St. Francis rebounded from its CCS Open Division II title game loss to Oak Grove with a 29-7 win against Pleasant Valley-Chico Saturday night in the Division II-A NorCal championship game.
The Lancers will now advance to their first state playoff bowl title game, as they will play host Citrus Hill at 6 p.m. Saturday for the II-A playoff bowl title. Citrus Hill-Perris is in Riverside County, three miles southwest of Riverside.
Almost all of the title games not being held at Sacramento State are being played in Southern California because Sac State is considered a home venue for the five NorCal participants playing there.
The Lancers (12-2) were led against Pleasant Valley by Darius Thomas, who caught three touchdown passes from quarterback Kamali’I Akina.
Bennett Williams had two interceptions for the WCAL co-titlist Lancers and Lutoviko Ahoia had a 3-yard touchdown run.
The Lancers have long been a Bay Area power in football, but had not made it beyond the CCS playoffs until this season -- mostly because the playoff bowl system hasn't been in play for all that long.
The Lancers won their first WCAL title in 1973, led by running back Dan McCrone and tight end Doug Cosbie, who later played for the Dallas Cowboys. McCrone played at San Francisco State before it dropped its football program.
