By Pete Borello

Injuries caught up with the St. Francis High football team Friday night.

Playing without their starting quarterback and standout wide receiver, the Lancers proved no match for visiting Bellarmine, which prevailed 33-13.

“Injuries have hit us hard at key spots, and that’s been hard on us,” St. Francis coach Mike Mitchell said. “But the kids have hung in there, and we’re still not out of it.”

The Lancers are 4-5 overall, but their 3-1 mark in the West Catholic Athletic League keeps them alive in the race for one of the league’s two automatic Central Coast Section playoff berths.

If St. Francis can beat host Mitty (4-0, 9-0) Friday, the two teams will share the league title. If the Lancers lose the season finale, set for 7 p.m., they’ll need Riordan to beat Bellarmine Saturday to have a chance at CCS.

That’s the more likely of the two scenarios, considering Mitty is ranked No. 1 in the section.

“They’re just solid all-around,” Mitchell said. “No one has stopped them in our league or moved the ball on them.”

St. Francis struggled moving the ball against the rival Bells, scoring just once in the first three quarters and producing only 219 yards of total offense.

With quarterback Mark Hoff (knee) and explosive receiver Joey Fernandez (hip) out for the season, the Lancers’ air attack never really got off the ground.

Kyle Spraker, in his first varsity start, completed 10 of 21 passes for 91 yards. Nine of his completions went to running backs, including a 31-yard touchdown toss to William Taufoou in the fourth quarter.

St. Francis’ passive passing game allowed Bellarmine to key on stopping the run, which it did effectively. The Lancers mustered a mere 98 yards rushing on 34 attempts and fumbled twice.

St. Francis’ leading rusher: Taufoou with 38 yards.

Bellarmine (2-2, 6-3) had little trouble running the ball.

The Bells piled up 201 yards on the ground, 157 of those courtesy of halfback Jarred Belser. The speedy junior scored three touchdowns, including a 27-yard dash late in the third quarter in which he was barely touched.

“He was a little quicker than our defense,” Mitchell said.

St. Francis’ initial touchdown came on Jonathan Barsi’s 4-yard run in the opening quarter.

Score by qtrs

1 2 3 4 Final

Bellarmine 6 14 7 6 33

St. Francis 6 0 0 7 13

Scoring

B - Gonzales 1 run (kick failed); Belser 11 run (Johnson kick); Shull 12 pass from Gonzales (Johnson kick); Belser 27 run (Johnson kick); Belser 30 run (kick failed).

SF - Barsi 4 run (pass failed); Taufoou 31 pass from Spraker (Lee kick).

Total net yards

B - 320 (201 rush, 119 pass).

SF - 219 (96 rush, 123 pass).

Leading rushers

B - Belser 17-157, 3 TDs; Savor 5-29.

SF - Taufoou 8-38; Barsi 7-26, TD.

Leading receivers

B- Shull 5-83, TD; Lyle 1-36.

SF- Barsi 4-72; Ribero 4-29.

Leading passers

B- Gonzales 6-8-0-119 yards, TD.

SF- Spraker 10-21-0-91 yards, TD.