Francis Howell Central Wins Thriller Over Holt

ST. LOUIS — Back and forth they went, trading punches for the majority of the game. But in the end, the deciding points came down to the leg of a kicker.

Sophomore Ben Burns' 21-yard field goal with 9 minutes 3 seconds remaining in the game was the difference in what started out as a shootout that turned into a nail-biter in Francis Howell Central's 29-27 win over Holt Saturday night in the Great American Football Classic at Edward Jones Dome.

The Spartans (2-1, 2-0) were able to hold off a feisty Indians squad (0-3, 0-2) in the GAC South Conference contest by more than doubling up Holt in offensive plays (63-25), rushing 57 times for 371 yards using a three-prong offensive running game led by junior tailback Desmond Young, senior quarterback Chip Miller and junior fullback Chris Thomas.

Thomas led the rushing with 162 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown, Young picked up 99 of his 117 yards in the first half and Miller ran for 92 yards and tossed a 29-yard touchdown to tight end Derrick Puni.

The Spartans' effort off-set the game for Indians junior tailback Tray Mitchell, who rushed for 174 yards and three TDs and picked up 202 total yards of offense to go with over 100 yards in kickoff returns.

"I call it a bunch of kids scrapping and clawing and just fighting their butts off," Howell Central coach Todd Berck said, voice raspy from emotion. "That (No.) 23 is a heck of a back. We don't have anybody as fast as he is. We tackled him most of the night, but when we let him get loose, he hurt us.

"We were very embarrassed last week (in a 64-0 loss to CBC). I'll be the first to tell you. Our kids were extremely embarrassed. CBC's the class of (Class) 6. I think they should be the No.1-ranked team in the state."

The Spartans seemed like they were in control of the game early on, leading 19-6 on a 42-yard touchdown by Thomas, a safety, a Burns 26-yard field goal and a 11-yard score by Young.

But Mitchell got his legs churning for Holt and scored on runs of 4 yards and an 85-yard burst up the right sideline that brought the Indians to within six at halftime (19-13) and give them life.

"The linemen did their jobs," Mitchell said. "When they do their job, good stuff happens."

"It doesn't take a lot (to get Mitchell going)," first-year Holt coach Ken Moore said. "Just get your hat on a kid, stay on that kid. We're going to bust a couple, and the proof was in the pudding (Saturday).

"I saw good things tonight. I know our kids wanted to win this game and I wanted to win it. I don't like being 0-3 any more than they do, and it's good. We've got a little bit of pride in ourselves."

Francis Howell Central's running game featured Young on the option early on but when Holt began to take that away, it was Thomas with the belly option up the gut that was having success. Throw in some Miller runs and it was a three-headed monster leading the way.

"The outside didn't open up there, so they kept giving it to me," Thomas said. "We can run outside with Desmond and run up the middle with me."

Said Berck, "I don't know that they took (Young) away, but they gave us the fullback and the option is predicated on doing what it gives you. They kept giving us that and giving us that and we kept taking it."

Holt grabbed a pair of leads in the third quarter on Devin Pettit's 2-yard run and Mitchell again went in from 32 yards after Puni's 29-yard strike.

But Burns would put the Spartans ahead for good, and the defense held fort the rest of the way.

"We've got new systems going in and our kids are still struggling to grasp them sometimes," Moore said. "Tonight, I felt like our offense really got some things put together and we were able to do some things we were wanting to do. We might have taken a little bit of a step back defensively tonight as compared to where we've been. It's a hit-or-miss right now. We're getting better each week. The great thing about Missouri football for us now is Weeks 7, 8, 9 and 10."

Berck and his players soaked up the atmosphere and were glad it resulted in a victory.

"It's awesome. It's a memory, especially with a win they'll never forget," Berck said with a smile. "I don't know how we got invited, but we'll play every year. We're excited to be here, and I hope they ask us back. If they want to keep a close game here, ask us back. Just don't make us play CBC."

GAC SOUTH

FRANCIS HOWELL CENTRAL 29, HOLT 27

Holt                    6    7  14  0 --  27

Howell Central   7  12    7  3 --  29

First Quarter

FHC -- Thomas 42 run (Burns kick), 4:11.

H -- Mitchell 4 run (kick failed), 3:14.

Second Quarter

FHC -- safety, 9:07.

FHC -- Young 11 run (Burns kick), 6:29.

FHC -- Burns 26 FG, 2:29.

H -- Mitchell 85 run (Giessman kick), 1:35.

Third Quarter

H -- Pettit 2 run (Giessman kick), 11:12.

FHC -- Puni 29 pass from Miller (Burns kick), 9:10.

H -- Mitchell 32 run (Giessman kick), 6:49.

Fourth Quarter

FHC -- Burns 21 FG, 9:03.

                                        HOLT          FHC

First downs                           8               23

Rushes-Yards                    20-177       57-371

Passing Yards                       85              86

Comp-Att-Int                     5-8-1          6-9-1

Fumbles-Lost                       2-1             3-1

Penalties-Yards                   4-22           8-47

Individual Statistics

RUSHING--Holt, Mitchell 16-174, Pettit 4-3. Francis Howell Central, Young 23-117, Miller 21-92, Thomas 13-162.

PASSING--Holt, Pettit 5-8-1-85. Francis Howell Central, Miller 6-9-1-86.

RECEIVING--Holt, Deuser 2-39, Mitchell 2-28, Harvill 1-18. Francis Howell Central, Young 2-29, Wade 1-7, Lumpa 1-13, Puni 2-37.