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Published on 10/09/1995 All articles from this issue

Prep football

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By Craig Wentz

Special to the Town Crier

There have been many changes in the world in the past 19 years, from the fall of communism to five different United States presidents. But one constant has remained the same: St. Francis has beaten Mitty every time they've met in football.

The Lancers opened up a tight game in the second half behind the running of Charles Tharp to win their 20th consecutive West Catholic Athletic League game and 19th in a row over the Monarchs, 36-8, last Saturday at Mitty.

Coming into the game, St. Francis and Mitty were ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, in the Central Coast Section, with both teams winning CCS championships last season. This was to be Mitty's best chance to upend the mighty Lancers for the first time since Gerald Ford was in office.

The game was deadlocked 8-8 at halftime, but then Tharp gained 108 yards rushing in the second half as St. Francis stunned Mitty with 28 unanswered points.

St. Francis began the game's scoring on Andrew Watt's 2-yard touchdown plunge with 2:17 remaining in the first quarter, capping a six-play, 46-yard drive. The Lancers succeeded on the conversion as Tim Cross tossed a shovel pass to Tharp for the 8-0 lead.

Following a Mitty interception at the Lancer 29-yard line with two minutes to go in the half, the Monarchs scored their only points of the game on an Adam Johnson 3-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion tied the game at 8-8.

St. Francis went ahead for good on its second possession of the third when Tharp darted off the right side and raced 43 yards for the score with 6:02 remaining in the quarter.

With the St. Francis defense making life difficult for Mitty, the Lancers put the game out of reach as Tharp duplicated his previous touchdown run by sweeping to the right and racing 53 yards untouched into the end zone early in the fourth quarter.

The Lancers finished the scoring by driving 60 yards in nine plays, culminating in Justin Sharp's 7-yard touchdown run with 2:33 left in the contest.

Tharp, a junior, found success behind the right side of the Lancer offensive line and finished with a game high 177 yards rushing on 11 carries. Watt added 53 yards rushing on 11 attempts.

The St. Francis defense stuffed the Mitty running attack in the second half and forced the Monarchs to throw on third-and-long situations. The Lancers recorded four sacks on the afternoon, while yielding only four second-half first downs.

St. Francis 8 0 14 14 - 36

Mitty 0 8 0 0 - 8

SF - Watt 2 run (Tharp pass from Cross)

M - Johnson 3 run (Johnson pass from Medaglia)

SF - Tharp 43 run (Beall kick)

SF - Cross 23 pass from Gall (Beall kick)

SF - Tharp 53 run (Beall kick)

SF - Sharp 7 run (Beall kick)

Records: St. Francis 5-1 (1-0); Mitty 4-1 (0-1).