San Antonian Christian School used a 20-point fourth quarter Friday to pull away late from the Geneva School of Boerne Eagles for the 37-28 win in Geneva’s home opener.
SACS sophomore quarterback Sloan Guillory ran for three touchdowns in his first start, including two in the decisive fourth quarter after Geneva had taken a 20-17 lead into the final stanza.
Both teams entered the game with a bevy of underclassmen taking the field. Geneva has just six seniors on its roster, SAC only eight.
Joining Guillory in the backfield was freshman Ethan Young, who pounded the ball into the Geneva line all night, adding one fourth-quarter TD.
Geneva grabbed a 12-3 lead with 3:20 left to play in the second quarter on two Caleb Quitadamo touchdown passes. The first went to sophomore Reid Aderholt in the first quarter in the corner of the end zone for a 6-3 lead.
The sophomore Quitadamo then hit Wyatt Bruss on a quick out in the flat on a fourth-and-two. But Bruss slipped a tackle, reversed field and charged down the SACS sideline for a 39-yard TD and a 12-3 lead.
But SAC scored the game’s next two TDs — a Guillory 1-yard run 15 seconds before halftime, and a Hudson Russell pick-six of a Quitadamo pass on the first play of the second half for a 17-12 lead.
Geneva struck back late in the third quarter on a Quitadamo- to-Brady Chandler 29-yard scoring toss for the 20-17 lead. The drive was set up by two passes to Aderholt, one a pitch-and-run for 26 yards and the other a circus catch, with Aderholt reaching out and batting the ball back to himself for a 36-yard gain.
But then San Antonio Christian took over.
The Lions defense rose up in the fourth quarter and forced three straight turnovers on down, while the offense drove right at a tiring Geneva defense. Its three fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns pushed the lead to 37-20 with just under 4 minutes remaining.
Geneva tacked on a late touchdown and two-point conversion, but it proved too little, too late.
“It was a hard-fought battle. We finally found some success running the ball in the fourth quarter,” SAC coach Austin Smithey said.
“It was a combination of big plays on defense, big stops,” he said. “They make us work hard for it, but our kids rose to the occasion.”
Geneva coach Grant Gaston was proud of the performance he received from his young squad.
“We are an extremely young team. We’re playing freshmen and sophomores out there,” Gaston said. “This is a team we’re building not for next year, but for later this year. We’re going to be good.”
Geneva plays host to the La Pryor Bulldogs Friday in a 7 p.m. kick-off.
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