MOUNTAIN VIEW – The formula St. Francis followed facing Serra on Friday night was nearly identical to the one employed by the Lancers three years ago in its last victory against the Padres.
The Mountain View school fed a talented running back – Juju Teu then, Kingston Keanaaina now – who rushed for over 300 yards against its San Mateo opponent.
But unlike 2021’s blowout victory where Teu rushed for 344 yards, Keanaaina’s 319 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries powered the St. Francis attack in a thrilling 27-21 triumph.
The senior back surpassed Charles Tharp for the most career rushing yards in team history (3,541) and tied the 1996 graduate for career touchdowns with 46, according to the team’s statistician Pat Segurson.
“Man, at this point I just feel like it is the expectation,” Keanaaina declared after his third 300-yard game of the season. “And I want to give credit to the O-line, because I am nothing without my o-line.”
After Serra stopped St. Francis on 4th and 1 with 1:47 left on the clock and no timeouts in coach Patrick Walsh’s pocket, the Padres marched downfield as quarterback Andrew Heneghan connected with Clay Hinsdale and Luke Dowd to get the ball to the 33-yard line.
The St. Francis defense stiffened and forced four consecutive incomplete passes to seal the win and preserve the program’s perfect 3-0 record in West Catholic Athletic League play.
And more importantly, it gave St. Francis’ seniors its first victory over their San Mateo rivals since they were freshmen.
“For me and the rest of the seniors, this really means something to us,” Diego Arreola said as several teammates around him took photos with family and friends to commemorate the moment.
As he so often does, Keanaaina set the tone early.
The senior star went on a personal six play, 68-yard touchdown drive to open the game, knifing through holes created by a mammoth offensive line that wanted nothing more than to impose its will on a Padres squad that had won three straight against the Lancers.
“I think we showed that we can do it, and that we’re a force to be reckoned with in the WCAL,” senior Ata Matau said.
Serra then showed why, despite graduating the vast majority of its championship core from a season ago, is still a force to be reckoned with. Running back Nano Latu rushed for 130 yards on the night, and scored the Padres’ first touchdown midway through the first quarter.
Charlie Willey then found himself 20-plus yards clear of the nearest defender on the first play of Serra’s next drive, every Lancer fooled by Heneghan’s play action fake. The 6-foot-5 receiver jogged into the end zone on a one-play, 74-yard drive down the right sideline.
“I was so proud of our effort, and it just didn’t go our way tonight on the scoreboard,” Walsh said. “You know, St. Francis is a championship ball club, and this is WCAL football and they made a few more plays than we did.”
St. Francis responded with a seven-play drive that featured a nifty 30-yard run by Keanaaina where he reversed field to get away from the Padres. He punched in his second touchdown with 30 seconds to go in the half to cut Serra’s lead to 14-13.
St. Francis decided to be aggressive on its five-play opening drive of the second half, and was rewarded. Aaron Knapp fired a pinpoint strike to Perrion Williams on 4th and 3, and the wideout did the rest after catching the curl. The junior sprinted in from 43 yards away to give St. Francis a 20-14 lead.
When Keanaaina left everyone in the dust on a 76-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter, St. Francis coach Calcagno told his team to “knock out” the Padres by getting a stop on the next drive while up 27-14.
Instead, Latu ran the ensuing kickoff back for six points, cutting the Lancer lead back to six.
“We can’t take our foot off the gas, and of course we did,” Calcagno said. “They’re a great team and a great program over there, and they’re going to respond.”
Serra got a stop, and then marched downfield on a 10-play drive that seemed destined to end with the Padres lead. Instead, it concluded with St. Francis getting the stop on fourth down on the six yard-line.
“Last year we had a great eight-down stop against Riordan that fired us up, and ever since then I’ve been seeking for a moment like that,” linebacker Jackson Cahoon said. “Tonight, we got that moment back.”
St. Francis burned around six minutes on its ensuing drive, and then shut the door on the Padres to end the game.
While Serra (2-4, 1-2) will try to rebound as it plays host to Mitty on Saturday, St. Francis will take a trip to St. Ignatius in a matchup of the best teams in the WCAL.
“They’ve got a bunch of dogs on that team, and a bunch of great players, so it should be a great game at their house,” Cahoon said.
