EL CAJON — Brady Palmer was like a kid at a toy store with money in his pocket.
With talented receivers like Hunter Harrington, Honor Faalave-Johnson, Parker Johnson, running backs like Willam Flores and a trio of talented tight ends, the Cathedral Catholic High School quarterback has a lot to play with.
And the No. 2-ranked Dons put on a show Friday night, throwing and running for touchdowns as well as returning an interception and a punt for a score in beating No. 3 Granite Hills 52-6 in a nonleague game.
Johnson and Faalave-Johnson are transfers from St. Augustine who had to sit out the season’s first five games.
“Those guys make a huge difference,” Palmer said of Johnson and Faalave-Johnson. “I now have so many weapons.
“I can really distribute the ball. I don’t have to focus on one or two guys.”
Palmer was originally one of the sitout transfers from St. Augustine, but was cleared to play at the start of the season.
He said playing without Johnson and Faalave-Johnson was “a great opportunity for me to learn how to manage a running game, take command on the field.”
Palmer, a junior, completed 9 of 12 es for 192 yards while playing 2 1/2 quarters against Granite Hills.
Johnson had three catches for 60 yards. Faalave-Johnson had five rushes for 39 yards as the Dons used 11 running backs headed by Flores, who had 13 carries for 65 yards.
The Dons rushed for 196 yards and threw for 204.
“Even our practices are action-packed,” said Johnson. “Every single guy on this team can play, so practices are pretty spirited.”
In addition to the 11 rushers, Cathedral Catholic had seven players catch es with Harrington, a Stanford baseball commit, catching three for 61 yards.
“We have so many weapons,” Faalave-Johnson said. “We can run the ball. We can throw the ball.
“Granite stacked the line to stop the run, so we went to the air. Sitting out, waiting to get eligible has made us hungry.
“Teams are going to feel us down the stretch.”
Granite Hills (5-2) opened the scoring on a 44-yard field goal by Trent Willock.
It was all Cathedral Catholic (6-1) after that as the Dons scored 35 points in the second quarter with Palmer throwing a 16-yard TD to Michael Diltz, a 44-yarder to Johnson, scrambling for a 15-yard TD run, then watching as
Faalave-Johnson returned an interception 44 yards for a score and Johnson sped down the left sideline 56 yards with a punt for a score.
Cathedral Catholic 52, Granite Hills 6
Cathedral Catholic 7 35 3 7 – 52 Granite Hills 3 3 0 0 – 6
GH — FG Willock 44
CC — Tucker 16 from Palmer (Eastlack kick)
CC — Diltz 16 from Palmer (Eastlack kick)
CC — Johnson 44 from Palmer (Eastlack kick)
GH — Willock 42 FG
CC — Palmer 15 run (Eastlack kick)
CC — Faalave 44 interception return (Eastlack kick)
CC — Johnson 56 punt return (Eastlack kick)
CC — Eastlack 25 FG
CC — Grunsky 1 run (Yrigoyen kick)
