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St. Francis 27, North Branch 7

With homecoming fireworks blasting overhead and a raucous crowd chomping at the bit, North Branch's gridiron crew was hoping to spoil the party in St. Francis on Friday night.

The Saints, boasting a 4-1 record, had a packed stadium jumping and screaming at their annual homecoming, since they hadn't won it in over a decade.

North Branch received the opening kickoff, although they weren't able to return it as St. Francis kicker/soccer player Tyler Dustman booted the ball into the end zone.

The Vikings put together a little bit of a drive, keeping the ball for just over three minutes while moving the ball to midfield.

After North Branch stalled and punted away, St. Francis took over with their lethal running back Jake Engnell on the brink of 1,000 rushing yards on the season already.

He passed the milestone mark on the methodical drive by St. Francis. Although a bulk of the carries went to Engnell, quarterback Tanner Aho and running back Brandon Springer got in on the action too, leading to a 15 play, 84-yard drive that took over six minutes off of the clock.

The drive was finished by Engnell on a two-yard touchdown dive. Dustman's extra point was good and St. Francis had an early 7-0 lead.

North Branch, featuring their two-headed monster of Zack Sundly and Brett Klun running the ball, put together another good looking drive that happened to stall.

Taking over on their own 20 again, both Sundly and Klun grinded out tough yards against the physically bigger St. Francis defense. Although the Saints featured a confusing looking defensive front, rarely even putting their defensive lineman into a three-point stance and moving around the whole time, it wasn't affecting the North Branch blocking scheme too much.

But, a few self-inflicted blows did affect North Branch, and their drive stalled just outside of the 40-yard line as the Vikes had to punt the ball away again.

St. Francis put together another extended drive and were knocking on the door again as the first half time was winding down. Inside of a minute, St. Francis had the ball down to North Branch's 12-yard line, but an Engnell fumble bounced right into a North Branch defenders arms and put an abrupt end to the Saints' scoring threat and the first half.

The Saints got the ball to open the second half and deviated from their ground game for a bit and it paid quick dividends.

After converting a fourth down in their own half of the field, Aho connected with one of his receivers running a crossing pattern from left to right. He caught the ball near the hashmarks and made at least four North Branch defenders whiff and managed to stay in bounds for a 38-yard catch and run for a touchdown.

The Dustman PAT was good and St. Francis enjoyed a 14-0 cushion.

North Branch wouldn't let the game get away, though. They crafted their own big drive to answer the score. Again, Sundly and Houle were the primary weapons on the drive, as was a roughing the passer call on a third down that North Branch wouldn't have converted without the penalty.

After Sundly and Klun wore down the defense, Jared Houle finished them off on only his second carry of the game. The senior running back went 23 yards to paydirt as the Vikes capitalized on some misdirection. Klun took a pitch going right to left and then pitched it back to Houle who was going left to right. The play had been quite effective all night, but none more so than the scoring play.

Trent Holmes booted the extra point through with four minutes left in the third quarter and North Branch was right back in the thick of things.

Then, with momentum on their side and the St. Francis crowd a bit tense, North Branch stepped up their play one more level, flattening the St. Francis offense after only one first down on their next drive. A key stuff by senior Kerry Konrad led to a third and long that St. Francis couldn't convert.

After the SF punt, the Vikings had a chance to tie the game with a successful drive starting at their own 30. A six-yard completion from quarterback Reid Johnson to Rance Ashley started the drive on a high note, and the Vikes started riding their horses, Sundly and Klun, down the field.

The pendulum of momentum swung back to the Saints after North Branch was forced into a fourth down outside of St. Francis's 30-yard line. The Vikings went for it, knowing Holmes didn't have the leg for a 50+ yard field goal and that it was too close to punt, and they were stopped before converting it.

St. Francis didn't waste their time capitalizing. Engnell took over the drive and 55 yards and nine plays later, the Saints extended their lead to 20-7. Dustman's kick was wide right, but the damage had already been done.

The Vikings failed to get a first down on their next drive, and with just under seven minutes remaining in the game, they were forced to punt the ball away and hope their defense could lock it up.

However, Head Coach Nick Nitti called for a fake punt, fearing there wasn't going to be enough time for two scores, while shutting down St. Francis's vaunted rushing attack for two drives in the process.

On fourth and four from the 13-yard line, the punt was snapped directly to Houle, who was the upback. He tried to squeeze through the right side of the formation, but a Saint defender tripped him up just as he was hitting the hole and stopped him well short of the first down. If he could've kept his balance through the hole, Houle would've been in the clear and he would've only had one man between him and the other end zone 86 yards away.

As it stood, though, St. Francis took over on downs with only 14 yards between them and the end zone. Engnell capped off the scoring with a 14-yard touchdown run two plays into the drive and sealed the game for St. Francis.

Sundly again led the Vikes rushing, gaining 105 yards on 23 carries for a 4.6 yard average. Klun had 53 yards on 18 carries, and Houle had 24 yards and a score on two carries.

As a team, North Branch rushed for 189 yards, but St. Francis one-upped them, gaining 277 yards on the ground, and that was the difference maker. The Saints also made the key plays, going four-of-seven on third down conversions and two-for-two on fourth down conversions, while North Branch was a combined six-for-16 in those same situations.

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