Snow Job for Notre Dame

After carrying the ball 29 times for a career-high 214 yards and five touchdowns, tailback Trevin Lund of Notre Dame High, an expert snowboarder, felt as if he were breathing more than rarefied air from a mountain high Friday night.

“I was feeling it,” he said. “Our offensive line was great. I’m taking them out to dinner. That’s way better than snowboarding.”

Lund’s punishing running combined with quarterback Jonathon Brewster’s all-around play lifted Notre Dame to a 41-21 victory over previously unbeaten St. Francis in a game for first place in the Mission League.

Notre Dame (8-1, 2-0 in league play) broke open a 14-14 halftime tie with a three-touchdown scoring outburst to start the third quarter.

That was enough of a cushion to survive a splendid performance from quarterback John Sciarra of St. Francis, who completed 13 of 19 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns.

St. Francis (8-1, 1-1) could not slow Notre Dame’s rushing attack. Brewster gained 125 yards in eight carries, including runs of 53, 29 and 22 yards.

“We’ve had trouble stopping the run and that was obvious [Friday night],” Coach Bill Redell of St. Francis said. “In the second half, they kicked our butt.”

Notre Dame ran off more than nine minutes during a 15-play drive that started at the end of the third quarter. Notre Dame didn’t score, but was able to keep the ball out of the hands of Sciarra, who had touchdown pass plays of 69 and six yards to Brett Mitchell in the first half.

Lund kept plowing ahead, dragging tacklers with him. He runs fearlessly, an attitude he picked up from snowboarding.

“He just ran through tacklers,” Brewster said. “It was unbelievable.”

Lund had a description for his performance in his own unique way.

“It was sick, and that’s snowboard terminology,” he said.

Brewster completed nine of 14 passes for 142 yards. Daniel Browne caught seven passes for 101 yards

Cardinal Roger Mahony was on hand, watching from the St. Francis sideline in the first half and switching to the Notre Dame side in the second half.

Notre Dame clinched a tie for the Mission League title and possibly the No. 2-seeding behind Hart for the Southern Section Division III playoffs.

“We said before the game this could be the biggest game of our lives,” Brewster said.

The third quarter changed the whole game around. Notre Dame buried St. Francis with three consecutive scoring drives culminating with Brewster’s 53-yard touchdown run and touchdowns of 16 and one yard by Lund.

There was lots of testing and probing during a 14-14 first half.

Notre Dame scored on its opening possession, with Lund running 10 yards for a touchdown.

St. Francis lulled Notre Dame’s secondary into complacency by running the ball on 13 of its first 14 offensive plays. Then Sciarra faked a handoff and fired a 69-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell to tie the game, 7-7, in the second quarter.

Sciarra made the most of his six first-half passes, completing five for 138 yards and two touchdowns.

Louie Fisher blocked a 31-yard field-goal attempt by Ryan Allen of Notre Dame on the last play of the half.