Football:

Wow.

If St. Francis goes on to win an outright Angelus League title in 2023, Friday night’s 28-21 victory in double overtime will have been the catalyst.

This particular win was enormous for a myriad of reasons.

First, the Golden Knights traveled nearly 50 miles to take on undefeated Paraclete.

They made the trip without the services of injured running back John Calmette, receiver JT Martin and wide receiver-defensive back, Jamie Lawyer.

Additionally, the St. Francis offense didn’t find the end zone until midway through the third quarter.

But the Golden Knights dodged a couple landmines, got another solid effort from its defense, and headed back to La Canada as the only Angelus League program without a loss.

The Spirits had the only first-half score on Friday.

Tyler Soles found Erik Green on a 21-yard scoring strike on their first drive of the game.

At 6:13 of the second quarter, St. Francis would catch Paraclete at 7-7, as John Sanders scored from one yard out.

The Golden Knights took their first lead of the game on an 8-yard TD run from Isaac Fajardo with the scoreboard reading 7:20 to play in the fourth quarter.

With under three minutes to go, Paraclete responded with a 35-yard TD pass from Soles to Dillon Booth.

And the game would head to overtime.

In the first period, Paraclete would regain the lead thanks to a Tyler Neal 1-yard TD run on fourth-and-goal.

The Golden Knights made it more difficult on themselves after receiving a penalty on the Spirits extra-point attempt.

St. Francis started at the 35-yard line, but Fajardo would send the game into a second overtime period with his 6-yard TD run.

SFHS got the ball first in second OT, and Sanders would score on a 1-yard TD run, and the Golden Knights led, 28-21.

On Paraclete’s ensuing possession, the St. Francis defense forced a fourth-and-20 scenario, and the Spirits pass was batted down in the end zone to secure the win for the Golden Knights.

It had to be even more special for SFHS coach Dean Herrington who led the Spirits to multiple CIF championships throughout his Hall of Fame caliber career.

Ironically, the first two league games went down to the final play, where the Loyola and Paraclete quarterbacks heaved a pass into the end zone, only to have the St. Francis defense do just enough that both passes ended up on the turf.

To view a photo gallery by Ryan Tomey, click on the Facebook link here: Facebook

Quotable:

St. Francis quarterback, John Sanders: “We definitely started off slow with mistakes that we don’t usually make, but our defense was always there to have our back, especially in the end. And I think the players who filled in for Calmette and Jamie really stepped up for us.”

Box Score:
SF: 0-0-7-7-7-7-(28)
P: 7-0-0-7-7-0-(21)

Scoring:
P: Erik Green 21 pass from Tyler Soles (kick good)
SF: John Sanders 1 run (Shawn Sanders kick)
SF: Isaac Fajardo 8 run (Shawn Sanders kick)
P: Dillon Booth 35 pass from Tyler Soles (kick good)
P: Tyler Neal 1 run (kick good)
SF: Isaac Fajardo 6 run (Shawn Sanders kick)
SF: John Sanders 1 run (Shawn Sanders kick)

Angelus League Scores
Loyola 25, St. Paul 11
Cathedral 56, Cathedral 0
St. Francis 28, Paraclete 21 (2OT)

Angelus League Standings:
St. Francis (6-1, 2-0)
Paraclete (6-1, 1-1)
St. Paul (3-4, 1-1)
Cathedral (3-4, 1-1)
Loyola (2-5, 1-1)
Crespi (2-5, 0-2)

Week 8 Schedule:
Cathedral at St. Francis
Loyola at Crespi
Paraclete at St. Paul