By Steven Zitolo
The move back to the top division of the CHSFL hasn’t equated well for St. Francis Prep.
The Terriers are still in search of their first league win. St. Francis was not able to put any points on the board until the third quarter and fell to host Mount St. Michael 39-13 last Saturday afternoon. The tough season has not affected the team’s effort. Even when they were down, they kept fighting to try and rally themselves back into the game.
“The kids never gave up,” St. Francis assistant coach Richie Carroll said. “They kept pushing all day long.”
The Terriers had their first scoring chance midway in the second quarter when they drove down the field to the Mount 25-yard line, down 16-0. SFP’s field goal attempt went wide right. St. Francis offense was quiet after that. Mount St. Michael (1-4, 1-3) got two rushing touchdowns from Jean-Louis Woodley and quarterback Darius Hodges ran and threw for a score.
St. Francis Prep’s 13 points came on defensive. Senior defensive back William Kobel recovered a fumble and returned it 50 yards for the score with 53 seconds remaining in the third quarter. On the next drive Prep was able to recover another fumble on a failed option play that was recovered and returned for a score of 45 yards by junior linebacker Corin Brown.
“The defense played tough all day,” Carroll said. “The opportunity arose for them to put the ball in the end zone and they did it. I have to tip my hat to the kids for never giving up and continuing to play.”
The Terriers (1-5, 0-4) have struggled after the graduation of a talented senior group. They still see time to improve to make a post-season run.
“Every week we are working to get better and better, knowing the playoffs are upcoming,” Carroll said. “We are putting together strong performances in practice. As long as we keep working hard and are trying to get better, we will put the best product out there for the playoffs.”
