Second-half defense leads to district win

SHINER — With the game tied up at 21 in the half, the Shiner St. Paul Cardinals stepped up their defense, allowing just five points in the third and eight in the fourth to cruise to a 49-34 TAPPS District 5-2A lead against the Bulverde Bracken Christian Warriors last Friday, Jan. 18.

“I thought our defense was great,” St. Paul head coach Lance Giese said. “You got to give that team credit, they came in here and played hard. It’s always good to get the first district win and we’re trying to go four-peat for the district title.”

Early on, the Warriors were able to score through their mid-to-long range shots.

“We got to shore up defense a little bit, we got to get on their shooters a little quicker,” Giese noted. “It’s taking us a little bit to get going at the beginning of all our games. But once we get going, we’re a pretty good team.”

That showed in the second half with scores coming in from Atley Pilat, Zakery Johnson, Kai Giese and Gerard Nunez.

Up 28-26 with 2:16 left in the third, the Cardinals went on a 15-0 run before the Warriors finally scored with 1:29 left in the game.

With such a short district schedule, the Cardinals are focused on winning the day to not only repeat as district champion but go deep in the playoffs.

“We got six games left right now,” Giese said. “Five district games and one non-district so it’s going to go quick. You just go one at a time, try to go 1-0 each day.”

The Cardinals defeated Victoria Faith Academy on Tuesday 64-45 to move to 2-0 in district. They travel to take on San Antonio St. Gerard on Friday before hosting Austin Royals on Tuesday, Jan. 29 for a non-district bout.