By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor
Football:
It had been 14 years since St. Francis defeated Loyola in a football game.
That skid was snapped on Friday night, as the Golden Knights opened Angelus League play with a 26-21 victory over the visiting Cubs.
But it didn’t come easy or without late-game drama.
Leading 26-14 in the fourth quarter, the Golden Knights turned the ball over and the Cubs cashed in.
Thomas Knyal tossed a 5-yard TD pass to Duke Giarraputo with 3:24 to go, and the Cubs trailed the Golden Knights, 26-21.
St. Francis came up with Loyola’s onside kick attempt, but the Cubs defense forced a punt and had one last chance.
Knyal would drive the visitors deep into St. Francis territory.
And with two seconds on the clock, Knyal took a few steps to his right, reversed course, and off his backfoot, he threw the ball over Giarraputo’s head in south end zone.
Tyler Cofre did just enough on defense to make it difficult for Knyal to find Giarraputo.
The reaction on the home sidelines and from their fans was a mixture of elation and relief.
This game was nothing short of a physical, hard-hitting and a spirited affair, and that’s what makes Angelus League football so special.
The offense did their share in Friday’s win, but to a man, they’ll be the first to tell anyone that will listen to credit their defense with win No. 5 of 2023.
Loyola got off to a great start, when, on the first drive of the game, Knyal hit Khalil Cueva on a 63-yard pass, and a 7-0 lead.
St. Francis answered back, as John Calmette rumbled in from two yards out to even the game at 7-7.
Calmette followed that with a 9-yard TD, and after a failed point-after attempt, the Golden Knights led 13-7 late in the second quarter.
As they did all night, Loyola responded with a 22-yard TD from Knyal to Giarraputo with 10 seconds to play, and the Cubs headed into the locker room with a one-point lead.
John Sanders worked his butt off for every yard he got, both on the ground and through their air.
And his third-quarter 9-yard run put St. Francis on top, 19-14, after a 2-point pass attempt failed.
Calmette scored his third TD of the night, a 3-yard run, which extended the SFHS lead to 26-14 with 10:04 to play.
So many things happened that you might not see in a stat sheet, and one of those was the play of St. Francis junior, Tim Murphy.
Murphy was around the ball all night for the Golden Knights defense, he was seen calming down teammates before a penalty turned into something worse and he picked off Knyal to end a Loyola drive in St. Francis territory.
Preston Jernegan got double teamed all night after Loyola saw film of the success that he’s had hooking up with Sanders all season.
And in speaking to Jernegan after the game, all the senior cared about was the win and that double-teaming him meant one of his teammates saw single coverage.
You can’t teach selflessness.
As exciting as the win was, SFHS coach Dean Herrington talked about how the Golden Knights can’t make nearly the number of mistakes next week against unbeaten Paraclete and expect to win.
At the very bottom of this story are interviews with Herrington, Sanders & Calmette, & Jernegan & Murphy.
To view a photo gallery by Ryan Tomey, click on the Facebook link here: Facebook
To see five others photos from Ryan Tomey that I failed to post on Friday, click on the Facebook link here: Facebook
Box Score:
L: 7-7-0-7-(21)
SF: 7-6-6-7-(26)
Scoring:
L: Khalil Cueva 63 pass from Thomas Knyal (Mark Hyan kick)
SF: John Calmette 2 run (Shawn Sanders kick)
SF: John Calmette 9 run (kick failed)
L: Duke Girraputo 22 pass from Thomas Knyal (Mark Hyan kick)
SF: John Sanders 9 run (pass failed)
SF: John Calmette 3 run (Shawn Sanders kick)
L: Duke Girraputo 5 pass from Thomas Knyal (Mark Hyan kick)
Angelus League Scores:
Paraclete 21, Cathedral 7
St. Paul 48, Crespi 7
St. Francis 26, Loyola 21
Angelus League Records:
Paraclete (6-0, 1-0)
St. Francis (5-1, 1-0)
St. Paul (3-3, 1-0)
Crespi (2-4, 0-1)
Cathedral (2-4, 0-1)
Loyola (1-5, 0-1)
Next Week’s Schedule:
St. Francis at Paraclete
St. Paul at Loyola
Crespi at Cathedral