That St. Augustine got “punched in the mouth” in the first half against Holy Cross on Saturday didn’t sit well with Coach Robert Valdez.

So, in the second half, the Purple Knights turned to their running game in taking a 32-24 District 9-5A victory against the Tigers at Tad Gormley.

St. Augustine (8-1, 5-1) won its fourth consecutive game since its only loss to No. 1-ranked Edna Karr. The Purple Knights end the regular season Friday at John Curtis, whose only loss also came against Karr on Friday.

“(At halftime), we told them the story about front-runners,” Valdez said. “Front-runners are always good when things are gong good. We got punched in the mouth, and Holy Cross came out with more effort, executing real crisp.

“We had to make the adjustment. We’ve been reading our press clippings. We had to come out and play some big-boy football. We had to control the line of scrimmage and to take away the cut-back lanes and play with gap integrity.”

The Knights held Holy Cross (4-5, 1-5) to 33 yards rushing in the second half after the Tigers rang up 121 in the first half. Running back Ky’Rynn Smith, who gained 108 yards and a touchdown in the first half, was held to 25 yards in the second half.

St. Augustine, meanwhile, ran for 154 yards in the second half, with quarterback Vashaun Coulon gaining 54 on draw plays that kept drives alive.

Trailing 17-14 entering the third quarter, the Knights took the second-half kickoff and went 80 yards to Khlil Lewis’ 5-yard touchdown run. After St. Aug forced a punt, ther Knights went 52 yards to Coulon’s 28-yard scoring pass to Miguel Whitley for a 26-17 margin at 4:14 of the third quarter.

“We were worn down,” said Holy Cross coach Scott Wattigny. “St. Aug ran the ball, and the (quarterback) draw killed us. They went 5-for-5 on that play, getting first downs.”

Smith rushed for the go-ahead 23-yard touchdown, as Holy Cross took a 17-14 halftime lead. Smith’s score, with 1:23 left in the second quarter, came after Coulon raced up the middle for a 19-yard touchdown at the 6:08 mark that put the Purple Knights in front, 14-10.

In the Tigers’ ensuing drive, quarterback Carter Duplessis slid in making a 3-yard gain at the Holy Cross 49 on fourth-and-four. However, the Knights were penalized 15 yards for personal foul for hitting Duplessis as he slid. That gave the Tigers a first down at the St. Augustine 36. Six plays later, Smith broke off his scoring run.

The Tigers surged to a 10-0 first-quarter advantage on a 42-yard field goal by Noel Mora Jr. at the 6:34 mark and a 4-yards keeper by Duplessis three minutes later.

The Knights answered by going 80 yards in three plays – a 33-yard pass to Vershaun Simms Jr., a 2-yard run by Lewis, followed by a 45-yard touchdown pass to Ray’Quan Williams.