St. Pius scores on opening handoff and never looks back against West Mesa

St. Pius’ Hershul Olloway Jr., carries the ball for a first-and-goal before being tackled by West Mesa’s Marcos Ochoa during the first half of Saturday’s game at Nusenda Community Stadium.

Eddie Moore/Journal

Tristen Critchfield Tristen Critchfield Tristen Critchfield for the Journal

Published August 23, 2025 - 4:01 p.m. Modified August 23, 2025 - 4:23 p.m.

While the offense was as advertised for St. Pius, in many ways it still felt very much like a season opener.

The Sartans relied on big plays to pull away from West Mesa for a 47-29 victory on Saturday afternoon at Nusenda Community Stadium. The Mustangs were one of only two teams to beat St. Pius during the regular season in a 2024 campaign that saw it reach the Class 4A final before falling to Bloomfield.

“There's a lot of work to do,” said Sartans head coach Curtis Flakes II. “We made some plays, but we're not even scratching the surface of where we should be. So as coaches, we've got to clean that up, make sure our kids focus on the fundamentals of the game, and once we get that right, we'll be OK.”

The Sartans’ collection of skill position players rivals any group in the state, and that was evident against West Mesa, as they had four scoring plays of 57 yards or more. St. Pius set the tone when junior running back Hershul Olloway Jr. took the game’s opening handoff 70 yards for a score to give the Sartans an immediate advantage.

“First game of the season there’s gonna be high emotions flowing. Everyone is excited to get back out,” Olloway said. “I always got to remember myself, try to stay patient, stay calm. I was able to use it on that run. I was able to see something I liked and take off and go.”

Olloway, who finished with 151 yards rushing and two scores, was far from a one-man show. Quarterback Isaiah Carpenter threw for 397 yards and five touchdowns, including first-half tosses of 91 and 68 yards to the coach’s son, Curtis Flakes III. Cayl Cox-Liggins caught six passes for 101 yards and a touchdown, and Christian Morales and Ezra Ocampo also had scoring receptions for St. Pius.

Although the Sartans racked up more than 600 yards of offense, they had to overcome 23 penalties — including 15 in the first half — and a pair of endzone interceptions. West Mesa hung around during a disjointed first half that lasted nearly two hours due to the aforementioned penalties as well as various other official and injury timeouts. The Mustangs got to within 28-21 with 2:35 remaining in the second quarter following a 10-yard touchdown pass from Jericho Brody to Marcus Ochoa, but that was as close as they would get the rest of the way.

St. Pius responded with three unanswered touchdowns, the last of which gave the Sartans a 47-21 lead with 5:21 remaining in the third quarter. That essentially put the game out of reach, as St. Pius tightened up on defense down the stretch.

“We were definitely physical in the second half,” Flakes III said. “Fundamentally sound football, being in the right spot, not trying to be a hero, just doing their 1/11th. The kids are buying into it, playing a physical, fast brand of football.”