Editor’s Note: I apologize for the delay. I wanted to wait for the pictures before I posted. Congrats to Etiwanda on a D-5 championship, and to St. Francis on back-t0-back title-game appearances.
Photos by Ryan Tomey
Football:
It wasn’t St. Francis’ 45-42 setback at Etiwanda in Saturday’s CIF-SS Division 5 title game that will sting for a while.
It was the way in which they lost.
With just over 20 minutes of game time remaining, St. Francis took a comfortable 35-9 lead, as Jack Jacobs rumbled into the south end zone from a couple yards out.
And while the Golden Knights and Eagles were trading punches offensively, SFHS had to feel confident as they headed into the fourth quarter with an 18-point (42-24) advantage.
But give credit to Etiwanda, as they outscored St. Francis, 21-0, in the fourth, and claimed a 45-42 victory.
During what would have to be called a collapse for SFHS or winning time for EHS, all of this happened to complete an epic rally:
St. Francis got picked, the Eagles converted on a late 4th-and-3 play to set up a score, they would then recover an onside kick, and Michael Harrison blocked a potential game-tying 43-yard field goal attempt with six seconds to play.
In the fourth period, Jaiden Moss got the Eagles started, as he scored on a 2-yard TD run to pull within 12 points of the Golden Knights.
After a Chauncey Davis pick of Jacobs, Jaymiere McDowell caught a 7-and-22 yard TD passes for Demaricus Davis.
The first closed the gap to 42-37 with just under four minutes to play.
On the ensuing kickoff, Etiwanda recovered its onside kick, and McDowell’s second TD over a two-minute stretch gave EHS its first lead of the night.
Worse yet, the Eagles left Jacobs and the St. Francis offense just 1:16 to work with.
The Golden Knights drove to the Etiwanda 25-yard line, but as mentioned, Clint Geryak’s 42-yard attempt to send the game to overtime was blocked, and an EHS celebration would ensue.
After Davis took one knee to run the final seconds off the clock, the EHS student body leapt the fence and joined the Eagles’ players on the field.
Davis finished with 461 yards passing, with nearly 300 of those coming in the final 24 minutes to stage the massive comeback.
Devyn Turner deserves so much credit for St. Francis being in a position to win a championship.
The Golden Knights running back rushed for 195 yards and five TD’s.
Zivan Ardines and Jaden Landrum combined for nearly 400 receiving yards.
Etiwanda also got a field goal from Justin Ludovico, an Ardines rushing TD, and Davis connected with Landrum on a scoring strike.
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Up next: EHS will travel to El Cajon on Saturday at 6 to battle Granite Hills in the CIF-State Division 2A So Cal Regional.
Box Score:
SF: 14-14-14-0-(42)
E: 9-0-15-21-(45)
Records: St. Francis (10-4); Etiwanda (9-5)
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