Football Preview: St. Francis Mariners vs. St. Joseph Lancers
The St. Francis Mariners will venture away from home to challenge the St. Joseph Lancers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.
St. Francis is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Racine Lutheran on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. St. Francis took a blow against Racine Lutheran, falling 54-8. The Mariners haven't had much luck with the Crusaders recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.
Meanwhile, St. Joseph came tearing into Friday's game with six straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 24 points) and they left with even more momentum. They blew past the Eagles, posting a 49-13 victory at home. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Lancers considering their two-point performance the contest before.
A big part of St. Joseph's win came down to the chemistry between Zach Rizzo and his top target Christopher Kenesie. Rizzo threw for 162 yards and six touchdowns while completing 71.4% of his passes while Kenesie gained 188 total yards and a touchdown. Kenesie also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, picking up a sack, forcing a fumble, and making six total tackles. Dominic Rinaldi was in the mix as well, providing St. Joseph with two touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to St. Joseph's defense and their six sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Brian Ortega and Wyatt Hood, who racked up four sacks between them.
St. Francis' loss dropped their record down to 3-5. As for St. Joseph, they pushed their record up to 8-2 with the victory, which was their third straight at home.
St. Francis was dealt a bruising 56-8 defeat at the hands of St. Joseph in their previous matchup back in September of 2023. Can St. Francis avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
