Hollenbach, Cardinals crush Pettus, 60-21

Adam Hollenbach ran for 260 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries as the St. Paul football team crushed Pettus, 60-21, Friday at Comanche Stadium in Shiner.

Hollenbach scored on runs of 9, 83, 52 and 16 yards in the victory. He also booted a pair of extra points.

The Cardinals never trailed in the contest as they led 13-0 after one quarter of play and 27-14 at halftime. St. Paul (1-0) put the game out of reach in the third quarter as they outscored the War Eagles, 27-0, in the period with Hollenbach scoring three times and Mitchell McElroy returning an interception 25 yards for the other score.

In the opening quarter, Dakota Kresta and Martin Kennedy scored on runs of 14 and 15 yards, respectively. Hollenbach scored from nine yards out early in the second quarter to give his team a 19-0 advantage.

But Pettus (0-1) scored touchdowns on its next two drives to trim the lead to 19-14 with 3:29 remaining before halftime. Kresta hit Kennedy for a 41-yard score and the Cardinals got the two-point conversion to take a 27-14 lead with 58 seconds remaining before halftime.

A 27-point explosion in the third quarter gave St. Paul a commanding 54-14 lead. The teams traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter with T.J. Bell scoring from a yard out for the Cardinals.

In addition to Hollenbach’s 260-yard performance, Kennedy ran nine times for 75 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 45 yards and another score. Kresta ran nine times for 66 yards and a touchdown and completed 2-of-5 passes for 45 yards and a score, while Bell ran nine times for 59 yards and a touchdown.

St. Paul hits the road to take on Fort Bend Christian at 7 p.m. Friday at Fort Bend Christian School.

Shiner 36,

Vanderbilt Industrial 13

A dominating run game lifted the Shiner football team to a 36-13 victory over Vanderbilt Industrial Friday in Vanderbilt. The Comanches ran the football 34 times for 227 yards and all five touchdowns.

Shiner (1-0) scored twice in the opening quarter as quarterback Trevion Flowers ran in from a yard out and fullback Caleb Curtis scored from four yards out to put their team up 14-0. The score remained the same until the final play of the second quarter when Cobras’ quarterback Jay Rubio connected with A.J. Rosas for a 20-yard score to cut the Comanches’ halftime lead to 14-7.

Will Knopp scored for Industrial early in the third quarter to cut the lead to one, 14-13, before Curtis struck again with a 13-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion to increase the Shiner lead to 22-13. In the fourth quarter, Flowers scored from 60 yards out and Jacob Stafford added an 18-yard score.

Flowers led Shiner in rushing (16 carries, 95 yards, 2 TDs) and passing (1-6-0, 24 yards). Curtis (9-70, 2 TDs) and Stafford (6-65, TD) also ran well for the Comanches, while Caleb Kalich had a 24-yard reception from Flowers.

Shiner hosts Hallettsville at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Comanche Stadium.

Flatonia 41, Nixon-Smiley 6

Flatonia ran at will against Nixon-Smiley to the tune of 290 yards on 46 carries as the Bulldogs suffocated the Mustangs, 41-6, Friday at Bulldog Stadium in Flatonia. Flatonia (1-0) also limited Nixon-Smiley (0-1) to 10 yards of total offense, including minus-34 yards rushing.

Zane Ponder scored on runs of 11 and 13 yards to give the Bulldogs a 14-0 lead after one quarter of play. Mitchell Mica added a 2-yard score early in the second quarter to increase the lead to 21-0 before the Mustangs struck on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Nick Pena to Garrett Earlywine.

The Pena-to-Earlywine score cut the Flatonia lead to 21-6, but it proved to be one of the only bright spots for Nixon-Smiley. Dalton Griffin scored from 49 yards out on the ensuing possession and Mica added a 3-yard score to give the Bulldogs a 35-6 halftime lead before Ponder capped the scoring with a 26-yard run in the third quarter.

Pena was 2-for-3 passing for 44 yards and a score in his varsity debut, and Earlywine had all 44 of his receiving yards on that one catch — the touchdown pass from Pena. Jared VanAuken was the Mustangs’ leading rusher with 29 yards on 15 carries.

Nixon-Smiley hits the road again this week as it travels to Three Rivers. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday in Three Rivers.