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No. 1 St. Francis falls in quarterfinals against La Serna

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WHITTIER — In the end, it was not a 17-point deficit that was too much to overcome.

It was the four-point lead grasped by the St. Francis High after a riveting comeback that wasn’t enough to hold off La Serna.

It all added up to the No. 1-seeded Golden Knights losing to the host Lancers, 38-35, in the CIF Southern Section Southeast Division quarterfinals, falling for the first and final time of the season.

PHOTOS: No. 1 St. Francis High’s season comes to an end with 38-35 loss to La Serna

“They did some great things,” said St. Francis Coach Jim Bonds of La Serna, the defending Southeast champion, which will now travel to Glendale to take on Crescenta Valley in the semifinals. “They’re a well-coached team.”

St. Francis, ranked No. 1 for the duration of the year, ended its season at 11-1, while the Lancers (10-2) run on in search of a repeat.

With its offense starting to click and its defense finally able to hold, the Golden Knights had come all the way back from a 24-7 first-half deficit with consecutive scoring drives to open the second half.

But after senior John Carroll hauled in a 10-yard, go-ahead touchdown with 3:31 to go in the third quarter for a 35-31 lead — the Golden Knights’ first and only advantage of the game — La Serna turned the tide for good.

Embarking on an 18-play, 80-yard drive that methodically chewed up eight minutes and 34 seconds, La Serna scored the game-winner when quarterback Enrique Pacheco found receiver Jonathan Wise for a two-yard score and a 38-31 lead. But for the duration of the game, it was La Serna’s running game, its quickness and misdirection out of a shotgun and wing-T formation that gave St. Francis fits.

“They just did a great job of keeping us off-balance all night,” Bonds said. “We didn’t know where the ball was going a lot of the time. They were just getting too many yards a clip.”

In all, La Serna gained 311 yards in 49 carries.

While the game on the field was dramatic, the losses on the St. Francis sideline were also problematic, as the Golden Knights played without star quarterback Jeremiah Martin, who had 39 total touchdowns, and linebacker Matt Bayle, the team’s second-leading tackler.

“The next guy’s gotta step up,” Bonds said.

While the veteran coach refused to blame injuries for the loss, Bayle and Martin’s absences were certainly felt.

Nonetheless, quarterback Mile Bryant filled in admirably, completing 12 of 18 passes for 267 yards with scores to Carroll and Jasher Foster (three catches for 113 yards) and two scores to Dylan Crawford, who had five catches for 147 yards, but was shut down in the second half when the Lancers’ defense had two defensive backs on him the entire time.

“Miles played his butt off,” Bonds said. “He did a great job managing the game.”

Running back Areg Nazarian (nine carries for 48 yards) scored on a five-yard run on the first drive of the third quarter to pull the Golden Knights to within, 31-28.

After La Serna kicked a field goal on the game’s opening drive, the Lancers held St. Francis to a three-and-out. The Lancers took over and after a nine-yard Ruben Rios scoring run held a 10-0 lead.

Looking shell-shocked, St. Francis still responded when Bryant hit a wide-open Crawford in stride for a 65-yard score.

Bur La Serna scored on its first three offensive drives for a 17-7 lead and then disaster struck for the Golden Knights.

A St. Francis fumble, that seemed to stay on the ground for a good 10 seconds, was recovered and returned 20 yards for a score by Steven Ruiz and a 24-7 lead.

The Golden Knights began to find a rhythm though, as Foster scored on a 75-yard screen play, the St. Francis defense held for the first time and Crawford found pay dirt again, grabbing a 66-yard score on a play-action pass from Bryant.

But it was La Serna that stole the momentum with a touchdown with just three seconds to go in the half following a 12-play, four-plus-minute drive.

Following the aforementioned longest drive of the game for La Serna, St. Francis went three and out, then was able to finally force a punt after a three-minute Lancers’ drive. But with 2:05 left and 83 yards to go, it wasn’t meant to be for the Golden Knights, as a La Serna interception on second down sealed the game.

Said Bonds: “It should never come down to one play.”

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