SACRAMENTO - Junior Fehoko had one heck of an 18th birthday.
The long-haired senior concluded his high school career with a lei around his neck and that iconic hair flowing in the gusty wind at Sacramento State with the St. Francis fans singing “happy birthday” following a 22-13 victory over Grace Brethren in the CIF Division 2-A Championship, the first state title in the program’s storied history.
It was a fitting way to go out for Fehoko, one of the leaders of a senior class that quietly grinded away while the juniors received most of the attention.
“Our freshman year, we had 26 guys on our team, and over time, the numbers started decreasing,” said Fehoko. “Right now, we’ve got 16 seniors. It’s where the heart is.”
Those seniors went 2-8 as a JV team in 2015, with only quarterback Reed Vettel on varsity. Even highly-touted defensive tackle Tyler Manoa was on that JV team, along with Fehoko.
“We play hard, and we’ve got some smarts,” said Lucas Andrighetto, whose interception sealed the game. Andrighetto also had a pair of crucial carries to set up the touchdown that put the game out of reach. After star running back Darrell Page went down with a toe injury, Andrighetto’s run set up Vettel’s second touchdown pass to Evan Williams on the day, a fade route to make it a two-score game with just 1:52 remaining.
It was the only score in the second half of a game where St. Francis (11-4) imposed its will on Grace Brethren with its imposing front seven and power running game. Rather than thinking outside of the box and deviating from their typical identity, the Lancers stuck with the same method that’s made them a regional powerhouse for decades.
“It’s who we are,” said head coach Greg Calcagno. “We run the same offense each year, we don’t change our defense. We’re going to run power at you all day. They did a good job stopping it, but we’re still going to run the ball.“
Grace Brethren (13-3) did largely handle St. Francis in the trenches and held Page to 103 yards on 25 carries, but St. Francis did ultimately wear down the Southern California representatives.
Page didn’t get in the end zone, but his 26-yard run in the second quarter, a forage down the sideline through a mess of would-be tacklers, set up a 1-yard Opeti Fangupo plunge to make it 15-7.
St. Francis had taken an 8-7 lead earlier in the quarter on Vettel’s 29-yard touchdown pass to Williams and a trick two-point conversion. After an offsides penalty on the extra point moved the ball to the 1, Calcagno opted to take the points off the board, and on the fake kick, Andrighetto connected with Fehoko to put St. Francis ahead, a lead the Lancers would never relinquish.
Williams’ two touchdowns were his only two catches on a day where winds in excess of 25 miles per hour limited both teams through the air.
“I felt like I had a mismatch on my man and Reed trusted me,” said the junior.
His older brother Bennett, recently named an ESPN All-American, was impressed.
“He has a lot of football knowledge,” the Illinois defensive back said of his younger brother. “He’s got what it takes to play receiver at the next level if he wants to.”
Though Vettel and Williams did hook up on a fade route to seal the game, they failed to do so earlier in the quarter on fourth down, giving Grace Brethren the ball at the 8-yard line.
It turned out to be a minor hindrance. Joshua Pakola broke through the Grace line on third down for a sack at the 2, and the ensuing punt, into the heavy winds that played a profound effect on the game throughout the day, set St. Francis up at the 26.
All three St. Francis scoring drives started inside the Grace Brethren 35.
Grace Brethren scored first on a 47-yard touchdown run by Seven McGee, who finished the day with 69 yards on 13 carries. Quarterback Michael Zele, another freshman, connected with Jermel Jones on a 72-yard pass with 2:29 left in the second, but the two-point conversion attempt to even the score failed, and Grace Brethren would only enter St. Francis territory once more, on a drive that ended at the 35-yard line in the third quarter.
That drive took over five minutes and didn’t result in any points, a peak example of traditional St. Francis football. Even the drive that ended on the failed fade route took nearly seven minutes and pinned Grace Brethren deep, which led to the game-altering sack.
With the win, St. Francis becomes the second WCAL team to win a state championship in less than 24 hours. Serra, which beat St. Francis twice on the season, won the league, CCS Open Division II and CIF Division 2-AA titles. Despite the league’s excellence, no WCAL team had won a state championship prior to this season.
