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St. Francis Football Team Plays at State Championship Game for the First Time in History

by Jenna Confer on November 22, 2016

The St. Francis Indians matched up against a talented Osborne team Saturday, November 18 for the Eight-Man, Division I State Championship game. The game was held in Newton, Kan. on Fischer Field. The Indians fought a tough battle, but ultimately came up short with a final score of 38-24.

In the first quarter, the Indians fell behind as Osborne scored right away. “Osborne came out with a little more fire than us and we had to catch up quick,” said Jeremiah Neitzel, Saint Francis senior.

Scoring two touchdowns in just more than six minutes the Bulldogs gained the lead. They then went on to score with two seconds left in the second quarter to end the first half with a 22-6 lead.

Throughout the game there were questionable penalty calls made by the refs, like when Osborne’s quarterback punted the ball twice in the same play. Indian players were surprised by the disproportionate amount of penalty calls that were being made against them compared to Osborne’s calls.

“In past games, we have never been called as much as we did in this game. We don’t make mistakes like what we were being called for,” said Neitzel.

The third quarter was completely different than the rest. The Indians came back after halftime fired up and ready to play. Quarterback Quinton Cravens, Saint Francis senior, saw an opportunity to run the ball across the goal line and with an injured hamstring hopped across the goal line to secure a Sainty touchdown. The Indians then took their first lead of the game with Cravens’ 50-yard completion down the left sideline to Brock Waters making the score 22-24. “It was like last week’s game against Spearville,” Cravens said. “We came out after halftime fired up and ready to play another half.”

In the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs responded by scoring two more touchdowns and subsequently stealing away the championship. “They came into the game with a chip on their shoulder because we beat them so bad last year,” said Brock Waters, Saint Francis senior.

This team made history by being St. Francis’s first football team to ever make it to the state championship game. The community showed their support for them throughout their entire season. The Indians ended their season with an unprecedented 11-1 record.

“It was an experience that will never be forgotten by players as well as fans,” said Katie Schmid, Saint Francis senior. “I am so proud of those boys. They accomplished so much in their journey. They will always be number one in our hearts.”