By Michael DUMANSKY

Coming into the final game of the regular season on Friday, the Golden Knights were put in a must-win situation to solidify a share of the league title as well as a playoff berth. Saint Francis (8-2, 2-1) was set to face its league rival, the Cathedral High Phantoms (5-5, 2-1).

Nervous but confident, the Golden Knights, led by senior running back Kevin Armstead, never needed to worry as they shut out the Phantoms 38-0.

In the first quarter, the Golden Knights capitalized on their earlier strong performance with a 20-yard passing touchdown from junior quarterback Jack Cloughtery to Bryson Reeves. The Golden Knights held the lead early at 7-0 with 7:34 left to play.

On defense, two-way player Max Garrison established two whiplashing hits on Phantoms’ quarterback Isaac Hill. These two plays on the Phantoms’ drives established a strong defensive presence for Saint Francis for the duration of the game.

“The defensive performance was great,” said Garrison. “We came into this week preparing and knowing that since last year we gave up 30 points it left a bad taste in our mouth. Tonight we had to bond together and I felt like we did an awesome job at that.”

Taking charge of the offense, senior Armstead forced his way into the end zone with a five-yard touchdown run at the 10:55 mark of the second quarter to extend the lead to 14-0.

With another forced three-and-out by the Saint Francis defense, the Knights again turned to Armstead to lead the way into the end zone to expand the lead to 21-0.

As the Phantoms tried to put up points before the half, senior Tanner Tomko snagged an interception with 21.8 seconds remaining in the half. The Golden Knight offense set up Jake Smith for a 21-yard field goal attempt before the half. Smith nailed the ball between the uprights to extend the lead to 24-0.

The Cathedral offense had no answer for the invigorated Saint Francis team and they held the Phantoms to less than 100 receiving yards on the night.

Returning from the half, the Golden Knights ran away with the game as Armstead bobbed and weaved his way into the end zone to put the score at 31-0.

The final seven-yard touchdown was by Armstead ending the game with a whopping 38-0 victory for Saint Francis.

Securing the win, Coach Jim Bonds unloaded his bench and allowed the second and third string seniors to take the field.

“It felt awesome – it was senior night, there was a lot of emotions going through my head so I just came out and played my game. We got the win  – that’s all that matters,” said Armstead after the night’s performance.

The Angelus League ended in a three-way tie among Cathedral, St. Francis, and Crespi. The Golden Knights waited to see if they would play a home or road game. Last Sunday afternoon, they found out that they would be playing a road game at Cajon High School.

The Cajon Cowboys come into the division three playoffs with eight wins and two losses in the season. This game will be the biggest test for Saint Francis as it tries to overcome one of the top seeds in this year’s playoffs.

  Michael DUMANSKY