DOWNEY — St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy’s second-half rally fell short as its defense couldn’t contain Paraclete’s potent offense in a 38-29 Angelus League loss on Friday night.
The Warriors (3-4 overall, 1-1 Angelus) played from behind all night after falling behind 19-0 early in the second quarter when they surrendered a 50-yard punt return touchdown to Savaughn Gentle.
Despite finding some offensive rhythm, it wasn’t enough to get over the hump against the Spirits (6-1, 2-0).
St. Pius’ defense had few answers for Paraclete quarterback Joseph Mesa and wide receiver Adrian Jones, who connected for four touchdowns.
Mesa finished 21-of-33 passing for 268 yards with the four scores and one interception. Jones had nine catches for 130 receiving yards and the four TDs.
St. Pius was able to stay in the game by taking advantage of a few opportunities. The Warriors kept Paraclete from scoring another touchdown in the final seconds of the first half when cornerback Gregory Taylor intercepted a Mesa pass in the end zone.
St. Pius pulled within one score twice in the second half.
The first came when quarterback Jassi Williams found receiver Matai Fuiava for an 8-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter. After a successful two-point conversion, the Warriors trailed 25-21 with 9:21 left in the third, but the Warriors couldn’t take the lead later in the quarter.
After Paraclete running back Kyle Fulton Jr. scored on a 23-yard touchdown run in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, St. Pius answered right back when Williams found receiver Andre Melgar for a 15-yard touchdown pass. Another successful two-point conversion cut the Paraclete lead to 32-29 with 9:24 left in the game.
However, the Warriors could never get any closer than that. Paraclete secured the win when Mesa found Jones from 9 yards out for their fourth touchdown connection.
Williams finished with 134 yards passing with two touchdowns, but he was sacked six times and faced constant pressure from the Paraclete defense.
Williams said the loss fell on both the offense and the defense.
St. Pius QB @Getpaid_J had a tough night getting sacked 6 times but still finished with 134 yards passing and 2 TDs in a loss to Paraclete and talked about what went wrong in this one and the emergence of Francisco Meza Jr as an RB@SoCalVarsity @BeachVarsity @PiusMatthias pic.twitter.com/KctsO48dMz
— Chris Camello (@Chris_Camello) October 11, 2025
“I’m not going to blame anybody. I’m not going to put anybody down on my team, because as the leader, nobody should ever do that, but I feel as a team we have to do a better job at starting out fast,” he said. “We started off the game on offense a little too slow, we gave up a touchdown on the first drive. We can’t do that.”
“We have to be able to get a stop, get on the ball, and be able to run the ball, and execute every pass play. We got to get better at blocking. Once we figure out the little mistakes in our offense and our defense, we’re going to make a long run like we did last year.”
St. Pius head coach Devah Thomas said injuries to a few key players was also an issue for his team, but he remains optimistic with his backups getting more playing time.
St. Pius X-St. Matthias head coach Devah Thomas talks about the tough loss to Paraclete, how they struggled defensively, but how well QB Jassi Williams and Francisco Meza Jr played throughout the game @SoCalVarsity @BeachVarsity @YUNG_GURU_ pic.twitter.com/FIUd1uFp7Y
— Chris Camello (@Chris_Camello) October 11, 2025
“We still got a couple of key injuries that are hurting us, but we got some younger guys in spots that are getting better. It’s gradually getting better every week,” Thomas said. “It’s going to help us in the long haul, because the lights won’t be too bright and they’ll be battle-tested and things like that, so it’s fine. We just have to win our next three (games).”
One of the standouts for St. Pius was running back Francsico Meza Jr., who finished with 101 rushing yards and two touchdowns on eight carries, including an impressive 48-yard TD run in the second quarter.
Thomas spoke very highly of Meza and what he brings to the team.
“Francisco Meza is a straight beast, he’s a wolf,” Thomas said. “That kid is hungry, he’s dominant, he’s determined. He’s a dog, there’s nothing that he can’t do … he’s one of those utility guys that can do everything, probably be a ‘Wildcat’ quarterback so I love Francisco.”