By Pete Borello
 Photo by Bob Keys, Special to the Town Crier |
Two turnovers and 10 penalties proved too much for the St. Francis High football team to overcome last Friday night at Los Gatos.
“We shot ourselves in the foot,” St. Francis coach Mike Mitchell said of his team’s 21-6 loss. “You can’t do that against a team like Los Gatos.”
The Lancers (1-2) were docked 80 yards on penalties and lost two fumbles, including one on their opening drive.
On the 14th play of St. Francis’ initial series, which consumed seven minutes, halfback Jonathan Barsi fumbled at the Los Gatos 9-yard line. Chris Willard recovered for the Wildcats (2-0).
Although Los Gatos didn’t score off the turnover, it did manage to put together two scoring drives in the second quarter.
Quarterback Trent Edwards followed up an 8-yard scoring strike to receiver Gino Gingery with a 1-yard touchdown toss to fullback Travis Hall on the final play of the half. The extra point put the Wildcats up 14-0.
Los Gatos, which has won a Central Coast Section best 15 straight games, added to its lead early in the fourth quarter. Edwards again found Gingery, this time for a 47-yard score.
St. Francis finally got on the scoreboard with 3:44 remaining, as Mark Hoff scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper. The drive spanned 65 yards and 13 plays, with receiver Joey Fernandez making two key catches.
The Lancers had poor field position for much of the second half, often because of penalties that pushed them deeper into their own territory.
“Turnovers and penalties took us out of the game,” Mitchell said. “That’s something we have to work on.”
Barsi -who led St. Francis with 61 yards rushing - fumbled twice, though the Lancers recovered the second one. Backup quarterback Kyle Spraker also lost a fumble.
Defensively, St. Francis limited the high-powered Los Gatos offense to 258 yards. Aaron Rouleau had 12 tackles for the Lancers and fellow defensive back Kelley Jimenez made eight.
“Our defense played really well,” Mitchell said.
St. Francis hosts Skyline at 7:30 p.m., Friday.
