HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ROUNDUP : St. Francis Weathers Late Rally by Harvard

About the only thing that didn’t slip away from St. Francis High in the steady drizzle Saturday at Harvard-Westlake High was the game itself. Surviving mishaps with a slippery football and a furious fourth-quarter Harvard rally, St. Francis held on to post a 36-27 San Fernando League victory.

The Golden Knights (3-4, 1-1 in league play) led, 26-0, midway through the third quarter but did not put the game away until Pat Laurence’s 43-yard touchdown run with 1 minute 34 seconds to play.

Harvard (2-5, 1-1), trailed, 26-6, after three quarters before recording a safety and three touchdowns to account for 21 points and pull to within 29-27 with 3:16 to play.

A pair of St. Francis mistakes helped the Wolverines score 15 consecutive points in less than three minutes. A bad snap on a St. Francis punt skidded out of the end zone for a safety. After the free kick, quarterback Greg Peters hooked up with wide receiver Justin Ehrlich for a 22-yard touchdown to make the score 26-15.

On the next play from scrimmage, St. Francis fullback Adrian Lelea fumbled and Harvard recovered at the Golden Knights’ 24.

Harvard then executed a hook-and-ladder play with Greg Panigiotis catching a pass from Peters and immediately lateraling to tailback Jeremiah Aguolu. The play covered 24 yards for a touchdown, but the extra-point attempt failed and Harvard trailed, 26-21, with nine minutes to play.

Jim Adams kicked a 21-yard field goal with five minutes left to give St. Francis a 29-21 lead.

Peters, who completed six of 15 passes for 122 yards, then took Harvard 51 yards in five plays. Consecutive pass-interference penalties moved the ball to the St. Francis seven-yard line. Two plays later, Peters hit Aguolu with a 12-yard touchdown pass.