Records:
St. Francis 12-1; Kankakee 9-4
Summary:
St. Francis, which finished 3-6 last season, advanced to its first-ever championship game after surviving a late Kankakee rally. Running back Jalon Banks’ 5-yard TD run with 2 minutes 55 seconds left in the game pulled visiting Kankakee–which had trailed 21-7–within a point, but Ivan Varela’s game-tying extra-point attempt bounced off the left goal post. Tony Vargyas’ interception with 1:15 remaining sealed the victory. Running back Mark Kachmer scored the three Spartans touchdowns on runs of 8, 1 and 6 yards, and he added a two-point conversion run. Backfield mate Stan Bobowski finished with 127 yards on 24 carries.
Top performers:
St. Francis–Kachmer, 20 carries, 100 yards, 3 TDs (8,1,6), 2-pt conversion; RB/LB Bobowski, 24 carries, 127 yards; 5 tackles, (1 for loss); DB Tony Vargyas, fumble recovery, INT. Kankakee–RB/DB Runder Smith, 14 carries, 132 yards, TD (68), 12 tackles; Banks, 16 carries, 123 yards, 1 TD (5), 5 tackles, 2 tackles for loss
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Extra point:
“Who would have thought we’d be here after last season?” Kachmer said. “It’s a testament to how we worked. This is definitely making our senior year.”
Score by quarters
Saint Francis 6-8-7-0 = 21
Kankakee 0-0-7-13 = 20