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Brother Rice stifles St. Francis

Brother Rice wanted to show that last week's shutout loss to Loyola wasn't something to expect often.

Heavy rain could not dampen the Brother Rice offense. Six runners combined for 218 rush yards and 4 touchdowns, including two in 20 seconds early in the first quarter against visiting St. Francis.

"We came out firing, obviously after struggling last week," said Brother Rice coach Brian Badke. "The guys came out really focused. They had a good week of practice."

Senior wide receiver Julian Blain was featured on the ground and through the air, catching 4 passes and attempting 4 rushes. He scored on his first two rushes and added a receiving touchdown later in the game.

Brother Rice ran 44 offensive plays in the first half.

St. Francis senior quarterback Peter Fassnacht threw 3 first-half interceptions but helped swing momentum toward the Spartans in the second quarter after a rough start. He completed two long passes to junior Nolan Pechan, including a 28-yard touchdown pass.

"I think it took us sometime to get our feet underneath us," said St. Francis coach Mike Fitzgerald. "As a coach, it falls on me to get these guys prepared from the get-go, and we'll get that corrected."

Badke said that his team needed to get better at closing out teams, and St. Francis made Brother Rice work to earn the win.

The Crusaders and Spartans traded scores to start the second half, all three coming via the pass. It was also the first time either team went for two; Brother Rice kicker Dino Borelli faked a kick and ran the ball in. St. Francis had two consecutive extra points botched in the third. A mishandle of a snap led to a Brother Rice block, and Trevor Jungles missed an extra point.

Fassnacht showed off his arm in the second half. He completed each of his nine passes in the third and added five touchdowns through the air in the second half, including a 65-yard touchdown pass to Will Purdom.

St. Francis was able to get within 10 points of Brother Rice but after a failed fourth-down conversion with 6:03 left in the game, the Crusaders ran 5:40 off the clock, sealing the Homecoming victory.

"We made the plays at the end that we needed to," Badke said. "We shouldn't have been in that situation, but we did."

Spartans wide receiver Michael Beach led the team with 143 yards before leaving the game with an injury.

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