From Staff Reports/Photos by Ryan Tomey There were two big questions that needed to be answered in the St. Francis season opener on Friday night at Mira Costa. Would the inexperienced (at the varsity level) offensive line give quarterback Darius Perrantes enough time to get set in the pocket and allow him to pick apart […]
From Staff Reports/Photos by Ryan Tomey
There were two big questions that needed to be answered in the St. Francis season opener on Friday night at Mira Costa.
Would the inexperienced (at the varsity level) offensive line give quarterback Darius Perrantes enough time to get set in the pocket and allow him to pick apart the Mustangs’ defense?
Secondly, how would Mira Costa react to last year’s 27-point beatdown in La Canada to open the 2017 season?
In that thumping, Perrantes opened his St. Francis career with a six-TD, 305-yard effort through the air.
That second question was answered early on.
The Mustangs came out amped up and ready to play, and it showed on the scoreboard.
Mira Costa would take a 14-3 lead at the half and then upped their advantage to 21-3 in the third quarter.
Many might have thought the Golden Knights were down and out.
They are young, they trailed by 18 points and were on the road.
But if you discounted their chances of making a comeback, you’d be ignoring the history of what these guys are all about.
One of the staples in coach Jim Bonds’ program is that even in losses and games they’re playing far below their expectations, the Golden Knights always find a way to make a run.
And Friday night was no different.
St. Francis rallied to take a 22-21 lead with less than three minutes to play.
To their credit, however, Mira Costa marched down the field and scored what turned out to be the game-winning TD.
The Mustangs’ quarterback, Nick Carpino, scored on a seven-yard run with nearly one minute to play.
Mira Costa didn’t convert on their two-point attempt and led 27-22.
St. Francis got the ball back, but on a fourth-down play, a Golden Knights receiver dropped a pass that would have moved the chains.
It was the final of six dropped passes on the night for SF.
It was also the Golden Knights’ first season-opening loss in a decade.
The first question about whether the offensive line could protect Perrantes was answered as well.
They did what they could, but Mira Costa put a lot of pressure on the star SF quarterback all night.
Perrantes finished 22 of 42 for 283 yards and two scores.
The senior said three days before the season opener that he wanted to be more active in the running game.
And in week one, he led the Golden Knights with 64 rushing yards.
His two (passing) scores came on an 18-yard connection with Bryson Reeves and a 10-yard scoring strike to Jackson Burgess.
As mentioned, St. Francis had six dropped passes, a TD called back, a missed field goal, a pair of failed two-point attempts and costly penalties.
Kevin Armstead rushed for 56 yards on 11 carries and caught four passes.
Armstead’s 5-yard score with 2:50 to play gave St. Francis it’s first lead of the game since Nico Boschetti’s 26-yard field goal in the first quarter.
Mira Costa’s Koda Thormodsgaard led all runners with 76 yards on the ground and it was his 33-yard scamper that gave the Mustangs their biggest lead of the night at 21-3 just a couple minutes into the second half.
The St. Francis defense held Mira Costa quarterback Nick Carpino to just 160 yards on 11 of 24 passing.
SF will host Damien (1-1) this Friday at 7.
The Spartans are coming off a 42-7 victory over Claremont last night.
Quotable:
St. Francis coach Jim Bonds: “The fact that we were even in the game with the lead and two minutes left, is amazing given the number of mistakes we made. That begins with me. Our preparation and attention to detail needs to improve quickly! We were outcoached and outplayed by Mira Costa, so I give Don Morrow and his team credit. We will be better next week!”
Box Score:
SF: 3-0-7-12-(22)
MC: 7-7-7-6-(27)
Angelus League Scores (Aug 24)
Cathedral 33, Arcadia 10
Crespi 64, Taft 0
Salesian 7, La Salle 6
Mira Costa 27, St. Francis 22
Records: St. Francis (0-1); Mira Costa (1-0)
