Football Recap: St. Francis Takes Loss Despite Strong Efforts from Dominic Cook Jr. and Trent Buttles

The matchup between St. Francis and Catholic Memorial on Saturday hardly resembled the 14-0 effort from their previous meeting. The Red Raiders came up short against the Knights, falling 56-32. The Red Raiders haven't had much luck with the Knights recently, as the team has come up short the last three times they've met.

St. Francis' loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Trent Buttles, who threw for 257 yards and three TDs while picking up 11.2 yards per attempt, and Dominic Cook Jr., who gained 137 total yards and two touchdowns. Cook Jr.'s longest reception was for an incredible 88 yards. Aiden Hopwood also helped out with an impressive 91 receiving yards.

Kise Flannery went supernova For Catholic Memorial., rushing for 153 yards and a pair of touchdowns while picking up 9.0 yards per carry, and also throwing for 156 yards and one TD while completing 75% of his passes. Those 153 rushing yards gave Flannery a new career-high. Isaiah Simmons was another key player, picking up 63 receiving yards and one score.

St. Francis' defeat dropped their record down to 2-1. As for Catholic Memorial, the victory (which was their 14th in a row dating back to last season) raised their record to 2-0.

St. Francis and Catholic Memorial should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in their respective state rankings. The Red Raiders will square off against Cathedral Prep at 7:00 p.m. on Friday with a big rank advantage (5 vs. 49). Meanwhile, Catholic Memorial (ranked second) will meet Nashoba Valley Tech (ranked 154th) at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.