St. Anthony football hoping to improve on championship season

A CIF Southe Section Division 10 championship and a trip to the CIF State Division 4-A championship game elevated the St. Anthony football program to new heights last year. The success pushed the Saints to Division 9 this season in the new CIF competitive equity format, and head coach Mario Morales said the expectations remain the same.

“We’re not going to compare ourselves to our team last season,” he said. “We want to continue to prove that we can be competitive and prove that we’re the top team in the division.”

The Saints lost key pieces on offense and defense, including last year’s CIF-SS Division 10 Player of the Year quarterback Johnny Buksa V. Senior Deshaun Harvey, another dual-threat quarterback, will be his replacement in the St. Anthony spread offense. Harvey is also expected to play safety on the hard-hitting Saints defense led by All-CIF senior linebacker Noah Nieto. Nieto has started the last two seasons at linebacker.

“He’s a true linebacker in every sense of the word,” Morales said. “He’s a tough guy and will come straight down hill at you.”

“We have some new players coming in, but they have that dog in them,” Nieto said. “We’re looking forward to playing for each other.”

St. Anthony features multiple two-way players, including seniors Tino Venegas and Dominick Tucker. Venegas played a key role as both a coerback and wide receiver in the Saints’ explosive offense last season. Tucker got after the quarterback as St. Anthony’s premier pass rusher and will be featured as a tight end this year. Junior running back Markell Sayles is expected to make an impact in the backfield.

The Saints are strong up front on the defensive line. Junior Aidan Grosz and senior Zion Asuega compliment Tucker at defensive end. Senior Chris Clarke is an athletic outside linebacker who can stop the run and run sideline to sideline in pass coverage.

St. Anthony will open the season at home at Clark Field, where the Saints went unbeaten last year. They’ll host Crean Lutheran at 7 p.m. on Sept. 1.

The Saints play Wilson at home during nonleague play and travel to Gahr in a rematch of the first round of the Division 10 playoffs last season. St. Anthony will also play Valley Christian before gearing up for the Santa Fe League.

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“Everybody is coming after us now,” Nieto said. “But we love competition at St. Anthony and we’re excited.”

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