Sports Wrap Sports Wrap (November 26, 2004)

Lancer football advances to semifinals

The St. Francis football team advanced to the Central Coast Section Open Division semifinals with its 36-14 victory over host Leigh on Nov. 19.

After scoring the game's first 22 points, the Lancers turned to their defense to preserve the lead. By intercepting the Longhorns four times and forcing a safety, St. Francis prevented any comeback.

Matt Taufoou and Chris Reese each scored two touchdowns for the fifth-seed Lancers, which upset the fourth-seed Longhorns.

St. Francis (9-2 overall) will play top seed Valley Christian on Nov. 27 at 3 p.m. at San Jose City College. The Lancers beat their West Catholic Athletic League rival 17-14 in the regular season finale on Nov. 12. At stake in this re-match is a berth in the championship game against the Los Gatos-Aragon winner.

Eagles fall in CCS finals

Top seed Los Altos was upset by fifth-seed St. Ignatius in the Central Coast Section Division III volleyball playoffs at Leland. The Eagles saw their season end earlier then expected as they were defeated 29-31, 27-25, 25-15, 25-10.

Led by seniors Lauren Schaefer and Michelle Nelson, Los Altos went out strong in the first two games. With nine kills in the first game alone, Schaefer set the tone on offense. She would finish with 25 kills on the match, while her fellow captain Nelson had 24 assists and 10 kills.

But after the Eagles extended the first two games beyond the regulation 25 points, its defense fell victim to the Wildcats' energy.

"The fast tempo attack from St. Ignatius proved too much for us," said Los Altos Coach Dave Winn. "Eventually, they just wore us down."

Los Altos, which enjoyed a 20-match winning streak during the season as well as a second-place finish in the De Anza Division, completed its season with an overall record of 29-7.

St. Francis' title run stops at four straight

St. Francis fell just short in its attempt to win a fifth consecutive Central Coast Section girls water polo championship. The second-seed Lancers were defeated by fifth-seed Menlo 6-5 in the championship game on Nov. 20 at Independence.

After finding themselves trailing 3-0, the Lancers rallied to tie the game at 4-4 and later 5-5. Five different players scored for St. Francis.

Menlo's Kelsey Haley scored the game-winning goal for the Knights with just over a minute to play.

This marked the seventh consecutive year in which St. Francis advanced to the title game. The Lancers finished their season with a record of 25-6.
-- Scott Campbell

E-mail a friend a link to this story.