Traverse City St. Francis routs Soo 35-7; Lawton up next
Oct. 9—TRAVERSE CITY — Blue Devils, beware.
Traverse City St. Francis won convincingly 35-7 Saturday afternoon over Sault Ste. Marie, the first of consecutive weekends against a Blue Devils mascot.
The No. 1-ranked Gladiators (7-0) take on defending Division 7 state finalist Lawton (6-1) next Saturday, with those Blue Devils stepping in for Flint Beecher, which forfeited the contest because of low numbers and injuries.
That brings up a dilemma for St. Francis players and coaches, who must now go back and watch film of Lawton's 2021 14-10 championship game loss to Pewamo-Westphalia at Ford Field in Detroit. The Glads lost to P-W in the semifinals the week before in a game they say they should have won.
"I couldn't watch that game," Gladiators head coach Josh Sellers said. "So now I have to go back and watch it."
St. Francis quarterback Wyatt Nausadis repeated that sentiment. He tried viewing the game on TV last November, but he couldn't get himself to finish it.
"I watched a little bit, but it was hard for us to watch," Nausadis said. "We all thought we should have been there after that Pewamo game. So I watched a little bit. Then I'm like, 'I have to turn this off.'"
Nausadis, who writes "nana" on his wrist tape every game since the passing of his grandmother exactly one year ago, said the Glads will be able to focus more on the Blue Devils next week than they were for this week's Devils, as TCSF's Joey Donahue was crowned homecoming king at halftime.
"We'll be more prepared, and it won't be a different week at school," Nausadis said. "We're definitely excited to play them. I know they're another wing-T team, so we're familiar with that offense and our defense will be able to hopefully do pretty well against that."
The Soo started the season 4-0, but has since lost three straight road games, including a 52-15 rout by Kingsley. Sault Ste. Marie is leaving the Northern Michigan Football Conference next year to join Cadillac, Petoskey, Gaylord and Alpena in the Big North Conference for football only.
St. Francis led 7-0 just two plays into the game, as Nausadis connected with Garrett Hathaway for a 41-yard completion — the Glads' only pass completion on a windy day — and then ran one in from 18 yards for a 7-0 lead.
Hathaway added a TD of his own late in the first quarter on a 2-yard run, and Noah Endres scored his first varsity TD on a 2-yard run while following a lead block by Donahue. Ty Martinchek kicked extra points on all three scores for a 21-0 halftime edge.
"We decided to keep on the ground mostly," Donahue said. "We were successful to start, getting outside and utilizing our speed. I wouldn't say we had our best game by any means. It was a good start, but kind of slowed down from there."
Nausadis broke free for a 74-yard TD run early in the third quarter, crossing into the end zone with the closest Blue Devil defender more than 10 yards behind him.
Andrew Lints scored his first varsity TD on a 1-yard plunge to start the running clock with 10 minutes left. Preston Jaworski kicked the extra point.
Sault Ste. Marie fullback Cale Bell spoiled the shutout bid against TCSF's backups with a 40-yard TD run with 3:50 remaining.
The Gladiators failed to reach 40 points for the first time this season, but they also allowed their fewest points in game and outgained the Blue Devils 390-189 — including a 349-124 advantage on the ground. St. Francis produced a perfect day on fourth down, ending up 4-for-4 when going for it. Only Jackson Lumen Christi got out of the teens against the Gladiator defense this campaign.
Nausadis ended up with 185 rushing yards on 10 carries, while Hathaway gained 73 on eight totes and Burke Flowers rushed for 32 yards on five attempts.
Harrison Shepherd led the defense with seven tackles, while Donahue and Charlie Olivier each produced six stops. Sophomore defensive lineman Warren Asher and Donahue each recovered a fumble.
Sault Ste. Marie hosts Petoskey (2-5) next Friday for homecoming. St. Francis hosts Division 5 No. 3-ranked Detroit Country Day to finish out the regular season.
"They definitely have our kids' attention," Sellers said of the final two regular-season opponents. "It's kind of like (Lumen Christi) was early and then Kingsley mid-season. It'll be the end of the season barometer for us to really see where are we at."
Follow @Jamescook14 on Twitter.
