St. Joseph Football dominated from start to finish Friday night, defeating Paso Robles by a score of 55-6 in their homecoming game at Jay Will Stadium in Santa Maria.
The Knights (7-1) jumped ahead early and never looked back, shutting out the Bearcats until the final minutes and scoring seven touchdowns before the fourth quarter, coming within minutes of posting their fourth shutout of the season and second in league play.
Sophomore running back Grayson Gaines led the offense with three rushing scores and a long kickoff return to open the second half, while the defense overwhelmed Paso Robles with sacks, an interception and multiple fourth‑down stops.
“Paso has always been a team that is physical,” St. Joseph head coach Pepe Villasenor said. “Regardless of their talent level, they’re always going to play hard.”
St. Joseph’s defense set the tone from the opening snap, halting Paso Robles on fourth down near midfield to end the Bearcats’ first drive. Starting from their own 48-yard line, the Knights quickly capitalized as Gaines broke loose for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 7:11 left in the quarter.
The defense came up big again on the next Bearcats possession when junior defensive lineman Eliseo Zepeda recorded a sack in Knights territory. Sophomore linebacker Jachin Hanjiv followed with a 4th-and-short stop at the 38-yard line to force another turnover on downs.
The Knights struck quickly to open the second quarter, as Heaslet dumped a short pass to Gaines, who sliced through defenders to pick up a first down. On the next play, Gaines bounced outside for an 18-yard touchdown run.
The extra point was no good, giving St. Joseph a 13-0 lead with 9:56 remaining in the half.
On the next Bearcats possession, senior defensive back Bronson Williams settled under a deep ball and picked it off, returning the interception to midfield, setting the Knights up with excellent field position.
A facemask penalty against Paso Robles moved the ball to the 7-yard line and Heaslet finished the drive himself with a keeper into the end zone. The extra point extended the lead to 20-0.
Later in the quarter, senior running back Abraham Meza capped off a sustained drive with a touchdown run that made it 27-0. The defense continued to smother Paso Robles, with senior defensive lineman Mathyas Olive recording his second sack of the night just before halftime.
“Every week’s a championship week and we knew we had to prepare for them because they’re going to fight and they’re going to play hard regardless,” Villasenor said.
Heaslet hit junior receiver Dominick Rucobo for a touchdown to open the second half, finishing a short drive set up by a strong kickoff return from Gaines. The good kick made it 34-0 with 9:29 to play in the third quarter.
After the defense forced a turnover on downs, Heaslet connected with Rucobo again on a deep pass to set up 1st-and-goal. Junior running back Nicky Romero finished the series with a short rushing touchdown to extend the lead to 41-0 with 6:41 left in the quarter.
“We talk about constantly being focused, we have a thing called NOW, meaning no opportunity wasted,” Villasenor said. “If you’re out on the field, you don’t waste an opportunity to either improve or do your responsibility.”
A screen pass breakup by senior defensive back Bronson Williams on fourth down gave St. Joseph another short field late in the quarter. Gaines immediately punched in his third rushing touchdown of the night, and the Knights took a 48-0 lead with 27 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
St. Joseph’s defense stayed sharp to open the final quarter, recovering a fumble near midfield to give the Knights another scoring opportunity.
Heaslet took advantage of the short field, running the ball outside for his second rushing touchdown of the night. The extra point made it 55-0 with 4:52 remaining.
Paso Robles avoided the shutout with a late drive that ended in a short touchdown run by senior running back Yannie Gelos to get the Bearcats on the board with 1:49 left in the game.
The Knights opted to kneel out their final drive to secure the 55-6 homecoming win and improve to 2-0 in Mountain League play.
St. Joseph, which hasn’t lost since August, will host Arroyo Grande on Friday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. at Jay Will Stadium.