With every hit, tackle, and disruption, the St. Francis High defense gathered force and gained confidence.
After a 24-14 victory over visiting Valley Christian on Friday night, the Lancers could savor a defensive effort that helped keep them in the West Catholic Athletic League race.
Mack Mrowka’s third-quarter interception of a pass that seemed inches from becoming a Valley gamebreaker was crucial, and the Lancers (5-3 overall) moved to 4-1 in the WCAL and within range of Serra and Riordan, who take their 4-0 records into a Saturday showdown.
“The most significant thing about this game was showing how good our defense really is,” said sophomore middle linebacker Shane Cahoon, who averaged 12 tackles going into the game and made his share of impact plays down the stretch.
Valley Christian (5-3, 2-3), found itself playing a meaningful game late in the season after enduring a 1-9 and winless league campaign of 2022 while starting 10 sophomores and a freshman. The Warriors not only are more mature and experienced, but they’ve revamped their offense. They continue to use elements of their traditional Wing-T, but now out of a “pistol,” – a spread attack that features more emphasis on the passing game.
Valley quarterback James Stephens completed eight of 19 passes for 157 yards and engineered a second-quarter touchdown drive and evened the score at 7-7 with 6:06 left. But, after that, St. Francis limited the Warriors to two first downs the rest of the way.
“The coaches prepared us so that we could read something and know what was going to come our way,” Mrowka said. “We knew when they were running it and we knew when they were passing it, whether because of the formation or what personnel was in the game. Once we read it, we talked, and we figured it out.”
Still, the game hung in the balance as a Stephens pass hung in the air. St. Francis was leading 14-7 when the Warriors’ quarterback saw Kai Hamilton open deep. The receiver came back for a slightly underthrown ball and leaped. But Mrowka leaped higher and snagged the interception. Two plays later, the Lancers were in the end zone, as Perrion Williams split two defenders to catch a 38-yard pass from Adam Knapp, giving St. Francis a 21-7 lead.
Mrowka said St. Francis was in a run defense on the pivotal play.
“They had two tight ends,” the free safety said. “I was reading a tight end and blocked down, so I was able to work over to the one receiver. I read his eyes, saw him launch in the air and tried to steal it away.”
He did indeed.
When Valley Christian coach Mike Machado looked at the play on the sidelines on an iPad, he noticed that Stephens was hit as he threw, causing the ball to be short and slight inside.
“We thought we had a good shot at that one,” Machado said.
On Valley’s next possession, Cahoon dropped running back Ekiah McLemore for a loss and a pair of incompletions forced a punt, that St. Francis’ Kingston Keanaaina returned 68 yards to the Valley Christian 5-yard line. That set up a 24-yard field goal by Christopher Han for a 24-7 lead.
Cahoon was called up to the varsity for the playoffs as a freshman and came into his first full varsity season driven. He and brother Jackson Cahoon, a junior, have become a lethal defensive tandem at linebacker.
“He’s the best,” Mrowka said of Chase. “He’s so young, but he’s become the leader of our defense. He’s the play-caller, he’s the quarterback. He’s so physical and aggressive and always makes the right read. No hesitation.”
Cahoon credits his game preparation as much his physical ability, to make plays.
“I’ve been busting my butt every single day in the off-season and that’s why I’ve done so well on the field,” Cahoon said. “But what’s working for me is the ‘tells’ they give. One of my specialties is I’m good at knowing the play before it happens, just by what the linemen will do, or where the running back is looking. I just feel like I know where the ball’s going to be.”
Offensively, Keanaaina accounted for 118 of the Lancers’ 119 rushing yards. The junior also surpassed 1,000 yards for the season.
For Valley Christian, “We made too many mistakes,” Machado said, “but I’m ecstatic about our team’s progress. They’ve worked really hard and I’m proud of them. We’re just going to keep moving and keep pushing. That’s what we’ve always done.”
