Bellarmine builds huge lead, rolls past St. Ignatius in WCAL opener
SAN JOSE — The West Catholic Athletic League opener pitting Bellarmine and St. Ignatius was expected to be a competitive contest between evenly-matched teams. Both teams went 1-2 in nonleague play, were coming off byes and run similar schemes both offensively and defensively.
Instead, Bellarmine shot out to a four-touchdown lead at halftime and cruised on home with a 34-14 victory Friday night at San Jose City College.
Bellarmine coach Jalal Beauchman was pleasantly surprised at the relative ease of his team’s victory.
I expected a very evenly-matched game,” he said. “We emphasize the same things. We’re not trying to look for the big play all the time, just trying to play clean football, take care of the football, limit turnovers and mistakes. I think it was a battle of who did those things better and that kind of played out the way we hoped it would ”
Bellarmine quarterback Parker Threatt had the best game of his young career, He was 17 of 21 for 180 yards in the first two quarters while leading the Bells to a 27-0 halftime lead.
“I felt very comfortable,” Threatt said. “I trust my pocket, trust my receivers. We had a good week of practice. We’re Bellarmine and we showed what we can do.”
He finished 22 of 30 for 219 yards and one touchdown, Bellarmine’s first of the game, a 13-yard pass to Colin Lakarraju.
“I think he gained a little bit of confidence and experience,” Beauchman said. “I think that will help him take it to the next level.”
Powerful running back Ben Pfaff scored three first-half touchdowns on runs of 2, 4 and 19 yards. He finished with 57 yards rushing on 14 carries and also had a team-high six receptions for 69 yards.
“He’s special,” Beauchman said. “We’re just trying to find creative ways of getting him the football.”
The Bells had four first-half possessions and scored touchdowns on all four in building the 27-0 halftime lead.
Bellarmine also played well defensively, limiting St. Ignatius to 24 yards rushing. Jacob Tatom and Jae’von Reels had sacks, while Benjamin Coulter, Jake Hanson and Brandon Broch all came up with tackles for loss.,
In all, a nice step forward for the team.
“I think the defense took that step after Week One,” Beauchman said. “The offense had shown glimpses, but had been inconsistent.”
St. Ignatius broke up the shutout on a 59-yard pass from Mac McAndrews to Cameron Jones in the third quarter.
Backup running back Riley Paran scored for Bellarmine on a 27-yard run in the fourth quarter. Later in the quarter, Gus Parker scored for St. Ignatius on a 3-yard end around. Parker also had an interception for the Wildcats. Sean McGuire picked off a pass for the Bells.
St, Ignatius gets back in action Friday when it hosts St. Francis. Bellarmine is at Riordan next Saturday.