Photos by Dan HOLM

By Brandon HENSLEY

The St. Francis football team improved to 3-0 last Friday with a win over Monrovia, 35-13. The Golden Knights, top-ranked in the CIF Southeast Division, pulled away late with a big fourth quarter, scoring 21 points, six of them coming off an interception return for a touchdown from lineman Brody Felkel.

Coming into the fourth, the Knights led just 14-13. But running back Areg Nazarian had a long scoring run, as receiver Dylan Crawford scored on a reverse run, and Felkel’s pick-six put the game away.

Through the first three games, quarterback Jeremiah Martin has been as efficient as it gets, completing 41 of his 53 pass attempts for 857 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions. Martin’s main targets have been John Carroll and Crawford. Carroll has 13 catches for 278 yards and three scores, and Crawford 10 catches for 238 yards and two scores.

Nazarian leads the team in touchdowns with five. His play against Monrovia earned him a spot of NBC4’s “Roggin’s Heroes,” where broadcaster Fred Roggin highlights top plays from the high school scene every week. Nazarian had 156 yards on 13 carries in the game.

St. Francis is giving up 14.6 points per game, compared to scoring 42 points per game. The defense had eight sacks led by Felkel, who has a team-high three.

The Golden Knights play Friday at home where they host Canyon in a nonleague matchup at 7 p.m.