LINWOOD — St. Augustine Prep football coach Pete Lancetta talked to his players about the importance of responding after the Hermits’ loss to Winslow Township last week.
The Hermits may not have played the cleanest game Friday against Mainland Regional, but they made things happen when they needed it most, none as big as Danny Francis’ fumble recovery.
The Mustangs were at the Hermits’ 30-yard line with 1 minute, 30 seconds left with the chance to tie the game or force overtime, when the ball hit the wet ground and Francis scooped it up and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown, propelling the Hermits to a thrilling 17-7 win.
The Hermits (4-1), ranked fifth in The Press Elite 11, were dealing with some injuries and played without standout running back Roman Coney. The Mustangs fell to 2-3.
“Not for nothing, but we are down a few guys,” Lancetta said. “But we said to them ‘Hey, some of you need to step up. And the bottom line is win the game. I don’t care. Win it ugly. Win it however, but we gotta win this game because of where we are at in the season.'”
Luke Tanzola nailed a 34-yard field goal with 3 minutes, 47 seconds left in the third quarter to give St. Augustine a 10-0 lead,
Mainland responded with a 12-play, 57-yard scoring drive, capped by John Franchini’s 7-yard touchdown run, to cut the Hermits’ lead to 10-7 with 9:44 remaining in the game.
Mainland’s defense then forced a punt with 4:59 left in the game. After a 19-yard pass from Franchini to Chase Hoag and ensuing roughing the passer call, the Mustangs were set up at the Hermits’ 30.
Then the unexpected happened as the ball slipped out of the hands of a Mainland player, which Francis recovered and ran back, silencing the Mainland bench and home crowd.
“They had momentum going down the field on that last drive. We all kept our heads in the game,” Francis said. “It has been a back-and-forth battle the whole time. We kind of knew it was going to be like that at the end. Everyone kept their heads up and kept knowing what we had to do, and when crap hit the fan, we came up big.
Johnny Chirico scored a rushing TD in the second quarter. He rushed for 42 yards, and teammate Ty McLeer a game-high 124.
“We are down a lot of guys and we just kept pushing,” Chirico said. “We just kept pushing until the end. Nobody gave up until the last second.”
The Mustangs and the Hermits compete in the West Jersey Football League American Division, the top division in the league. Both programs are talented, and Mainland has won three consecutive sectional titles.
Mainland punted on its first three drives of the game. The Hermits punted on their first two. The Mustangs’ Lucas DeBiaso intercepted a pass on the Hermits’ third drive.
On the ensuing drive, Mainland was forced to punt again, but the snap was high and the Hermits recovered at the Mustangs’ 35. On the next play, Hoag recovered a fumble for Mainland.
“I think the Mainland coaches game planned very well against our defense,” Francis said. “They were coming at us. We were going at them. They stopped coming at our necks, honestly.”
Mainland then marched to the Hermits’ 12, but missed its field goal attempt.
St. Augustine’s Ty McLeer then rushed 62 yards, setting up Chirico’s 4-yard TD run to give the Hermits a 7-0 lead with 49.2 seconds left in the first half.
“I just knew I had to punch it in, so I gave it everything I got. That’s what I did,” Chirico said.
McLeer’s run was on third-and-2 and provided the Hermits with some much-needed life.
“They work hard, they practice hard and they play hard,” Lancetta said. “Listen, Mainland does a great job. That offense that they are running there, it’s good.”
Franchini rushed for 97 yards for the Mustangs. He also threw for 82 yards. Hoag finished with 64 receiving yards and 46 rushing yards. DeBiaso added 28 rushing yards. The offense was really moving the ball in the second half.
Lancetta said Mainland “put their own spin” on the Wing-T offense, which he ran when he was the head coach at Hammonton.
“It’s tough, especially with a quarterback that can run like that,” Lancetta said. “Franchini is really good.”
St. Augustine will now have a bye week before playing at Lenape on Oct. 10. St. Augustine and Holy Spirit both will have a bye next week and moved their annual rivalry game to Oct. 31 at the end of the season to avoid a long rest before the playoffs, Lancetta said.
“It comes at a good time because, I think, after the bye is over, we will get some people back, some who haven’t even played all season. That’ll be a good shot for us. We just have to get ready for the next run,” Lancetta said.
Contact Patrick Mulranen: 609-272-7217
PMulranen@pressofac.com
Twitter @ACPressMulranen
Can’t get enough High School sports? Get the latest scores, game highlights and analysis delivered to your inbox each week
* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Get in the game with our Prep Sports Newsletter
Sent weekly directly to your inbox!
* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Patrick Mulranen
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
Your notification has been saved.
There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Followed notifications
Please log in to use this feature
Log In
Don’t have an account? Sign Up Today