SAN FRANCISCO — Early in Friday night’s game against St. Ignatius, the high-powered Acalanes offense looked to have found its match.
The Dons fell behind three scores in the second quarter as the Wildcats rattled off big play after big play to grow what seemed like an insurmountable advantage.
But for a team that prides itself on getting into the end zone, it was the defense that rose to the moment. The Dons shut down St. Ignatius in the second half and paved the way for a 42-35 comeback win in San Francisco.
“We just knew they weren’t going to be as good as they were in the first half,” said defensive back Grant Condy, whose fourth-quarter interception sealed the game for Acalanes. “We run gassers at practice and we knew we’d outlast them. We knew we were just going to get stops.”
Acalanes celebrates after winning against St. Ignatius at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Acalanes intercepted three passes in the second half – returning one for a score – to fuel the comeback victory.
Quarterback Tyler Winkles completed 20-of-27 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for two touchdowns, one of which was the go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter.
Acalanes wide receiver Finley Rivera caught nine passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Condy, Grant Ricker and Illias Kaplanes-Jones each had an interception.
With a 14-point advantage at halftime, St. Ignatius had all the momentum. Though Acalanes opened the second half with the ball, it felt like the Wildcats were just a stop and another score away from putting Acalanes away for good.
But everything changed in the third quarter.
On their first possession of the period, Acalanes completed a nine-play, 81-yard drive that ended in Winkles finding Rivera for a 34-yard catch-and-run to cut the St. Ignatius advantage to one score.
On the ensuing possession, Ricker picked off a St. Ignatius pass and returned it 54 yards to the house to tie the game at 28.
Acalanes celebrates after an interception against St. Ignatius in the third quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Following an interception from Kaplanes-Jones, Acalanes ended the quarter with Winkles finding Rivera again for a score, this time from 22 yards out, to give Acalanes its first lead of the game.
“It was just about doing our job,” Acalanes coach Joel Isaac said about his team’s three second half takeaways. “If we do our job, good things happen. That’s what we saw in the second half.”
St. Ignatius made one last push late in the fourth quarter when the San Francisco school completed a seven-play drive that ended with junior running back Luke Tribolet finding the end zone on a 12-yard rush to tie the game.
But after Winkles scored again later in the fourth on a one-yard rush to make the score 42-35, Acalanes’ defense made one last clutch play to seal the win.
As St. Ignatius was marching down the field, seemingly poised to tie the game once again, Condy picked off a short pass with just over a minute left to ice the game.
“I knew it was coming,” Condy said. “I saw the wide receiver was coming up and the quarterback took one step back, so I knew it was coming and I was just there to pick it off.”
Acalanes’ Finley Rivera (13) lifts the ball in the air after thinking he scored a touchdown against St. Ignatius’ Brady Hughes (8) in the fourth quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
For St. Ignatius coach JaJuan Lawson, Friday’s loss was preventable.
“Too many penalties, missed assignments, just things we’ve talked about over and over and over, and against great teams like Acalanes … They make you pay for them,” Lawson said.
Both teams scored on their opening drives, but the Wildcats’ offense looked better with each drive in the first half.
St. Ignatius took a two-score lead after it turned a Colten Stevenson interception into a four-yard rushing score from Elijah Farrah.
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On the Wildcats’ next possession, Bobby Gomez found Zui Shelton all alone for his second touchdown of the half, this time from 77 yards out.
Shelton was a standout for St. Ignatius, ending Friday’s game catching six passes for 116 yards.
Winkles scored a six-yard rushing score before the end of the second quarter to cut the home team’s lead to 14 at halftime. The first half ended somewhat controversially when a wild lateral from Ty Hicks to Farrah was called back after referees deemed the pass to be forward.
Acalanes (3-0) will travel to College Park next week while St. Ignatius (1-2) will get a bye before opening West Catholic Athletic League play against Archbishop Mitty on Sept. 26.
Acalanes’ River Lockwood (1) runs with the ball against St. Ignatius’ Shermar Noriega (37) in the second quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Acalanes’ Tyler Winkles (6) runs with the ball against St. Ignatius in the fourth quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Acalanes’ Jackson Boselli (12) jumps for the ball against St. Ignatius in the fourth quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Students watch a game between Acalanes and St. Ignatius at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Acalanes’ Tyler Winkles (6) scores a touchdown against St. Ignatius’ Brady Hughes (8) in the fourth quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Acalanes and St. Ignatius question the referees in the fourth quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Acalanes’ Tyler Winkles (6) runs with the ball against St. Ignatius’ Brady Hughes (8) in the third quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Acalanes’ Sean Tandler (87) runs with the ball against St. Ignatius’ Brendan Foss (13) and St. Ignatius’ Shermar Noriega (37) in the third quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Acalanes’ Finley Rivera (13) runs with the ball against St. Ignatius’ Luke Van De Braak (2) in the third quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
St. Ignatius’ Zui Shelton (3) runs with the ball against Acalanes in the second quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Acalanes’ Josh Elerts (21) runs with the ball against St. Ignatius’ Brendan Foss (13) in the second quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
St. Ignatius’ Ty Hicks (5) runs with the ball against Acalanes in the second quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
St. Ignatius’ Bobby Gomez (12) throws the ball against Acalanes’ Marco Giorgianni (8) in the second quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Acalanes’ Illias Kaplanes-jones (2) runs with the ball against St. Ignatius’ Brendan Foss (13) and St. Ignatius’ John Sullivan (23) in the second quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Acalanes’ Sean Tandler (87) runs with the bake against St. Ignatius’ Charlie Ball (22) in the first quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Acalanes’ Jackson Boselli (12) runs with the ball against St. Ignatius in the first quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Acalanes’ Finley Rivera (13) catches the ball against St. Ignatius’ Brady Hughes (8) in the first quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Acalanes’ Josh Elerts (21) celebrates scoring a touchdown against St. Ignatius in the first quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Acalanes’ Tyler Winkles (6) runs with the ball against St. Ignatius in the second quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Acalanes celebrates after winning against St. Ignatius at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
St. Ignatius’ Zui Shelton (3) runs with the ball against Acalanes in the first quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Acalanes’ Jackson Boselli (12) catches the ball against St. Ignatius’ Cole Molinari (29) in the first quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
St. Ignatius’ Zui Shelton (3) runs with the ball against Acalanes’ Tommy Terhar (3) in the first quarter at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
