Saint Francis Closes Out Their Season with a Tough Loss

The Saint Francis Catholic Wolves closed out their season with a 35 – 0 loss against the Bell Bulldogs.

With just 16 players on their roster tonight, the Wolves showed strength as they constantly interchanged players to maintain freshness. This whole season was a test of each player’s strength as they were forced to play multiple defensive and offensive positions to at least imitate what a full team looked like.

“They come to the next game, and they fight harder. They continue to show up, and they don’t give up. They’ve got heart. Those boys got heart like nothing I’ve ever seen,” #66 Jaden Loomis’ mother, Lisa Loomis, said.

Notable players for Saint Francis

Key players for Saint Francis defense were Jaden Loomis and Dalton Dean, whose names were recognized many times for stopping key plays that kept the Bulldogs from scoring more points. On offense, Devin Rollins plowed through the Bulldogs with another exceptional run-game performance that at least helped in moving the Wolves down the field when they had control over the ball. He also took a few shots on defense tonight, too.

“I think our guys kept their heads in it the entire game, especially on a night that’s very emotional, it’s your last game of your season – last game of your career here. That’s something that I think weighs on you, and I thought they responded well even after getting down early in terms of staying in the game and continuing to play,” Langham said.

The Wolves grit and determination kept them strong the entire game, especially in the second half when they held the Bulldogs scoreless. The team even forced a turnover on downs to give them a chance at scoring their first touchdown although they couldn’t convert.

Throwing the ball this season

Passing the ball was not in Saint Francis’ vocabulary at the beginning of their season, however, Cooper Lieffers showed the crowd what he could do with his arm during the game. Although he couldn’t make a connection with receivers, it shows significant improvement since the beginning of the year.

He also made appearances on defense to hold the Wolves’ dwindling roster together.

A bittersweet ending and a great season for the Wolves

The Saint Francis Catholic Wolves ended their season with a 1-8 record. While many teams could see this as an upset, the Wolves won their first game in 2.5 years under new Head Coach James Langham.

“I think we did well tonight… Beginning of the year we were worse than that (tonight) and we had a full team. We just came out here with 16 guys and by the end we were down to 13-14 guys playing and completely out of position,” Langham said. “I think the future is very bright with this program.”

Dalton Dean, a senior for the Wolves, commented about his last high school game.

“It’s a lot of emotions at once, but at the end, it’s one of the best feelings of your life because you got to go out there and give it your all. It was just a wonderful night. I got a lot of opportunities to run the ball, (and) do all kinda of stuff that I usually would never do, but it was fun and I had a blast,” Dean said.