On Friday, August 29, the Saints’ Varsity football team traveled to Huguenot High School for its season opener against the Falcons, walking away with an impressive 21-6 win. 

The offense did not score until after the half; however, they put up touchdowns in two consecutive drives during the third quarter, the first being scored by senior OL/DL and South Carolina commit Darius Gray on a 3-yard run into the end zone to cap off a 3-play, 70-yard drive.

RB Aiden White ‘27 put the next six on the board for the Saints on a 6-yard run after special teams gave StC a short field.

On the ground, the Saints accumulated 110 total rushing yards, led by 48 from White and 44 from QB Chase Roberts ‘26, who averaged 4.9 yards per carry. Roberts also threw for another 101 yards with 8 completions on 16 attempts. Jaerron Johnson '27 accounted for 78 of those yards came on 3 receptions, who led the team in both receptions and receiving yards. Roberts did not throw any touchdown passes in the run-heavy game, but he did keep the ball safe with no turnovers. 

On the defensive side of the ball, the Saints again look to have a dominant squad. The first score of the game came from an interception return from linebacker Elijah Brandon ’26, who ran back 95 yards for a pick six not ten minutes into the game, beginning the season on an electrifying note. 

As a team, the defense held the Falcons scoreless in the first half, only letting up one touchdown in the third quarter. Huguenot managed 153 rushing yards, averaging only 3.3 yards per carry, and the Saints defense was airtight in passing situations, allowing Huguenot 9 completions on 24 attempts and taking the ball away twice on two interceptions, the first coming from Brandon’s pick six and the second coming from safety Collin Johnson ‘26 in the fourth quarter. 

The Saints defensive line had no problem putting pressure on the opposing quarterback. They recorded a total of 5 sacks with LB MJ Crocker ‘26, LB Charlie Edmonds ‘26, and LB Elijah Asare ‘26 all recording 1 each, and Gray recording 2 of his own, along with a pass breakup. Crocker and Gray also led the team in tackles, each getting 9 total.

For TFLs, Crocker also led the team in this statistic, racking up 3 and forcing a total loss of 15 yards. Gray and Edmonds both got two of their own, and Asare and captain LB Walker Turley ‘26 both recorded one each.

The Saints’ next matchup will be another away game as they travel to Episcopal on Saturday, September 6 for a 1:00 pm game, where they will hope to keep up their momentum.