High school football: St. Helena still the boss in NCL I, defeats Cloverdale 41-13

ST. HELENA - Luke Bernardi probably won’t have many nights like this in 2015. Cloverdale’s senior running back is one of the top threats in the NCL I. But he met his match in a swarming St. Helena defense Friday night in the league opener for both teams.

The Saints held the normally dynamic Bernardi to 13 yards on nine attempts in the first half, and turned a defensive slog into a 41-13 victory while winning their 17th consecutive league home game.

St. Helena wide receiver and cornerback Payton Rockwood said he has been playing youth or high school football against Bernardi for nine years, and his admiration for him was obvious. But this game belonged to the Saints, who made most of the big plays.

“He was crying after the game because they expected to have a really good season, and it’s his senior year,” Rockwood said of Bernardi.

The Eagles might well rebound to have a great campaign. But Friday night, the home team proved that the NCL I championship still runs through St. Helena.

It was the Saints’ sixth consecutive victory against Cloverdale.

“They’re a great team,” St. Helena coach Brandon Farrell said. “To win a game like that, the league season is off to the right start.”

Bernardi wound up with perfectly respectable numbers, with 109 yards on 18 carries. But that included a 46-yard touchdown run with 4:22 remaining and the Saints way ahead. For the most part, the yards came tough for the hard-running senior.

There wasn’t a lone defensive star for St. Helena, and the Saints didn’t clog the running lanes with bulk. Defensive coordinator Matt Cia fields a swarming unit that brought several tacklers to the ball on nearly every play.

The game turned in the third quarter. St. Helena had taken a 17-6 lead into the locker room at halftime, but the game seemed closer than that. Then Rockwood’s 40-yard catch-and-run set up a 4-yard scoring run by Jahaiver Otero to pad the lead to 18 points. And after forcing a three-and-out, the Saints struck quickly again, scoring on a beautifully executed 15-yard screen pass to Otero.

It was 31-6 at that point, and there was no way the St. Helena defense was going to give that away.

Like Bernardi, Otero started slowly. The senior had just 21 yards on 10 attempts in the first half. But he seemed to pick up steam as the game went along, and finished with 24 carries for 105 yards. Teammate Alfio Basile added 96 yards on 13 attempts, including a 41-yard scoring run that capped the scoring with 4:02 left.

Meanwhile, St. Helena junior quarterback Dylan Martin is looking more comfortable in the Saints’ offensive scheme. Senior Dominic Collins was expected to start this year, but will miss the season after suffering a preseason injury. Friday, Martin connected on 9 of 14 passes for 188 yards, with touchdowns to three different receivers (Rockwood, Otero and senior John Wheeler).

The Saints also benefited from some sloppy moments on special teams. Adrian Bernardi, Luke’s cousin, fumbled away two kickoff returns. Alexis Guzman recovered both for St. Helena, and the first one led to a second-quarter touchdown.

The Saints defense got off to a great start with a goal-line stand on Cloverdale’s first possession of the game. Linebacker Mark Martin took down Bernardi at the 1-yard line to end the threat.

It was Marcus Poe, the Eagles’ 6-foot-6 wide receiver, who kept his team in the game for a while. Poe was virtually unstoppable in the first half, with five catches for 142 yards, including a 9-yard touchdown grab and a one-handed snag that would have made Odell Beckham proud.

Poe had just one catch in the second half, though, largely because St. Helena ramped up the pass pressure. Outside linebacker Nathaniel Roth had three sacks for the Saints, who improved to 4-0. Cloverdale fell to 3-1.

You can reach Staff Writer Phil Barber at 521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. Follow him on Twitter @Skinny_Post.