GIULIANO ORSI, MITTY
Prep2Prep Student Contributor

October 15, 2016

MOUNTAIN VIEW – From the start of the game, there was little doubt in St. Francis’ minds that they would be able to take care of the visiting Archbishop Mitty Monarchs. In the beginning of the second quarter, junior star quarterback Reed Vettel lofted a 21-yard pass into the outstretched arms of wideout Bennett Williams, who landed on his feet into the back of the end zone for the score. From then on, the Lancers (6-1, 3-1) surged to a 42-0 win, shutting out a tough Mitty (4-3, 2-2) team.

After a stunning loss at Serra in the previous week, St. Francis was looking to make a change and rise out of the four-way tie for second place in the WCAL race. Right from the get-go, the Lancers were dominant on the defensive side, and followed up just as well on offense. Vettel, along with three-star senior running back Cyrus Habibi-Likio, led the way throughout the game on the offensive side of the ball. Vettel finished with only four completions on eight attempts, but threw for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Habibi-Likio had 24 carries, which totaled to 128 yards and two trips to the end zone of his own. In total, the Lancers picked up 361 yards, which was mostly in thanks to the defensive effort.

“Our defense set the tempo, they shut them down,” said Habibi-Likio on his team’s big win. “The O-line also did a heck of a job, which made it much easier for me to find the holes to run.”

Much of the success on offense for St. Francis was built up from the momentum of the defensive effort, which stood strong throughout the entire night. The Lancer defense intercepted Mitty’s Phillip Tran once in the first quarter, which was a throw picked off by senior captain Dominic Graziani from his linebacker position that would set up the first touchdown of the game for St. Francis. The Lancers also sacked Tran twice, being brought down once by sophomore Joshua Pokola and the second by the combination of seniors Joseph Lynam and Jadan Harris. Perhaps the most impressive defensive stat for St. Francis on the night were the eight Mitty possessions that ended in punts.

The stifling St. Francis defense held Mitty to a total 215 yards, and of course, no points. Tran completed 18 of 31 attempts for 135 yards, but wasn’t able to get the offense into the flow that we’ve been seeing from the Monarchs against tough opponents, such as Valley Christian from a few weeks back. Senior running back Zondre Faraj-Washington ran for 52 yards on 15 carries, and was the leading rusher on the night for the Monarchs.

After the frustrating loss, he said, “We’ve got practice tomorrow and we’re gonna watch film. Just prepare for next week, and focus on the next game.”

After a scoreless first quarter of play, St. Francis was able to get the ball rolling, and held a 14-0 lead going into the half. In the third quarter of play, Habibi-Likio ran the ball on a whopping 10 straight plays from scrimmage, which was topped with a 24-yard burst to the outside for the touchdown. “Offensively, we protected the ball well,” said St. Francis coach Greg Calcagno. “We got on the scoreboard after a few big plays, which certainly helped us.”

Following a Mitty punt, Vettel launched a 59-yard bomb that resulted in six points to senior wide receiver Jordan Bains, whose brother, Brandon, would later score the final Lancer touchdown on a 50-yard rush in the fourth quarter.

The Lancers were predicted to end the season with a clean sheet in the loss column, however they definitely didn’t let a disappointing OT loss at Serra the week prior affect them.

“We licked our wounds and tried to get better,” said Calcagno about last week’s defeat. “We learned some things from that game, hopefully it helps us down the road.”

With the commanding win over the Monarchs, St. Francis surely made a statement that they are still one of the top teams in WCAL, and will hope to carry on the winning vibe for the rest of the season.

"We took the Serra loss personally, but we came out and got the win. It was very humbling, but we know we're still a great team," said Vettel.

St. Francis faces Sacred Heart Cathedral on the road next Friday night, while Mitty tries to bounce back as they host a gritty Serra Padres squad in a day game on the Monarch campus.