UPLAND – Once the early, fifth-grade recess-type zaniness subsided and a semblance of order was restored in the second half, Saint Francis proceeded to make a strong argument for itself to be worthy of the NAIA football playoffs that will begin in two weeks.
Facing playoff elimination each game since their second loss of the season three weeks ago, the No. 11 Cougars recovered from a buffoonery-filled first half to score 32 unanswered points in the second to rout Taylor 46-14 on Saturday.
“It was almost comical,” Saint Francis coach Kevin Donley said of the first two quarters. “We were laughing (at halftime) because of all the blunders in the first half. We were tied up at 14, but we gave them 14. We were kind of laughing about it. We had to settle down and relax.”
Because Saint Francis (7-2, 3-2 MSFA Mideast League) settled down, the fans who filled the stands behind the bench were able to relax.
Quarterback Justin Boser atoned for three first-half interceptions with two second-half touchdown passes. Sophomore linebacker Justin Juarez’s third interception of the game was returned 30 yards for a touchdown. And a Cougars defense that was the true constant of the afternoon kept Taylor (4-5, 2-3) out of the end zone even though the Trojans – by virtue of a penalty – ran seven consecutive plays inside the 10-yard line but walked away with nothing.
“Sometimes when you get your back pushed up against the wall, all you want to do is fight your way out of it,” Saint Francis defensive end Tony Moore said. “When somebody crosses our goal line on defense, we take it personally, and when somebody gets in our red zone, we take it personally. We kind of looked at each other and said, ‘Hey, they’re not getting in.’ They can walk away with three, but they’re not walking away with seven.”
Serious stuff after the first two quarters.
“It was awfully strange,” Moore said. “I don’t think I’ve seen such a weird first half in my life.”
It began 63 seconds into the game when Boser’s pass was picked off by Taylor and returned 80 yards for a score. Twelve seconds later, Austin Coleman returned the kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown.
But it was on a Saint Francis field-goal attempt when the doors of madness swung wide open.
Kollin Carman bobbled the snap, ran backward, then flipped a blind lateral to … Taylor’s Nick Gathrite, who caught the ball in full stride and sprinted 72 yards untouched, making it 14-7 Trojans.
“I saw (kicker Emerson) Ueber there and I was like, ‘Maybe I can get it to him,’ ” Carman said.
“And then I didn’t see the guy on the right, and I tossed it and he took it and he went for a touchdown.”
And then came Juarez’s second interception in Taylor territory during the final minute of the first half.
Juarez flipped the ball to Ross Bauman, who lobbed it to Allen Richardson, whose fumble was recovered by Taylor Brown.
Saint Francis might’ve retained possession but missed the field goal at the end of the half.
“Those kids were laughing about how goofy the whole thing was,” Donley said. “There was a confidence there that we were going to get it done.”
