St. Francis High football responds in second half for 52-41 league win over Cathedral
LOS ANGELES — Facing its most arduous test thus far, the St. Francis High football team responded with its most clutch performance yet.
Trailing by 13 at halftime with its offense stumbling and its defense reeling, the Golden Knights turned in a dominant second half to defeat host Cathedral, 52-41, on the road Friday in a key Angelus League matchup.
PHOTOS: St. Francis comes back in second half to defeat Cathedral
“It shows a lot of character to be able to bounce back and come back and win a game like that,” said St. Francis Coach Jim Bonds, whose team trailed, 34-21, at halftime and responded by outscoring the Phantoms, 31-7, in the second half. “[The] guys hung in there, they kept battling, they kept battling. The fact that our guys never gave up, I think that says a lot about our team.”
St. Francis (7-0, 2-0 in league), ranked No. 1 in the CIF Southern Section Southeast Division, could only stop Cathedral (6-0, 1-0), the third-ranked team in the division, once in the first half, but forced turnovers on three consecutive second-half drives to turn the tides for good.
On a night with plenty of highlights, junior defensive back/running back Avery Williams stood tall, as he scored on a three-yard touchdown run to cut the score to 34-28 and bring the comeback to life to start the second half. He then added a pair of interceptions, the second ending with a 24-yard touchdown return and a 52-34 St. Francis led with 8:51 to play.
“What a second half he had,” Bonds said of Williams, whose interceptions sandwiched around an Andy Cesta interception. “Just night and day from the first half to the second half. I’m so happy for him, he’s just a great kid.”
Quarterback Jeremiah Martin was 14 for 24 for 202 yards passing and two scores of 10 and five yards, both to receiver Dylan Crawford (four catches for 51). Martin also rushed for 116 yards and a score, which was the go-ahead score with 10 minutes left in the game. Martin took a sneak from five yards out on third and one, was met behind the line of scrimmage, but somehow powered through all the way for the score and a 38-34 lead.
Then came the avalanche of interceptions on three straight drives, as St. Francis held Cathedral to one touchdown in the second half and 131 yards passing after giving up 330 in the first half. All the yards came on the left hand of Phantoms sophomore Andrew Tovar, who completed 37 of 53 passes for 461 yards and six touchdowns, but was held in check in the second half.
“I think the excitement of the game in the first half [got to some of the players],” Bonds said.
Running back Areg Nazarian also had a huge game for the Golden Knights, rushing for a game-high 171 yards in 18 carries and tallying two touchdowns.
Following a 39-yard field goal by Kareem Zeenni to cut the score to 34-31 in the third quarter, Martin’s go-ahead score was followed by 26-yard Nazarian run that stood as the game-winner and led to a 45-34 lead with 9:30 to play.
Offense was abundant in the first half for both teams, as they combined for 635 total yards (Cathedral had 328, St. Francis had 307).
Cathedral scored on every possession but its first, as Tovar threw for 330 yards and five touchdowns on 24 of 35 completions. The Phantoms ran just one designed rushing play.
St. Francis meanwhile, scored on its first three drives but sputtered in the second quarter, as it was outscored, 27-7, in the stanza and fumbled twice and punted on its last three possessions.
Following a 48-yard Martin-to-Carroll completion on third and seven, Martin hit Crawford, who hauled in a beautiful diving 10-yard scoring catch with 7:12 to play in the first quarter.
Cathedral tied it just over minute later before St. Francis vaulted back ahead, 14-7, with 4:23 left in the quarter when Martin hit Crawford from five out on a rollout.
Cathedral tied it again on the ensuing drive and Nazarian ran in standing up from 12 yards out to take a 21-14 lead with 8:25 left in the half.
But after Cathedral tied it again, the Golden Knights fumbled the ball away for the first of two straight possessions, with the Phantoms cashing in both for touchdowns to take a 34-21 lead, a missed extra point and a kneel down by Cathedral to end the half serving as the only relief for the Golden Knights.
But then came the second half and everything seemed to change in favor of the brown and gold.
“I think that the way the team responded in the second half is something to build on,” said Bonds, whose team is moving forward in first place looking for the program’s first league title since 1997.