By Ray Hamill — The Crusaders were close to unstoppable on Saturday.
And if they continue to play at this level, it’s difficult not seeing them claiming a first North Coast Section title in seven years and adding to their already H-DNL record tally of two state titles next month.
Of course, the games will get more and more difficult as the weeks progress and a semifinal showdown against a Salesian team that knocked off Fortuna in its playoff opener will present a different type of challenge next weekend, while a potential matchup against Ferndale or St. Vincent de Paul for an NCS championship in two weeks will be just as challenging in its own right.
And while we don’t want to fall into the trap of getting too far ahead of ourselves just yet, SB fans leaving Crusader Field on Saturday will have had every reason to feel giddy with excitement at what this year’s team can potentially achieve.
Head coach Matt Tomlin and his players kicked off their 2026 playoffs with as dominating a performance as they could have hoped for, routing a very good Concord team 35-0.
It was St. Bernard’s first playoff shutout since a 49-0 win over Analy in 2023, and it was achieved in large part thanks to two outstanding first-half goal line stands.
But that was just half the story.
The SB offense was really stopped just once all day and pieced together scoring drives of 78, 92 and 96 yards on three of their four first-half drives — two of them with an almost perfect blend of running and passing — before adding scoring drives of 60 and 85 yards in the second half, the latter of which included a remarkable 23 plays.
“I thought we played very well today,” SB head coach Mat Tomlin said. “And I think we’ve played very well the last three weeks. I think we’re reaching our potential.”
It’s difficult to argue with that assessment and a mini mid-season slump that saw them drop back-to-back games against Ferndale and Fortuna now seems like a distant memory.
Even more impressive, Saturday’s win came against a quality Concord team that was 8-2 and averaging almost 50 points a game over the last month.
“Concord’s been a very explosive offense all year,” Tomlin said. “And to shut them out was a major accomplishment. And our offense was very diverse running the ball and throwing the ball, and I thought it was a very good all-around team win.”
The St. Bernard’s defense set the tone with two huge goal-line stands in the opening half.
The first came after Concord running back Chris Dunn broke free for a 53-yard gain on the Bears’ first offensive play that gave them a first-and-goal at the SB two-yard line, and the second came later in the opening quarter after a muffed punt return gave them possession at the SB six-yard line.
The offense was equally effective, piecing together long drive after long drive with some outstanding play calling and execution by the players on the field.
Most notably senior quarter Trenten Hagler, who was involved in all three of his team’s first-half TDs, passing for two of them and running in for the other.
The four-year varsity starter has been playing at an MVP level for much of the season and that continued to be the case on Saturday.
The Crusaders received the opening kickoff and quickly marched 78 yards on nine plays — five runs and four passes — with Garrett Shanahan pulling in a nine-yard TD reception, the first of five different players to score a touchdown for the team.
On their second possession of the day, the Crusaders marched 92 yards on 11 plays, with Hagler finding the end zone on a two-yard run.
After the second big defensive stand, the SB offense added a third statement drive, marching 96 yards on 14 plays — seven passes and seven runs — with Hagler completing a 24-yard TD pass to Henry Hinrichs.
Cal Figas would cap a near perfect first half for the home team with an interception in the dying seconds to send the Crusaders into the locker room with all the momentum.
The Bears to their credit did move the ball effectively at times — they had seven first downs on their five possession through the opening two quarters — but the drives consistently stalled, usually near the SB goal line.
But had it not been for those two big goal-line stands, there would have been just one score between the two teams at that stage.
However, any hopes of a comeback quickly ended after the break.
The Bears received the kickoff in the third quarter but were quickly stopped, and a balanced St. Bernard’s offense that is firing on all cylinders right now would quickly add to its tally five minutes into the period on a 10-yard Jack Omey TD run, a score that essentially ended the game as a contest.
But it was the Crusaders’ next drive that really put an exclamation mark on the win, as they drove 85 yards on 23 plays, including three fourth-down and two third-down conversions, ending on a hook and lateral that involved Hagler, Hinrichs and Maddox Boham, who found the end zone on an 11-yard score.
There were several standouts in the win, including linemen Teqkauri Achane and Josh Tinkham, who were a nightmare matchup for the Bears all day.
So too was defensive end Braedon Simpson, while Hinrichs “made some really big plays” at receiver according to Tomlin.
