St. Paul has last word
Swordsmen take title on late score, 7-3

St Francis’ Kevin Garcia picks up a first down during Friday’s Mission League game against St. Paul. The Golden Knights lost to the Swordsmen on a late touchdown, 7-3.(Keith Birmingham/Staff Photographer)

By Scott Galetti Staff Writer

LA CANADA – It was the epitome of a grudge match on the football field when St. Francis High School hosted St. Paul on Friday night at Friedman Field.
The stakes were plain and simple: For the winner, a tie for the Mission League championship and a trip to the CIF-Southern Section playoffs. For the loser, a long offseason in which to mull over what might have been.
St. Francis will be thinking about the season that could’ve been for quite some time.
In a season filled with close calls and heart-breaking losses, the Golden Knights again had a victory seemingly in their grasp, only to have it ripped away in the end.
The Golden Knights’ season ended in the blink of an eye. St. Paul senior running back Aubrey Haynes scored on a 59-yard touchdown run with 5:40 to play in the fourth quarter to give the Swordsmen a dramatic come-from-behind 7-3 victory over St. Francis.
St. Paul (6-4, 2-1) will await Sunday’s pairings to find out who they will play in the opening round of the playoffs.
The Golden Knights finished the 2007 season at 4-6 overall, 1-2 in league.
In a game in which yardage was a precious commodity, the Swordsmen outgained St. Francis 160-122 in total yardage.
“It was a big game, and we were playing a little tight, and the defense did an outstanding job,” St. Francis coach Jim Bonds said. “Our defense played well and we thought we might win that game 3-0.”
Haynes had the bulk of the yardage for St. Francis, rushing 15 times for 97 yards and a touchdown.
Junior quarterback Justin Sciarra was 7-of-9 passing for 66 yards and had 24 yards on 13 carries to lead St. Francis.
After a lethargic first half, both teams found an offensive rhythm in the second half.
St. Francis used a 38-yard pass play from Justin Sciarra to Sean McGuinness to drive to the St. Paul 13-yard line before having to settle for a 30-yard field goal by McGuinness with 4:53 to play to get on the board first.
But the game and the season slipped away for the Golden Knights in the fourth quarter.
They had a fourth-and-3 at the Swordsmen 27 with just more than three minutes to play, when Sciarra inadvertently bumped into running back Kyle Morgan.
Sciarra lost control of the ball, chased it down and tossed a pass to Matt Vidales, who was stopped a yard short of the first down.
“Justin did a heck of a job picking it up and staying alive and then finding Vidales in the flat and it came up a yard short,” Bonds said. The game has a defensive feel right from the opening kickoff. St. Paul managed 57 yards of offense in the first half to 28 for the Golden Knights.
The Golden Knights once again were without the services of starting quarterback Austin Heyworth. The senior, who is being heavily recruited by Harvard University next season, suffered a torn ligament in his knee against Notre Dame on Oct. 12.
He attempted a comeback the following week against Loyola, but it was short-lived.