Ostin McPherson Leads St. Paul's To Victory

TROY — Ostin McPherson ran for 225 yards on 31 carries to pace No. 4 St. Paul’s to a 31-0 win over Charles Henderson Friday night in the second round of the 5A state playoffs.McPherson, an eighth-grader, ran for 157 yards and a touchdown in the second half.The Saints (11-1) poured it on to break a 0-0 halftime deadlock and set up a showdown at home against No. 1 Hueytown Friday at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinals.

“We made some good halftime adjustments,” St. Paul’s coach Jimmy Perry said. “We were trying to trick them in the first half. We came out of halftime and ran it right at them.”The Saints got a 1-yard touchdown sneak from William Brabston after Kylen Towner’s 54-yard punt return.“The punt return was the turning point,” Perry said. “That set us up with great field position.”McPherson scored on a 10-yard run, Jannick Wildraut booted a 34-yard field goal, Austin Mosley added a 4-yard touchdown run and Brabston had another short TD run to cap the scoring.St. Paul’s defense held Charles Henderson to just 151 yards.
“Our defense has been our rock all season,” said Brabston. “We didn’t play our best in the first half but our defense kept us in the game.”