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The St. Mary’s football team used and inspired defensive effort and a superlative effort from quarterback Steve Murphy to take down Piedmont, 20-15, on Friday night, winning the BSAL title an an automatic berth in the North Coast Section playoffs. 

The Panthers held Piedmont to just 259 total yards and picked off UCLA-bound quarterback Drew Olsen three times, and Murphy provided just enough offense to lead the team to a win. The senior threw for 132 yards and a touchdown and ran for a team-high 78 yards and another score. With starting tailback Trestin George limited by a strained hamstring suffered in last week’s win over St. Patrick’s, Murphy was the focus of the offense. 

“Steve made great decisions today, and he was outstanding running the ball,” said St. Mary’s head coach Jay Lawson, who changed his team’s game plan to put the ball in Murphy’s hands more. 

Murphy avoided errors, with a Julian Taylor fumble the only St. Mary’s turnover. Olsen, on the other hand, was without his top receiver and running back, and the senior appeared to be trying to win the game by himself at times. In addition to the three picks, he overthrew several receivers and suffered several drops, three by tight end Peter Boyle. 

Boyle first drop set the tone for the entire game. After the Highlanders stopped the opening St. Mary’s drive at their own 10, Olsen’s first pass deflected off of Boyle’s hands right to St. Mary’s linebacker Fred Hives, who took the ball in for a score and a quick 8-0 St. Mary’s lead after a two-point conversion. Olsen was just 4-of-12 for 35 yards in the first half, with the Panthers taking a 14-2 lead into the locker room. 

St. Mary’s next score was all Murphy. First he threw a perfect fade pass to wide receiver Courtney Brown for a 28-yard gain, then picked up 27 yards on a keeper, thanks in part to a crushing block by George. After George was stuffed twice at the goal line, Murphy took another keeper around the left end, reaching the ball over the goal line by inches for a 14-0 lead. 

“I knew it was on my shoulders this week with Trestin hurting,” Murphy said. “The coaches told me all week that I had to lead the team.” 

Piedmont’s only first-half points came courtesy of an intentional safety by Murphy. Backed up to their own 4 by an Olsen 50-yard punt with less than three minutes left in the half, Lawson ordered Murphy to run out the back of the end zone. Lawson said the decision was a combination of a shaky punting game and his stout defense. 

“The way our defense was playing, I wanted to make them earn their points,” Lawson said. 

The strategy looked brilliant when replacement kicker Omarr Flood booted the ensuing free kick over the heads of the return men, putting the ball on the Highlander 21. Three plays later, Olsen threw the ball right between the numbers of St. Mary’s linebacker Taylor to kill the drive. 

The Panthers extended their lead to 20-2 when Murphy threw a jump ball up for Chase Moore. Piedmont cornerback Mike Kim went up with Moore for the ball and tipped it, but Moore used his size advantage to stay upright and catch the rebound. 

Olsen marched his team down the field on the next drive, connecting on all four passes in the series and making an impressive throw across his body to Boyle for a 13-yard score to pull within 20-9. It looked as if he would repeat the performance on the next drive, getting the Highlanders to the St. Mary’s 18, but he overthrew a receiver and the ball floated into the hands of St. Mary’s linebacker Chris White in the end zone to kill the drive. 

“Our offense was just stuttering today,” Olsen said. “Anytime I throw three picks, it’s going to be hard for us to win.” 

The next St. Mary’s drive died when Murphy had to leave the game with an injured wrist, and Olsen hit a quick strike with a 62-yards touchdown pass to Pat Castles, who inexplicably was able to get behind the Panther defense. But Hives recovered the onside kick, then busted out for a 22-yard gain. The Panthers were hit with a delay of game penalty with 27 seconds left to put them in a 4th-and-7, but Lawson crossed up the defense and called a long pass for Brown, who hauled the ball in at the 1, and Murphy kneeled on the next play to run out the clock. 

The Panthers now await their NCS matchup, to be determined at a seeding meeting on Sunday. St. Mary’s cannot host a playoff game at their field due to not meeting the minimum crowd capacity.