Of the three programs vying for an Angelus League championship on Friday, only St. Francis had control of its own destiny.
With a win, the Golden Knights would have the key to the Angelus penthouse.
Unfortunately, Loyola had other plans, and defeated SFHS, 28-27.
But not without some last-second drama.
St. Francis trailed 28-14 in the fourth quarter, but they worked their magic, and on the last play of regulation, Jack Jacobs found Antonio Merlos on a 5-yard TD to pull within one point of the Cubs.
SFHS coach Dean Herrington elected to go for the two-point conversion, and the Loyola defense broke up the pass in the back of the end zone to escape with a 28-27 victory.
Instead of an outright Angelus League championship, St. Francis will have to settle for a three-way share with Cathedral and Loyola.
The Cubs defense held Devyn Turner to just 37 yards rushing, but the Allen, Texas transfer had a pair of 1-yard TD runs.
And he caught six passes for 64 yards.
Jack Jacobs had a huge night in his final regular season game for St. Francis.
Jacobs was 28-of-43 for 385 yards.
Along with his last-second TD to Merlos, Jacobs and Preston Jernegan hooked up on a 6-yard TD to pull within 28-21 in the fourth quarter.
DruShun Phillips caught six passes for 130 yards.
Merlos had a game-high eight receptions for 72 yards.
Up next: St. Francis will get its playoff opponent tomorrow at 10 am.
To view the brackets then, go to www.cifss.org.
To view a photo gallery by Ryan Tomey, click on the Facebook link here: Facebook
Box Score:
SF: 0-7-7-13-(27)
L: 7-14-7-0-(28)
St. Francis Scoring Plays:
Devyn Turner 1 run (Clint Geryak kick)
Devyn Turner 1 run (Clint Geryak kick)
Preston Jernegan 6 pass from Jack Jacobs (Clint Geryak kick)
Antonio Merlos 5 pass from Jack Jacobs (pass failed)
Angelus League Scores:
St. Paul 42, Crespi 7
Cathedral 42, Paraclete 0
Loyola 28, St. Francis 27
Angelus League Standings:
Cathedral (8-2 overall, 4-1 in league)
St. Francis (6-4, 4-1)
Loyola (5-5, 4-1)
St. Paul (4-6, 2-3)
Paraclete (1-9, 1-4)
Crespi (0-10, 0-5)