St. Francis blows out Hales Franciscan

Touchdowns - and freezing rain - poured down for St. Francis on Friday night. The host Spartans jumped out to a 33-0 first-quarter lead and finished with a 54-0 victory over Hales Franciscan during nonconference action in Wheaton.

St. Francis (5-1) scored on its first six drives of the game, while Hales Franciscan struggled to hold onto the slippery ball. St. Francis opened with a 21-yard touchdown run from junior Bob Miller to jump out to a quick 7-0 lead. Senior Mark Schmitt punched in the second St. Francis touchdown on a 20-yard scamper. Senior Colin Marshall tallied the third Spartan touchdown, a 1-yard plunge that gave St. Francis a 20-0 advantage early in the first quarter.

Schmitt and Marshall added 2 more touchdowns, handing St. Francis a commanding 33-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

It was more of the same in the second quarter. St. Francis scored three more times, their final score coming on a pick six courtesy of senior John Weisner. The interception returned for a touchdown gave the Spartans a 54-0 lead heading into the half.

"We came off the ball well, and that's what we do best," St. Francis coach Greg Purnell said.

Hales Franciscan (0-6) struggled to hold onto the ball. With several early chances it was victimized by a slick football that continued to slide out of their receivers' hands. The loss was the 18th in 19 tries since 2007. The Spartans fell behind early and could not regain the points.

"We had 9 dropped passes," Hales Franciscan coach Lawrence Nalls. "We have to hold onto the ball. We knew it would be funky out here, but that isn't an excuse."