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St. Francis blows by Aurora Christian

St. Francis' football team reached its average offensive numbers Friday night against Aurora Christian.

The performance was anything but average.

Scoring touchdowns on each of its first 4 possessions, the Spartans (5-1, 3-0) built a 28-0 halftime advantage and continued to push the pedal down in the second half en route to a 50-7 Metro Suburban Blue triumph over the Eagles (3-3, 1-3) in Aurora.

Junior quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse finished 12 of 14 for 211 yards and 3 touchdowns while rushing for an additional 57 yards on 6 carries and a touchdown for the Spartans, who have now scored 300 points in their first 6 games.

"We're trusting the coaches and doing our jobs," said Rittenhouse. "When you've got 11 guys doing their jobs, it's unstoppable."

Rittenhouse was virtually unstoppable himself during the Spartans' 22-point first quarter, completing 7 of 8 passes for 95 yards - and a 26-yard TD pass to Ben Bettag, while carrying the ball 3 times for 48 yards, highlighted by his 38-yard TD run that opened the scoring.

"He's magical," Spartans coach Bob McMillen said of Rittenhouse. "He's doing a great job back there for us. He's doing a great job with his feet, he's smart with the ball and he isn't forcing anything.

"I just hope he keeps it going because he's playing with great confidence."

Rittenhouse, who added a 1-yard TD run in the second quarter, tossed touchdown passes covering 35 and 25 yards, respectively, to wide receiver Jake Tangorra (6 receptions, 120 yards) in the third quarter as the Spartans extended their lead to 42-0.

Forcing the Eagles to be one-dimensional on offense, the Spartans' defense recorded 10 sacks, including 4 ½ by senior linebacker/defensive end Luke Meyer.

"I don't know what to say about Luke Meyer right now," said McMillen. "He has had a tremendous season and he had a tremendous game tonight. Our (defensive) front four are doing great for us right now."

Connor Schmidt had a pair of second-half sacks, T.J. McMillen had 1 ½ sacks, and Tyler Duzansky and Kevin O'Connell each added a sack.

"That was one of our better defensive games," said McMillen.

Backup quarterback Michael Baffa closed out the scoring for the Spartans with a 7-yard TD run, followed by Michael D'Orazio's 2-point conversion run.

Aurora Christian got on the board late in the third quarter when quarterback Ethan Hampton (15 of 27, 163 yards) fired a 55-yard TD pass to junior Noe Marrero (8 receptions, 100 yards).

"We need to learn how to start games," said Eagles coach David Beebe. "Right now, we're showing our youth. We've got to grow up fast."

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