Football Recap: St. Francis Takes a Loss

St. Francis lost against Hill City back in October of 2024 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. The Indians took a blow against the Ringnecks, falling 62-18. The contest marked the Indians' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.

Several Indians players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Ethan Graham, who picked up 98 receiving yards and a pair of TDs. An impressive showing, but Graham really ramped things up playing D: he made 13 total tackles (1.0 for loss) and defended two passes in addition to snagging an interception. The team also got some help courtesy of Lucas Raile, who threw for 121 yards and two touchdowns.

Joel Gilliland

Total Tackles

09/19/25 vs Greeley County	2
09/12/25 @ Wheatland-Grinnell	4
09/26/25 @ Decatur Community	5
09/05/25 vs Quinter	9
10/03/25 vs Hill City	18

St. Francis didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Joel Gilliland and Graham. Gilliland also set a new season-high mark in total tackles with 18.

Hill City's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Tate Balthazor, who rushed for 179 yards and three scores while picking up 9.4 yards per carry, and also threw for 120 yards and three TDs while completing 77.8% of his passes. With that strong performance, Balthazor is now averaging an impressive 114 rushing yards per game. Jaxson Smith also helped with three touchdowns in total.

This is the second loss in a row for St. Francis and nudges their season record down to 3-2. As for Hill City, the victory was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record up to 4-1.

Coming up, St. Francis will challenge Rawlins County at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The Indians' defense better be ready for this one: the Buffaloes have averaged an impressive 41.6 points per game this season. As for Hill City, they will square off against Hoxie at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. That game will pit two of the most dominant signal callers against one another: Balthazor and Chase Meyer.