MidValleySports.Com

By Alex A. Gonzalez

La Canada —With 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Keyon Mills scored his third rushing touchdown of the night, making the score 28-27 St. Francis Golden Knights at Jim Bonds Stadium, but the Knights’ defense stuffed Mills on the 2-point attempt, sealing the win for St. Francis in the second round of the Division 6 CIF-SS playoffs Friday night. 

Running back Isaac Fajardo led the way for the Knights with 62 yards rushing on 21 carries and three touchdowns. 

“It feels great, you know. Taking a loss earlier in the season from these guys was a real bummer,” said Fajardo after the game. “This win shows who this team was the entire year.” 

With both teams going scoreless in the first quarter, the final 12 minutes of the first half became a back-and-forth contest on the cold Friday night. 

St. Francis was the first to swing when John Sanders optioned to keep the ball from the 12-yard line and score as the second quarter started. St. Francis used a balanced attack on offense but found more success on the ground thanks to both Sanders and Fajardo carrying the ball. 

Then Muir responded on their ensuing possession as they, too, chose to use the option play for their first score of the night. After being sacked for an 11-yard loss, Mills scrambled out of pocket, broke one tackle, and outran the remaining defense for the 29-yard score just three minutes later. 

The Mustangs broke the tie with 24 seconds left when Mills added his second score of the night from a yard out. The touchdown was made possible thanks to Alijah Parker, who, on the previous play, had executed a fake punt that took him 49 yards to set up Mills’ 1-yard score. The special teams unit tried to double dip on a fake kick, but the Knights sniffed it out and stopped the attempt, keeping the score at 13-7 at the half. 

Following the break, St. Francis took the lead when Fajardo capped the 13-play drive when he reached the end zone from a yard out. The Knights then extended their lead to eight when Fajardo bulldozed his way into the end zone for his second score with 2:20 remaining in the third quarter. 

Then as the final quarter started, Muir faced a fourth down and goal. Instead of going for a chip shot field goal, they made a gamble from the seven-yard line. The gamble was in their favor as Parker’s rushing touchdown and successful 2-point conversion tied the ballgame up at 21.  

The Golden Knights found themselves in a similar situation in their next series, facing a fourth and long midway through the fourth. And just like Muir, the fourth and long was converted when Sanders found Brady Cofre running a crossing route for a six-yard gain. Five plays later, Fajardo broke the tie when he reached the end zone for the third time of the night. 

With 3:45 remaining in regulation and the ball placed at the 20-yard line to start the drive, Muir was able to march down the field with little restraint from the defense. Parker was the workhorse on the drive as he touched the ball on five of the Mustangs’ final nine plays. 

However, it was Mills who was able to improvise himself out of the pocket and make a beeline for the end zone from 25 yards out with 25 seconds left. 

But then, when they went for the win, Mills just needed one more improvised play on the 2-point attempt because as he was set to hand the ball off, Parker slipped at the snap, and the St. Francis defense swarmed Mills before he could reach the end zone sealing the win. 

“We knew Muir was going to in here and battle. They battled to the very end,” said Sanders postgame. “But our guys pulled through, and we practiced for it all week, so we were ready for it.”