s punt. The Raiders nearly made the final 30 seconds interesting when McHenry scrambled 16 yards to the SM 2.
Then, in a gaffe that typified CC’s frustrating night, the snap sailed over McHenry’s head and was recovered by St. Mary’s.
“A lot of little things went wrong. We fixed some of them at halftime,” hard-working CC linebacker Wyatt Dragoo said. “We would stop ‘em for three plays and fall apart.”
Both teams will address early-season problems. St. Mary’s won despite a shaky kicking game and 125 yards in penalties. One of the flags wiped out Moore's punt return for a touchdown before halftime.
Another thing the Rams had in abundance, however, was breakaway speed in Moore and Gayles. And speed won.
St. Mary’s 27, Central Catholic 14
St. Mary’s 7-6-6-8—27
Central Catholic 0-0-7-7—14
1st Quarter
SM—Kenneth Moore III 76 pass from Timmy Karagounis (Emmanuel Sanchez kick)
2nd Quarter
SM—Landon McClendon Jr. 2 run (kick failed)
3rd Quarter
SM—McClendon 4 run (kick failed)
CC—Dylan Ridenour 33 interception return (Guillermo Ramirez III kick)
4th Quarter
SM—Osani Gayles 65 run (McClendon run)
CC—Chase Perino 14 pass from Kayden McHenry (Ramirez kick)
RECORDS—St. Mary’s 1-1, Central Catholic 1-1
JV—Central Catholic 40-6
