After several years of frustration against rivals Serra, St. Francis broke through Friday against the Padres thanks to 323 yards rushing from running back Kingston Keanaaina.
The senior running back carried the ball 34 times and scored three touchdowns to help St. Francis take down Serra 27-21, the defending Central Coast Section Open Division champions and West Catholic Athletic League rivals who have beaten the Lancers the last two years and in the CCS championship game three years ago.
“It’s crazy; I’ve never beat Serra in my life,” Keanaaina said. “That’s a great program. Credit to the coaches and the offensive line; they’ve really been able to get us through the whole week.”
The Lancers (5-1) had to dig deep for the win when Serra (2-4) stopped the Lancers’ offense on fourth down and got the ball back with 1:41 left in the fourth quarter, down by six. The Padres drove down the field to the 33-yard line and had several chances to tie the game with deep passes near the end zone. However, the Lancers were able to force one last incomplete on a fourth-and-10 rollout pass with under a minute remaining to seal the win.
“Great game for the fans, not so great for my heart,” St. Francis head coach Greg Calcagno said. “The kids responded, and we found a way.”
St. Francis linebacker Jackson Cahoon praised the team for playing with belief and making the plays needed in the final minutes.
“I knew if we did what we had to do, we would be ok. …” Cahoon said. “We came out and executed and did what we had to do.”
St. Francis opened the scoring in the game with a Keanaaina touchdown in the first quarter, but the Padres responded with an 8-minute drive in the first quarter that went 80 yards in 12 plays and finished with a touchdown from running back Feliciano Latu. Serra followed it up with an 80-yard touchdown catch by receiver Charlie Willey to take a 14-6 lead. Keanaaina added another touchdown with 31 seconds left in the first half to make it 14-13. The half was the break the Lancers needed, with St. Francis receiver Perrion Williams catching a 46-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Aaron Knapp on the opening drive of the second half. The Lancers went for it on fourth-and-3, with Knapp firing a quick slant to Williams for the completion, who broke free and raced in for the score.
After Serra punted the ball, Keanaaina broke the game open with a 76-yard score with 4:28 left in the third quarter to make it 27-14. The senior waited for holes to open in the middle of the field on his third touchdownrun instead of looking for space and trying to bounce to the outside.
“My coach told me to be more patient,” Keanaaina said of his 76-yard touchdown run. “Be more patient; it’s going to be there vertically, and that’s what I did; credit to the coaches.”
The Serra game was Keanaaina’s third game with over 300 yards rushing in his career, and they have all come this season, with one against Archbishop Mitty last week and another earlier in the season against McClymonds. His 323 yards rushing was the fourth most in school history. Viliami Teu had 344 yards rushing in 2021 against Serra. Keanaaina finished the game with 356 all-purpose yards.
Serra would not go away, thanks to a kick return touchdown from Latu on the next with 4:11 left in the third quarter. Latu finished the game with 111 yards rushing on 22 attempts.
“That’s more credit to them than anything,” Calcagno said. “That’s a good football team. (Serra) coach (Patrick) Walsh always has those guys ready to go.”
Both teams then relied on defense to make plays, with the Lancers getting a stop early in the fourth quarter when Serra was just three yards from a touchdown on fourth-and-goal. St. Francis travels to St. Ignatius (5-1) Friday, with both teams 3-0 in WCAL league play.
“We just have to worry about us,” Calcagno said after the game. “The message afterward was we just have to work on getting us better.”
