‘The boys wanted to make their statement’: Point Loma beats No. 2 Cathedral Catholic

Having an underdog mentality gives a team a fighting chance.

That belief from within this week led to Point Loma securing a 14-7 home victory over No. 2 Cathedral Catholic Friday night.

“Nobody really believed us,” said Point Loma second-year head coach Ryan Price, whose team was first among others receiving votes in this week’s U-T poll. “’The boys wanted to make their statement, and they believed throughout the week. They did what we’ve done all season. They played as a team, and this is a special group of kids that play for each other.”

Sealing the victory for the Pointers (7-0) came from Romeo Carter, who intercepted a pass from junior Nathan Ashmore, Cathedral Catholic’s third quarterback after Brady Palmer was out with a shoulder injury and its starter, Joshua Faraimo, left the game.

Carter, who also led the Pointers with seven receptions for 74 yards, said holding teams to under 10 points, no matter the opponent’s quality, is always a goal.

“That’s the expectation we hold our defense to,” Carter said. “Coach Price is a great coach. We come out, ball out, we play our hardest and that’s the results we get.”

Point Loma senior tight end Leo Sahd scored the go-ahead touchdown midway through the fourth quarter from 29 yards out on a pass from senior Henry Hauser, who filled in for the injured junior Ryder Watson, who was cramping.

“It was man coverage. I saw it was cover one,” said Sahd, whose touchdown was his only catch of the night. “I knew all I had to do was beat the man guy, give him a little swim move. I faded outside the free safety, and Henry put a perfect ball for me.”

All season long, Point Loma has prepared its offense for both Watson and Howard to produce.

As a result, it has put players, such as Sahd, in a position to learn both play callers.

“You have to build a relationship with both of them,” Sahd said. “You have to know what cadence they’re on. It’s weird, but I think it adds a lot of versatility to our offense, and we wouldn’t be the same without them.”

Ultimately, the Pointers held the Dons (5-2) scoreless for the final 36:58 after a 6-yard rushing touchdown from Faraimo at the end of the opening quarter.

Cathedral Catholic was also without one of the top receivers in the county. Junior Honor Fa’alave Johnson was sidelined with a concussion. With Palmer and Fa’alave-Johnson out, the Dons were led by junior running back Willie Flores, who recorded 66 rushing yards on 24 carries along with one reception for six yards.

Point Loma got on the board midway through the second quarter. On third-and-goal from the 2-yard line, Watson dropped the snap but was able to pick up the ball, go left and leap his way into the end zone to tie the game at seven.