MOUNTAIN VIEW - Even without three-star running back Cyrus Habibi-Likio, the St. Francis Lancers were still able to run all over the Mountain View Spartans, en route to a 56-27 victory in the CCS Open II quarterfinals.
Back-up running back Brandon Bains and sophomore call-up Darrell Page picked up Habibi-Likio's load with no problem.
On the Lancers' first play from scrimmage, Bains took the handoff and ran 47 yards for the score to make the lead 7-0, setting the tone for the rest of the game. In fact, the Lancers scored five touchdowns on only three offensive possessions, in the span of a quarter. Their next score came on another run by Bains, this time going 27 yards untouched into the end zone and extending the lead to 14-0.
"We got on them early," said St. Francis head coach Greg Calcagno.
The next touchdown came on a fancy punt return. Maurice Wilmer caught the punt just inside the 50-yard line and took it about 10 yards. Just as he was about to get tackled, Wilmer lateraled the ball to the other return man, Garrett McCarthy, who reversed fields and crossed the goal line making the lead lopsided at 21-0. Saint Francis ended their first half scoring with two more touchdowns, one being a 23-yard scamper by McCarthy out of the wildcat formation, and an interception return for a touchdown by Mitchell McCabe. The half ended at 35-7 in favor of the Lancers.
Mountain View came out strong in the third quarter. Quarterback Colin Dickerson spearheaded the mini-comeback with a pair of touchdown runs. He went 52 yards on an option keeper, and repeated the look for a six-yard score. The Spartans added another score late on a halfback pass from Elias Davidson to Tommy Resnick, but that would not be nearly enough with the final at 56-27.
"We tip our hats to Mountain View they did a heck of a job coming back in the game," Calcagno said. "(The Spartans) made us nervous and made us put some of our guys back in the game."
With the score sitting at 35-21 with only nine minutes of play left, the Lancers were looking for one last score to put the game on ice. They got three. A trio of physical runs - 10, 11, and 61 yards - by Page finished off the relentless Spartans.
"He (Page) is a sophomore and we brought him up from the JV team; he is a really good player," praised Calcagno.
Page resembled Carolina Panthers running back Mike Tolbert, consistently breaking tackles and fighting for extra yards, even when four guys were trying to bring him down.
Page and Bains did their job Friday night by filling the shoes of Habibi-Likio.
"He (Habibi-Likio) should be back next week," said Calcagno.
Looking ahead, St. Francis will move on to the semi-finals of Open II, while Mountain View heads home for the off-season. However, the Spartans should not be discouraged as they made it relatively close in the second half despite all odds being against them.
As for the Lancers, they will face WCAL rival Serra, who knocked off the Leigh Longhorns by a score of 45-14. In the regular season, this match-up went for Serra in a thriller, as the Padres handed the Lancers their only loss of the year, 41-40 in overtime.
