St. Francis defeats Holy Cross

SFA Junior Varsity
SFA 19
Holy Cross 0
The St. Francis of Assisi (SFA) fifth and sixth grade football team converted all three first half offensive possessions into scores and shut down Holy Cross 19-0 at Scullion Field on a gorgeous Thanksgiving Day to conclude a 9-3 season.
SFA received the opening kickoff and proceeded to march 77 yards in eight plays to pay dirt. The key play in the drive was a 40-yard sprint along the sidelines by Nicky Kutufaris down to the five-yard line. Two plays later he glided four yards off tackle for the touchdown. The extra point attempt failed but SFA had an early 6-0 lead.
SFA then recovered a Cross fumble, and six plays later N. Kutufaris raced back into the end zone from 20 yards out. The extra point attempt again was no good and the first quarter came to a close with SFA on top 12-0.
SFA stopped Holy Cross on downs to start the second quarter, and then tacked on another touchdown when Justin Shields bulled off tackle for a five-yard touchdown to conclude a ten-play, 47-yard drive. Liam McKnight connected with Adam Klein on the “Adam Bomb” for the extra point and a 19-0 half time lead.
Both teams moved the ball in the second half, but were unable to score, and the game ended 19-0.
N. Kutufaris rushed for 102 yards in the first half, and finished the game with 146 yards. Shields added 61 yards to the running attack, as SFA accumulated 227 yards on the ground.
Linemen Patrick Devine, Johnny Powers, Mike Conran, Cole Dumont, Alex Smith, Tommy Kutufaris, Klein and Luke Sprague controlled the line of scrimmage.
SFA’s defense recorded their seventh shutout of the season. Leading tacklers were Klein, Conran, Shields, Devine, N. Kutufaris, Powers, Sprague, Marty O’Connell, Strain, Dumont, T. Kutufaris, Connor Hoffner, Smith, Connor Crawford and Anthony Scarduzio. Shields and Sprague also recovered fumbles.
The Turkey Bowl win capped a splendid season that included two playoff victories and a third place finish in the Parade of Champions tournament.