St. Vincent does everything right in rout of St. Helena

St. Vincent scored on its first five possessions and blitzed St. Helena 42-0 in Petaluma on Saturday, as the Mustangs continue improving heading into the sectional playoffs.

Displaying a sturdy rushing attack and stellar passing game, St. Vincent moved at will against the Saints, whose ranks were thinned by several key injuries. The Mustangs snagged three interceptions to help shutout St. Helena.

Improving to 6-2 on the season, the Mustangs have a winnable home game next week against Kelseyville before finishing on the road with a very tough Cloverdale team. At stake is St. Vincent’s seeding for the North Coast Section Div. V playoffs — the Mustangs won last year’s title.

“I’m hoping that if we finish strong we will be the number one seed,” said St. Vincent coach Gary Galloway.

St. Helena coach Brandon Farrell wouldn’t argue after St. Vincent dismantled his squad, dropping to Saints to 3-5.

“They were sharp today,” he said.

St. Vincent put three touchdowns on the scoreboard with nearly five minutes still to play in the first quarter.

On the game’s second play, quarterback Josh Wheless powered to the outside and went untouched down the left sideline for a 51-yard touchdown run. Less than three minutes later, Wheless connected with Michael Meiswinkel on a 62 touchdown pass to open and shut the Mustangs’ second drive. St. Vincent’s sixth play of the game produced a Wheless-to-Zack Schlegel 24-yard touchdown pass.

St. Helena then took the kickoff into St. Vincent’s half of the field for the first time. After getting a first down on quarterback Cole Ballentine’s 22-yard pass to Dante Patticelli, the Saints couldn’t move another 10 yards and gave up the ball on downs.

With three quarters still to play, St. Vincent was in control, recording more touchdowns than first downs — the spread offense’s quick-strike potential.

“It really opens up some holes,” Galloway said.

The goal for St. Helena was slowing down St. Vincent and gaining some measure of momentum.

“We decided we were going to try and win every play,” Farrell said.

The Saints’ longest possession of the first half took them to St. Vincent’s 34-yard line near the end of the second quarter. Running backs Ezequiel Valdivia and all-purpose offensive threat Particelli led the way before the drive stalled on two incomplete passes.

By then, St. Vincent led 35-0, scoring its other first-half touchdowns on a 29-yard pass from Wheless to Schlegel and a 75-yard run by Kris Farinha — the longest in his sterling Mustangs career.

St. Helena’s other first half drives ended on a St. Vincent interception by Jeff Kessler, a sack by the Mustangs’ Kyle Marshall and a punt.

The Saints fared no better to open the second half. After gaining a pair of first downs to reach the St. Vincent 30-yard line, Meiswinkel took down an interception in the end zone.

St. Vincent played backups in the second half, led by quarterback Jeff Matthews and running back Connor Ciocci. Still, the Mustangs didn’t lose a step or yield a score.

“They practice hard. It’s time to get them in,” Galloway said. “We try to tell the subs to show the coach something.”

While the Mustangs were forced to punt on their first drive of the second half, the offense did move the ball from the 1-yard line to past midfield. The line opened holes and Ciocci and Matthews chewed up large chunks of yardage.

The game’s final score added a final dose of frustration to St. Helena’s afternoon.

Starting at their own 4-yard, the Saints mixed up runs and passes, including a 45-yard strike from Ballentine to Gustavo Rodriguez, to reach the Mustangs’ 8-yard line.

On second-and-goal, however, reserve defensive back Steve Blanchette intercepted a pass in the end zone and ran down the right sideline for a touchdown.

The three interceptions give St. Vincent 11 on the season, with eight different players pulling down an opponent’s pass.

Getting turnovers is the sign of a good team and St. Vincent is back on a roll. After two decisive losses to Fort Bragg and Middletown, the Mustangs have won three in a row, with the last two particularly convincing victories.

“We’ve put two excellent games together,” Galloway said. “And we came out healthy. Staying healthy is a key to our success.”

You can reach Staff Writer Michael Coit at 521-5470 or mike.coit@pressdemocrat.com.