St. Francis football stops second seed, heads to semis
PERRIS — With victory for the taking and a CIF Southern Section Division III semifinal berth in sight, St. Francis High coach Jim Bonds made another gutsy play call.
On third and seven at the 50-yard line with less than a minute to play, Bonds called a play-action pass and quarterback Darius Perrantes threw a jump ball to Greg Dulcich.
And just as he did throughout the game, Dulcich came down with a big catch.
“Right when I caught it, I was just making sure to bring it in,” Dulcich said. “But when I got back to the huddle, I realized the situation and it was awesome.”
Two kneel-downs by Perrantes later and St. Francis had an upset to celebrate
St. Francis’ offense was powered by Perrantes and Dulcich, while its defense slowed the vaunted running game of second-seeded Citrus Hill and it all added up to the Golden Knights’ upset of the Hawks, 30-20, on Friday night at Citrus Hills High in the Division III quarterfinals.
The Golden Knights (11-1) held the Hawks (10-2) to their second-lowest point total of the season despite a stellar game from Citrus Hill running back Jonathan Jefferson, who had 31 carries for 209 yards and two touchdowns.
“We just wanted to slow them down,” said Bonds, whose defense contained the Hawks to 349 yards of offense, 333 on the ground. “I’ve got to give credit to [defensive coordinator] Mark Gibbons; he came up with a great game plan.
“Our guys just played with a lot of heart.”
It is the second time in three seasons St. Francis has advanced to the semifinals and it will host El Toro, which defeated Lompoc, 37-16, on Friday.
Perrantes passed for 290 yards, completing 17 of 25 passes with two touchdowns as he hit Dulcich for a 56-yard score in the first quarter and a 13-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Dulcich finished with six catches for 152 yards.
“Obviously, I’ve gotta give credit to Darius for getting me those passes,” Dulcich said.
St. Francis led throughout the game, but Citrus Hill had the momentum when it cut the Golden Knights’ lead to 23-20 early in the fourth quarter on a 32-yard touchdown run by quarterback Dee Miles. St. Francis responded with an 11-play drive that stalled on the Hawks’ 8-yard line.
Ever the gunslinger, Bonds called a fake field goal and holder/receiver Isaac Cordova threw an eight-yard touchdown to Conor McGrory and St. Francis led again by two scores, 30-20, with 6:21 to play and the Hawks out of timeouts.
“Just a couple of guys making big plays,” Bonds said.
A strong start by St. Francis led the way, as the Golden Knights scored on their first three possessions and took over on their 45 after a fourth-down attempt by Citrus Hill ended with a bad snap fumbled away.
“Our defense got a big stop to start the game,” Dulcich said.
Perrantes was three for three for 35 yards on the Knights’ opening drive, which culminated with a Kevin Armstead one-yard touchdown run with 6:26 to play in the first quarter.
Citrus Hill, answered when Jefferson scored on a two-yard run, but the extra point clanged off the left upright and the Golden Knights still led, 7-6, with 4:26 remaining in the first.
On second and 14 of the ensuing drive, Perrantes hit Dulcich over the middle and the receiver worked his way up the far sideline for a 56-yard touchdown.
Nico Boschetti’s 37-yard field goal with 8:23 to go concluded the scoring in the first half, which ended with St. Francis leading, 17-6.
“Getting up by two scores early, I think they were caught a little off-guard,” Bonds said of Citrus Hill, which had won six straight, all by at least 21 points.
St. Francis opened the second half with a four-play drive that ended with Dulcich’s 13-yard score and was keyed by a 44-yard reception from him. The Golden Knights led 23-6 after a blocked extra point.
But the Hawks didn’t go away and cut the score to 23-13.
St. Francis was stopped on its next drive, opening the door for Citrus Hill to close within 23-20.
But then came the risky calls and the rewards they produced.
Receiver Blake Howard had six catches for 56 yards for St. Francis, which got 67 yards in 16 carries from Elijah Washington.
It was a long trip, roughly 140 miles, for St. Francis to travel, but it’s happy to keep moving on.
“It feels awesome,” Dulcich said, “and I just can’t wait to get back to work for next week.”
Twitter: @TCNGrantGordon
