St. Francis flips the script, focuses on the running game to beat Morgan Park

Zach Washington found a way to make an impact for St. Francis even on a day when the Spartans made a 180-degree turn in their offensive philosophy.

Washington, a three-star receiver committed to Michigan State, ran a kickoff back 80 yards for a touchdown to help No. 25 St. Francis beat Morgan Park 35-28 Saturday in a Class 5A opener at Gately Stadium.

Washington had three kickoff returns for 126 yards and three catches for 31 yards and a TD as the Spartans (7-3) went run-heavy for a change.

He figured there would be an opportunity to break a long return and it happened in the third quarter. Morgan Park (6-4) had just gone ahead 28-14 on Lucas Davis Jr.'s 45-yard TD run on a fake punt.

"I've been watching film on them a lot," Washington said. "They think they're more athletic than us. And I just saw a hole and had great blocks.

"I felt I needed to get the guys back going and ... we needed a big play to get the energy back up."

"After they just scored on the fake punt ... the momentum comes back and gives these kids hope," St. Francis coach Bob McMillen said.

The Spartans tied it at 28-28 on Tivias Caldwell's one-yard TD run with 10:51 remaining. St. Francis got the ball right back when James McGrath picked off a pass by Morgan Park's Ronald Smith Jr.

Brock Phillip's go-ahead TD pass to Southern Illinois commit Dario Milivojevic came one play after the Spartans got a first down on a delay-of-game call against Morgan Park because its band was playing.

"The biggest takeaway that I want written is, you let the players decide the game," Morgan Park coach Chris James said. "... I've never complained about the referees because refereeing is a hard job. It's an extremely hard job, it's hard to see things, There's a lot that goes on, but none of that happened on the field of play.

"That's a [situation where you say], 'Hey, tell them to be quiet.' You can give [St. Francis] extra time on the play clock. But on a fourth-and-5 in a tie ballgame, a state ballgame, you don't call a penalty."

After the Spartans went ahead, they got another interception by Tanner Glock with 6:05 left and ran out the clock.

Caldwell finished with 25 carries for 157 yards and two TDs as the Spartans went run-heavy for a change. Phillip, who has almost 2,000 yards through the air this season, threw just nine passes.

"We literally just put it in our heads that we were gonna run the ball this week and go get them," McMillen said. "And our offensive line worked their butts off this week.

"Tivias is a day-and-night guy for some reason. Sometimes he runs hard, sometimes he doesn't. We challenged him this week and he came out and did a hell of a job."

"I knew we could definitely punch it down the middle," Caldwell said.

For Morgan Park, Smith finished 12-of-18 for 131 yards and two touchdowns, both to Illinois commit Nasir Rankin, with two interceptions. Travezz Jones had three catches for 53 yards and Rankin had three for 50. Reggie Gray Jr. added a TD run for the Mustangs.

"When you get in the playoffs, the more physical team always wins the game," James said. "Regardless of some of the things that happened, they were the more physical team today. ... Fortunately for us, we've got a chance to go back into the city playoffs and continue to play football. Any time you get a chance to play, that's a blessing."