On Friday, the Notre Dame (SO) Knights had just enough and edged the St. Francis Golden Knights out 36-34. Given the Knights' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 73rd, while the Golden Knights are ranked 226th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Steele Pizzella was a one-man wrecking crew for Notre Dame (SO) as he rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries, and also threw for 208 yards and three touchdowns. The dominant performance gave Pizzella a new career-high in rushing yards. A healthy portion of that aerial production (106 yards to be exact) went to Tre Fernandez, who also brought in two receiving touchdowns.
Notre Dame (SO)'s defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Max Martin-Beckmann. Notre Dame (SO) got some further help from Ehimen Oyamendan: he picked up a sack, made 11 total tackles (1.0 for loss), and defended a pass.
Special teams played a big role in the game for Notre Dame (SO), adding 12 points to the final score. All came courtesy of William Weisberg: he went 3-for-3 kicking field goals for nine points, and 3-for-3 again kicking extra points for an additional three.
St. Francis lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Shawn Sanders, who threw for 197 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 88 yards. Deveon Blaylock was Sanders' top target, picking up 149 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Notre Dame (SO)'s win ended a four-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 2-1. As for St. Francis, they are on a five-game losing streak (dating back to last season) that has dropped them down to 0-3.
Notre Dame (SO) will challenge Servite at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for St. Francis, they will face off against Muir at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
