The pouring rain and occasional swirling winds only added to the hard-nosed championship atmosphere, as Saint Francis shut out long-time rival Los Gatos, 17-0 to take the CCS Division II title. The win gave St. Francis its 15th CCS title, and its first in 10 years.
“It’s a great feeling,” said quarterback Mike Lauck. “We put in a lot of work. It’s really paying off, and it’s just a great feeling to get what we worked all season for. It feels great. I’ve never had anything like this before.”
The story of the game was defense. The Lancers recorded their third shutout in four games and their fifth for the season.
“Definitely good to go out with a win and a championship. It great to come out on top and win the trophy,” said defensive captain Domenic Andrighetto. “We haven’t had it for 10 years, so it feels great.”
The defense came up with two big goal-line stands, the first coming with 1:03 left in the opening quarter. On third-and-goal from the 7-yard-line, running back Joey Wood had the ball stripped and linebacker Grant Tinker recovered.
“That was phenomenal. We talk about getting the ball back and getting turnovers and giving ourselves a chance all the time, and they did a great job all year for us,” said St. Francis coach Nick Navarro.
Down 14-0 with over seven minutes left in the game, the Wildcats needed a touchdown. After a 14-yard run by Wood got them to the 6-yard-line, Los Gatos faced a fourth-and-goal. Quarterback Nick Bawden dropped back, but was forced to his right as the pocket collapsed. The coverage was tight in the end zone, and Bawden threw the ball away. The Saint Francis side line and crowd both erupted as the championship was with in reach.
Navarro was effusive in his praise of the defense.
“They’ve been the staple for us in a lot of games," he said. "That’s their fifth shutout of the season. Coach [Chris] Vasseur and his staff, coach Byers, coach Loh, have done a great job on schooling our players on how to play defense physically (and) tough. And they’ve just done a great job all year.”
The offense struggled to get going. In the first half, Lauck passed for just 35 yards, but he rushed for 40. Running back Alex Andrighetto initially lost one yard on three carries. The Lancers mustered just 74 yards of offense in the half.
“A lot of times, we come and figure out what’s going on in the first half, and we get things going on offense and that’s when things start to roll,” said Navarro. “We did a good job running the ball in the second half with some of the things they gave us.”
The Lancers finally scored with 4:06 left in the third when Lauck hit Charlie Clarke on the left side of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown.
The Lancers struck again less than four minutes later after a Los Gatos fumble when Alex Andrighetto ran in untouched from 10 yards. The Lancers then all but iced the game with 2:11 remaining when Patrick Fordham made a 30-yard field goal for 17-0.
Alex Andrighetto went off for 97 yards on 15 carries in the half, finishing with 109 yards of total offense.
“The line really pulled it through,” Alex Andrighetto said. “Even the fullback (could have) run through untouched. I was lucky to get it.”
Lauck was an efficient 5-of-7 for 107 yards and a touchdown, finishing with 68 yards on the ground.
“We decided to get the run game going a little bit, utilize our speed and keep blocking with that five-man box,” said an exhausted, out of breath Lauck. “We needed to get that running game going in order to get the passing game going.”
The Lancers tallied 306 yards of total offense on the night, while the Wildcats picked up 240 yards.
Bawden finished 7 of 23 for 113 yards, and Kyle Kevorkian hauled in six passes for 93 yards.
Wood rushed for 112 yards on 28 carries.
“He’s a tough kid,” said Navarro of Wood. “We knew he was going to be a tough, physical kid and we just told our kids, that’s why we play in the league we play in -- go out and let them know what it’s like.”
Said Navarro of the victory: “It’s surreal. It’s great. It’s awesome for our school, and it’s awesome for our kids."
