'A lot of big moments': Pensacola Catholic football comes up with huge victory over Pace

Pensacola Catholic football got the momentum early, and just didn’t stop in its 34-20 win over Pace on Friday at Gorecki-LeBeau Stadium.

Once both teams traded touchdowns on the first drive, the Crusaders picked up some big defensive stops against the Patriots’ run game. Pace found room a handful of times past the Pensacola Catholic defensive line – which boasts four Division I players on it – but small errors, like false starts or low snaps that led to small gains on the ground, cost the Patriots in the end.

And the Pensacola Catholic offense was able to air the ball out to make Pace pay.

“That was a really good football team we just played over there. Penalties got (Pace) behind the chains a bit and threw their game off. We were able to capitalize on their mistakes,” Pensacola Catholic head coach Matt Adams said after the game. “I’m just proud of our guys for making plays. … We were in some bad situations sometimes, and they just came up big.”

It wasn’t just one player that aided Pensacola Catholic’s win. Five players scored a touchdown during the contest, and all of them came in different ways. On the Crusaders’ first drive, as they worked down the field, it was Nigel Nelson who ran in for a 3-yard run out of the wildcat formation – just as he did numerous times during the Crusaders’ 2023 playoff run.

After that, quarterback Ryan Huff had a field day in the passing game.

“I was really proud of Ryan in Week 1. I thought he looked comfortable and looked well. Tonight, that was a tough defense. He hung in there and made some throws,” Adams said of the senior quarterback. “Ryan made great decisions tonight. I was never concerned about him putting us in bad situations. He made some big plays.”

Huff connected with Caden Jasso for a 44-yard touchdown on a screen pass, and Jasso did the rest. That touchdown came with 6 minutes, 48 seconds left in the first half. Then Huff found CJ Nettles on a short jump throw up the middle, and Nettles ran in for a 17-yard touchdown with 44.8 seconds left in the half.

And if that wasn’t enough, just as time expired, Huff connected with Tristan Keigley on a 39-yard touchdown pass that was bobbled and eventually caught by the 6-foot-3 wide receiver. Huff connected with Josh Spears in the second half on a similar play, but Spears leapt up and hauled in the pass for a 26-yard touchdown.

“The guys believe in each other. As you saw tonight, it was multiple guys stepping up during the game, which was exciting to see,” Adams said. “I’m happy for all of them. A lot of big moments tonight.”

Pace initially matched Pensacola Catholic with an 8-yard run from quarterback Ben Tyner just six seconds into the second quarter. But the Patriots wouldn’t find the end zone again until there was 4:44 left in the game on a 1-yard touchdown run.

Joey Golino rounded out Pace’s scoring with 42.4 seconds left in the game on a 16-yard run, but the damage had already been done.

“We gave up too many big plays, and didn’t convert on offense when we needed to down on the goal line. That’ll cost you in a big game,” Pace head coach Kent Smith said. “Pensacola Catholic is very good. We knew that coming in.”

Pace (1-1) enters a bye week after the loss, and will gear up for Gulf Breeze on Sept. 13 during Week 4. Smith noted that he had several players “banged up” during Friday’s game, already adding to a couple key injuries from the Patriots’ Week 1 game against Mary G. Montgomery (Ala.).

“We’re beat up, banged up. We lost our other tight end in the first series. We’re picking at stuff now. If we get healthy, we’re going to be fine,” Smith said. “We’re going to give them Monday off with the holiday. Then we’ll get back to work on Tuesday. … These kids will answer the bell. I know they will.”

Pensacola Catholic (2-0) also enters a bye week. The Patriots go to Montgomery Catholic (Ala.) on Sept. 13, a team that went undefeated in 2023 and won the Class 5A state championship in Alabama – pretty handedly, outscoring opponents 614-73 on the year.

““Everything is a teaching moment. We’re going to harp on the positive things tonight. The guys worked hard tonight. I want them to enjoy that,” Adams said. “We’ve got another tough one coming up in a couple weeks. … We’ve got a bye week to get some rest after some physical games. Then we’ll get back to the drawing board.”

Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: 'A lot of big moments': Pensacola Catholic football comes up with huge victory over Pace