Jordan's Road Trip: St. Francis vs Aurora Christian Game Report

This week I took a road trip to visit St. Francis High School in Wheaton where they took on Aurora Christian on April 3rd at 1:00 pm. St. Francis (2-0) is on a roll the first two weeks showcasing their dominance and what they can do. Aurora Christian (1-1) is coming off of a dominant performance against Westmont where they look to bring that momentum into this Saturday matchup. Enough talk, let’s dive into the Post Game Report to see what went down between the St. Francis Spartans and the Aurora Christian Eagles. <hr /> Quick Preview Coming into this matchup I knew all the talent that was on St. Francis. Some of these players are [player_tooltip player_id="20220" first="Tommy" last="Rittenhouse"], [player_tooltip player_id="20886" first="Adam" last="Criter"], [player_tooltip player_id="65256" first="Jackson" last="Gerard"], Elijah Lee, Blake Lawson, TJ McMillen, [player_tooltip player_id="65539" first="Grayson" last="Griffin"], and [player_tooltip player_id="65858" first="Tyler" last="Bishop"] to name a few. This talented St. Francis team can score in a heartbeat with their playmaking abilities and are a force to be reckoned with on the defensive side of the ball as well. For Aurora Christain, they have a stellar athlete in Tyler Brueckner (Mr. Brueckner is committed to play WR at Northern Illinois University and switched positions to QB this season since that’s what the team needed) along with running back Cam Ajazi and receiver Trey Bedee. This Aurora Christian team will need to focus on winning time of possession and grind out the clock when they’re on offense to have a chance of winning this matchup. Aurora Christian is the underdog heading into this game, let’s see how they did and if they were able to execute throughout this game. First Half The opening kickoff was received by the Eagles her they started the drive on their own 35 yard-line. They were able to gain some yardage but their drive stalled out resulting in a punt giving the Spartans the ball on their own 24. The Spartans came out of the gates being focused on the run game but this drive was ended prematurely with a fumbled snap which gave the Eagles the ball at mid-field. Still, St. Francis’ defense holds the Eagle’s offense to no points forcing them to punt again. A key point to note here is that the Eagles are in chew clock mode on offense winding the clock down before snapping the ball on each play, this has given them the advantage in time of possession so far in the game and is the main reason why the score is still 0 - 0 in the first quarter. That wouldn’t be the case once St. Francis got the ball back as [player_tooltip player_id="20220" first="Tommy" last="Rittenhouse"] found [player_tooltip player_id="65256" first="Jackson" last="Gerard"] for a 70 yard TD pass to get the Spartans on the board 7 - 0. The Spartans defense continued to be dominant throughout the first half resulting in forcing the Eagles to have a turnover on downs, forced a fumble for a turnover, and blocked a punt for a touchdown to end the half. On offense, the Spartans had a 16 yard TD pass from [player_tooltip player_id="20220" first="Tommy" last="Rittenhouse"] to Dash Dorsey, a 74 yard TD run by [player_tooltip player_id="20220" first="Tommy" last="Rittenhouse"], and a blocked punt for a TD by Dom Beres putting them up 28 - 0 at the half. Halftime Takeaways St. Francis Spartans They had a fumble on their first drive that hurt them early on in the 1st but have gotten things going since then. [player_tooltip player_id="20220" first="Tommy" last="Rittenhouse"] bounced back from that turnover throwing 2 TDs & taking a 74-yard scramble to the house as well. The Spartans have gotten their running game going early with #2 and Blake Lawson. On defense, they have shut down Aurora Christian’s run game making it non-existent in the first half. They are getting pressure on Tyler Brueckner forcing him to scramble which the Spartans did let up a few big plays to him. Aurora Christian Eagles Tyler Brueckner is a name to know and it’s no wonder why he’s committed to play WR at Northern Illinois University. He has pure athletic ability which was showcased in the first half where he was able to scramble for the first down and make defenders miss in the process. The Eagles need to get the run game going with Cam Ajazi since the Spartans have done a good job taking that away in the first half. On defense, the Eagles held the Spartans to punts and have been doing well in the first half. The reason why they are in a deficit is from the three big plays that the Spartans had in the first half which all went for TDs. What to look for in the Second Half St. Francis Spartans On offense, look for the Spartans to hone in on the running game out of the gate. This is going to set up the play-action shot downfield to one of their many talented receivers. Look for more receivers to get involved with receptions in the second half to spread the wealth around. On defense, look for the Spartans to shoot the gaps taking the run away and sending pressure to force Tyler Brueckner to make a play. Aurora Christian Eagles On offense, look for the Eagles to get their run game going and finding ways to get Tyler Brueckner chances to make a play (whether this is in the passing game or ground attack). Their run game is non-existent at this point in the contest, they need to get this going if they want a chance at making a comeback. On defense, they need to limit the big plays that they have let up. A big factor in that is [player_tooltip player_id="20220" first="Tommy" last="Rittenhouse"] has too much time in the pocket, look for the Eagles to dial up the pressure in the second half. Second Half The Spartans received the second-half kickoff where they came out of the gates focused on the ground game with Terreon Roundy and Blake Lawson. This resulted in a 3 yard TD pass from [player_tooltip player_id="20220" first="Tommy" last="Rittenhouse"] to Elijah Lee to go up 35 - 0. For Aurora Christian, Tyler Brueckner showcased his athletic ability on the offensive side of the ball and got the passing game going with Cam Ajazi and Trey Bedee but it was to no avail as the St. Francis defense created turnovers and ended the Eagle's drives early. This resulted in a 9 yard TD run by Elijah Lee and a 20 yard TD pass from Freshman [player_tooltip player_id="121350" first="Alessio" last="Milivojevic"] to Ryan Calcagno to close out the game 48 - 6. End of Game St. Francis 48 Aurora Christian 6 Heading into this matchup I knew that St. Francis was a dominant team and had them winning 42 - 28 against this talented Aurora Christian team. That being said, hats off to St. Francis for a dominant win, and hats off to Aurora Chrisitan for fighting until the last seconds of the game. The Eagles put up a good fight against the Spartans, they let up three big plays that resulted in touchdowns in the first half, and was too hard to come back from that deficit without scoring to end the half. I wish the best of luck to both of these teams for the rest of the season and that they are able to finish off the season on a strong note. Quick Chat with HC Bob McMillen: "Aurora Christian is always a playoff team, Coach Bedee does a great job getting his players ready for games. We wanted to make sure that we did the rights things from our standpoint. We had an early fumble and we were able to bounce back, I was excited how we played after adversity hit. It's nice to get these younger guys into games as we look to head into the fall season and make sure we end the season with the Seniors on a high note. We need to focus on the little things heading into next week, but besides that, I'm very proud of how we flew around to make plays causing two or three fumbles." Game Stats St. Francis Spartans <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="20220" first="Tommy" last="Rittenhouse"]: 4/8 for 107 yards, 4 TDs (3 passing, 1 rushing), 62 rushing yards</li> <li>Terreon Roundy: 8 carries for 72 yards</li> <li>Elijah Lee: 2 receptions for 40 yards, 9 yard TD run, 1 INT, 1 PBU</li> </ul> Aurora Christian Eagles <ul> <li>Tyler Brueckner: 12/20 for 96 yards, 2 INT, 86 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD</li> <li>Cam Ajazi: 16 carries for 69 yards</li> <li>Trey Bedee: 6 receptions for 48 yards</li> </ul> Key Takeaways St. Francis Spartans <ul> <li>They are a dominant team in Illinois, have guys that will play on Saturdays (both sides of the ball)</li> <li>Talent across all levels (Senior down to the Freshman)</li> <li>Spread the ball around, gets everyone involved in the offense and defense</li> <li>One of the most athletic team’s I’ve seen all season</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="20220" first="Tommy" last="Rittenhouse"] & others have dominant offense, [player_tooltip player_id="125706" first="John" last="Moore"], TJ McMillen, [player_tooltip player_id="20886" first="Adam" last="Criter"] & others part of the dominant defensive unit</li> <li>Team has an all-star coaching staff (Former D1 players, Current CFL running back, etc)</li> </ul> Aurora Christian Eagles <ul> <li>Tyler Brueckner is a stellar athlete, Cam Ajazi & Trey Bedee are solid players as well</li> <li>They fought until the final seconds of the game, didn’t back down from the challenge</li> <li>Tough team, going to bounce back from this loss</li> </ul> <hr /> Overall, this was a one-sided battle between St. Francis and Aurora Christian. The Eagle’s penalties and turnovers hurt them throughout this game and they couldn’t bounce back from the deficit. That being said, I wish the best to both of these teams for the remainder of the season. St. Francis takes on Riverside-Brookfield on Friday, April 9th at 7:15 pm and Aurora Christian takes on Aurora Central Catholic on Friday, April 9th at 6:00 pm. Be sure to follow @jamaskane regarding news & information for Illinois High School Football, @PrepRedzoneIL, and @PrepRedzone.