On October 27, Saint Francis’s Varsity Football team played against the Archbishop Riordan Crusaders in this year’s Homecoming game. The Lancers hung on for the victory, winning 27-20.
The rivalry started well before the game, as Saint Francis students began to get rowdy during the Homecoming rally that took place earlier in the day. Near the end, they started a chant as the emcee pointed out how long the Lancers have gone undefeated against the Crusaders. The Lancers have not lost to Archbishop Riordan High School since 2008, with fourteen wins and one tie.
The Crusaders began the game that night by driving down the field, highlighted by a 25-yard pass to Crusaders’ receiver Chris Lawson and a touchdown run by junior quarterback Michael Mitchell. The Lancers responded well, using the hard running of Kingston Keanaaina (’25) and a 36-yard pass from quarterback Aaron Knapp (’25) to Perrion Williams (’26) to score a touchdown.
Following a key Crusaders’ fumble that was recovered by Saint Francis’ Luke Wall (’24), the Lancers quickly fumbled it themselves and gave possession of the ball right back. In the second quarter, the Lancers made a strong stand at the goal line and forced a turnover on downs. Pinned deep into their own territory, the Lancers needed a big play and got just that with another deep pass from Knapp to Williams. Even so, the Lancers were unable to score, as penalties and strategic defense by the Crusaders buried the momentum they had.
The Crusaders then marched right back down the field, taking advantage of the Lancers’ mental mistakes and missed tackles. They took a 14-7 lead with three minutes and twenty-six seconds left on the clock in the first half with a forty-yard pass from Mitchell to Cynai Thomas. The Lancers were unable to answer after penalties ruined their drive yet again. They settled for a field goal instead and took a 14-10 deficit into the locker room.
Coming out of halftime, the Lancers quickly trotted 75 yards down the field, capped off by a forty-yard Keanaaina run to take a three-point lead. After the Lancer defense came up with a big stop at midfield, the offense took advantage and scored another field goal to extend the lead to six.
At this point, the Crusaders needed a touchdown desperately, as the Lancers would surely go down and score on their next drive. The Crusaders did exactly that but a fantastic block by Mack Mrowka (’24) on the extra point following the touchdown kept the game tied. The Lancers chewed the clock the next time their offense was on the field, relying on Keanaaina to eventually score and take a seven-point lead with just under eight minutes left in the game.
However, the rest of the game remained scoreless as an interception and a fumble recovery by the Lancers and a couple of stops by the Crusaders ended the game at 27-20.
The Lancers had certainly pulled off an excellent win that showed the grit and toughness of the team. The Crusaders were ranked higher than the Lancers by Bay Area News Group before the game, but this Homecoming game went against the odds. There is no doubt that this was a major victory for the team this season. Only one question still remains: can the Lancers run it back again next year and continue their undefeated streak?
