Trio of turnovers leads defense against Eagles

There were a few tense moments in the third quarter, but the John Paul II Catholic High School football team quickly regrouped and pulled away for a 40-8 victory over visiting GRACE Christian of Raleigh on Friday night.

After the Eagles took advantage of some sloppy play by the Saints defense — including three consecutive penalties totaling 45 yards — to pull within 12 points at 20-8, JPII did what JPII does best, as it took 9 minutes, 8 seconds off the clock on its next possession. Ray Shaw capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 51 seconds left in the third, and Connor Kendrick extended the advantage to 28-8 with the conversion run.

From there it was all Saints as they scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter and improved to 3-0 overall. GRACE dropped to 1-3.

Keiveon Moore did all the damage early for JPII. In the first half alone he had 13 carries for 110 yards, including the first two touchdowns on runs of 13 and 21 yards. Gentry McMinn had the Saints’ other touchdown of the first half on a 41-yard run as they led 20-0 at the half.

In the fourth quarter JPII also scored on a 58-yard pass from Kendrick to J.T. Williams and a 20-yard run by Kendrick.

Shaw got his most extensive action on offense all season as he rushed for 54 yards on 11 carries, mostly in the second half when constantly provided the push the offense needed. McMinn had 69 yards on five carries, and Thomas Keeter rushed seven times for 39 yards.

The defense was strong throughout and came up with a trio of turnovers. On GRACE’s second offensive play of the game, Armando Perez had a fumble recovery at the GRACE 18. Matt Mullis forced a fumble on the Eagles’ second drive, and Tucker Holmes recovered. 

GRACE was forced to punt on its third possession. Then on its fourth, Shaw intercepted the quarterback on an attempted forward pitch from behind the line of scrimmage. 

JPII will be on the road for the next two weeks, beginning next Friday at Wake Christian. After a visit to Wayne Christian on Sept. 22, the Saints will have four consecutive home games.

GRACE Christian 0 0 8 0 — 8
John Paul II 7 13 8 12 — 40

JP—Keiveon Moore 13-yard run (Will Wright kick)
JP—Moore 21 run (Wright kick)
JP—Gentry McMinn 41 run (kick failed)
GC—Trey Bagwell 13 pass from Cayman Stephens (Gabor pass from Stephens)
JP—Ray Shaw 1 run (Connor Kendrick run)
JP—J.T. Williams 58 pass from Kendrick (kick failed)
JP—Kendrick 20 run (kick failed)