The St. Francis football team had a chance to earn at least a share of the Angelus League championship with a win over St. Paul and a Loyola loss to Cathedral. The latter fell into place as Cathedral dropped Loyola 21-3. But St. Francis was still clinging to a one-possession lead late in the game while that was happening.
However, Devyn Turner kicked an already outstanding performance into a higher gear as he scored two of his five touchdowns late in the game to lift the Golden Knights to a 49-20 win and at least a share of the league championship on Friday night.
Turner rushed for 217 yards on 17 carries and caught two passes for 57 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown reception.
St. Francis (7-2, 4-0) can now win the league championship outright next week with a win over Loyola.
The Golden Knights were up 28-12 early in the fourth quarter when quarterback Jack Jacobs fumbled. Devaughn Garner-Egans scooped up the ball and ran for a 15-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion pass from quarterback Andrew Maushardt to Orlando Zepeda cut the St. Francis lead to 28-20.
Turner then took over on the next possession. He took a handoff and cut left for a huge 58-yard run that set up a first-and-goal at the Swordsmen 8. He then took a pitch on the next play to run for an 8-yard touchdown that gave St. Francis a 35-20 lead.
St. Paul marched on the next drive down to the Golden Knights 32 before Preston Jernegan intercepted a Maushardt pass and raced down the left sideline for a 77-yard touchdown return that broke the game open 42-20 with 6:22 remaining.
Turner capped the scoring after the Golden Knights forced St. Paul to punt. He ended a four-play, 43-yard drive with an 18-yard run to give St. Francis a 49-20 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the game.
Jacobs completed 8 of 15 passes for 136 yards for St. Francis. He tosses two touchdown passes and threw one interception.
Maushardt completed 11 of 35 passes for 202 yards, one touchdown pass and three interceptions.
Ty Bowers rushed for 85 yards on 14 carries for the Swordsmen. Christian Melendez carried the ball 19 times for 58 yards for St. Paul.
St. Francis took an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter after Jett McCullough intercepted a Maushardt pass at the Swordsmen 43. The Golden Knights scored three plays later when Turner took a handoff up the middle and quickly cut left for a 35-yard touchdown run.
St. Paul though recovered from the opening possession turnover and marched 80 yards down the field in seven plays to cut the Golden Knights lead to 7-6 later in the first quarter. Maushardt hit Braedon Simonian in the left corner of the end zone for a 16-yard scoring pass. The PAT though was blocked.
It was a drive that was ideal for the Swordsmen as they ran the ball six of the seven plays and ate just over four minutes of the clock which kept the ball away from the high-scoring Golden Knights offense.
St. Paul took a 9-7 lead early in second quarter when Abraham Navalta nailed a 33-yard field goal that was set up by a shanked 3-yard punt that gave St. Paul the ball at the St. Francis 43.
The Golden Knights punted on their next possession but pinned St. Paul back at its own 3. The Swordsmen went three-and-out and a 24-yard punt set up the Golden Knight offense at the St. Paul 33. After an offsides penalty, Jacobs found a streaking McCullough down the right sideline for a 28-yard touchdown strike that gave St. Francis a 14-9 lead.
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The Golden Knights defense forced the Swordsmen to punt again and took advantage of good field position, getting the ball at the St. Paul 49. St. Francis marched to the St. Paul 8 and scored when Turner took a handoff and scampered for his second touchdown. The PAT was subsequently blocked.
St. Paul held the St. Francis offense to only 98 total yards in the first half. Jacobs struggled in the first half, completing only three of nine passes for 56 yards.
The St. Paul offense didn’t fare any better in the first half, managing only 144 total yards of offense. Maushardt completed only two of nine passes for 12 yards and an interception.