MOUNTAIN VIEW – For the first time during an unbeaten season, St. Francis trailed at halftime.
Yet, the top-seeded Lancers hustled into the locker room Friday night filled with confidence during the semifinals of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs after upset-minded Menlo-Atherton went for the jugular – and missed.
Two plays after forcing a turnover on downs just shy of the goal line, the No. 5 seed Bears attempted to extend a two-touchdown lead with under two minutes left in the first half.
But an interception by St. Francis safety Nicolas Andrighetto turned the fortunes for both teams, helping the Lancers to cut the deficit in half with 11.1 seconds left before intermission.
St. Francis established its punishing ground game in the second half and eventually pulled away for a 49-28 victory to qualify for next week’s championship game against either No. 2 seed Serra or No. 3 seed Bellarmine, who play Saturday afternoon in San Mateo.
“It’s a special team,” St. Francis coach Greg Calcagno said. “They definitely all believe in each other, they believe in us as coaches, we believe in them as players. We do what we do, we gotta believe, we gotta trust each other and good things will happen. And that was on display again today.
“The resiliency was apparent, for sure.”
M-A (9-3), which had a nine-game winning streak snapped, was nearly flawless in the first half as it jumped out to a 21-7 lead.
Bears quarterback Matt MacLeod tucked the ball for a 16-yard touchdown run after the opening kickoff, then tossed a pair of long TDs – 60 yards on a hitch route to Fresno State-commit Jalen Moss, then 58 yards on a deep post to Cal-commit Jeremiah Earby.
MacLeod finished 14-of-25 for 296 yards with a pair of touchdowns through the air and two more on the ground.
“Those are amazing boys,” M-A coach Chris Saunders said of his team. “Can’t say enough great things. They never, ever faltered or stuttered along the way when we weren’t executing early on. We doubled down, had to get better with a lot of work, a lot of early mornings and late nights. I think our product really dramatically improved.
“Obviously, came up short here today, but I know what we’re capable of. It’s too bad we have to stop playing right now.”
St. Francis (11-0) looked in serious trouble with 2:42 left in the first half after quarterback Joshua Perry was stopped inches shy on a fourth-down scramble.
M-A took over inside its own 2-yard line, but it wasn’t content to run out the clock. The gamble backfired after Andrighetto’s interception turned into points, more specifically a 10-yard TD catch by tight end Dillon Golden with 11.1 seconds left after Perry engineered an eight-play, 68-yard drive.
“Josh played awesome,” Calcagno said. “He’s just getting better and better each week. He’s really playing his tail off and doesn’t get enough credit because we run it so much. But he deserves a lot for getting us in the right spots and getting us back in the game.”
Trailing 21-14 at intermission – instead of quite possibly 28-7 – the Lancers never looked back after receiving the opening kickoff in the second half.
St. Francis middle linebacker Camilo Arquette, who often spells record-setting running back Viliami “Juju” Teu, took matters into his own hands as the night wore on.
Arquette, who intercepted a pass early in the fourth quarter only two snaps after the Lancers claimed the lead for the first time, piled up 89 of his 117 rushing yards after halftime, finding the end zone three times along the way.
“When I get in on offense, I just get the ball and don’t go down – that’s all I can say about that,” Arquette said.
“It’s playoff time,” Calcagno said. “You lose, you go home. So we’re going to bring in the hammer, too.”
Meanwhile, Teu rushed for 148 yards on 27 carries and a pair of TDs. In the first half, he broke the school mark for most touchdowns in a single season. Teu also broke loose for a 48-yard touchdown with 4:46 left in the game to make it 42-28.
St. Francis outside linebacker Peyton Warford’s interception on the next play from scrimmage, for all intent and purpose, sealed the outcome.
“I think this win shows that we’re resilient and we’ve got to play our own game,” Arquette said.
He added: “Our mentality is that the only team that can beat us is ourselves.”