St. Francis runs wild St. Francis runs wild (September 23, 2005)

Lancers still perfect after acing road test against Los Gatos

By Scott Campbell

The raucous celebration in the visitors' locker room following the game said it all.

"We will, we will rock you," roared the victorious Lancers, a throaty chorus to Queen's hit that resonated far beyond the closed doors.

Rock you, indeed.

St. Francis did just that to a shell-shocked Los Gatos squad, overwhelming the host Wildcats 27-7 on Sept. 16.

The much-anticipated showdown between these two perennial CCS powerhouses never materialized as St. Francis bullied its way to a 21-0 lead and never let Los Gatos (1-1) find a hint of a rhythm.

"This game was a big game for us, a real big game for us," said Lancers senior tailback Matt Taufoou, who had 17 carries for 129 yards and 3 touchdowns. "It was a big highlight on our schedule. [The win] means everything. It means confidence."

On the heels of victories over Leigh and Oak Grove, this win continues to validate St. Francis (3-0) as a legitimate contender for its first CCS crown since it shared the title with Los Gatos in 2002.

The Lancers quickly made themselves at home on Los Gatos' field by forcing the vaunted Wildcats' offense to go three-and-out on its first two possessions. The St. Francis defense allowed just three first downs in the first half and kept Los Gatos quarterback Danny Sullivan under siege all evening.

"We were able to stop the run and we were able to get some pressure on [Sullivan]," said Lancers coach Mike Mitchell, whose defense recorded three sacks and two interceptions. "We didn't allow him to get set and allow them to run their crossing patterns."

Meanwhile, despite a missed field goal by kicker Michael Calcagno on its second possession, St. Francis began to take control of the game with its versatile rushing attack.

Following a 34-yard run by Taufoou and a 30-yard gain by fellow running back and co-captain Ryan Perry, the Lancers notched a 7-0 lead one play into the second quarter. Taufoou took quarterback Richie Scudellari's handoff to the left and steamrolled over Wildcats safety David Martini at the goal-line for a 10-yard score.

Aided by a Los Gatos pass interference, one of 7 penalties committed by the Wildcats, St. Francis struck again with 2:40 left in the half.

Scudellari rolled to his left and found Rhett Ellison, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound tight end, just inside the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

If anything, halftime seemed to give the Lancers even more resolve. St. Francis opened the second half with a bruising, 12-play drive that lasted nearly six minutes and culminated in Taufoou's second touchdown.

Seemingly wrapped up in a leg tackle by Wildcats defensive back Robbie Comeau, Taufoou broke free and burst to the left for a 15-yard score.

Los Gatos, the CCS Open Division runner-up to Valley Christian in 2004, was very nearly held scoreless in its home opener, just a week after thrashing Aragon 41-0.

Only an ill-advised fake punt by Lancers sophomore Ryan Van Amburg gave the Wildcats a chance against the stingy St. Francis defense. Taking possession deep in Lancers territory, Sullivan wasted no time in finding Martini, his star wideout, streaking down the left sideline for a 20-yard touchdown with 1:01 left in the third quarter.

But St. Francis' control of the line of scrimmage and the clock were too much for Los Gatos. By the time Taufoou dove in from the 1-yard line with 3:47 remaining in the game, the Lancers had eaten up another nine minutes on their drive and run the score to 27-7.

In gaining 338 total yards to the Wildcats' 111, St. Francis knew it owed much of its success to the grunt workers up front, its offensive linemen.

"Our line absolutely dominated ... and gave our backs huge holes," said Scudellari, who directed an offense that grinded out a huge edge in second-half time of possession, 19:05 to 4:55.

With bookend tackles Mark Boskovich and Joe Fakalata, a combined 595pounds, paving the way, the Lancers rolled to 285 rushing yards on the evening.

In addition to Taufoou matching his three-score performance against Leigh, Perry rumbled for 92 yards on 15 carries while Desmond Howard netted 60 yards on 8 rushes.

"We have a huge line, but not only are we huge, we've got some speed," said Boskovich, the senior left tackle. "We're not just some big fat guys, we can really move.

"We were just pushing them around. We're going to keep doing it all season. We're going to run the ball. That's our game. That's Lancer ball."

"Lancer ball" made for one happy coach afterwards, too. With only a Sept. 23 contest against Salinas remaining before his team begins the WCAL season, Mitchell pointed to Los Gatos' caliber to put the win in perspective.

"That's a good football team and I thought we played very, very well," said Mitchell. "No complaints."

E-mail Scott Campbell at sports@mv-voice.com

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