California’s Top 50 high school football teams: Expect No. 47 St. Francis to 'spread the ball around'

SBLive is previewing the Top 50 high school football teams in California ahead of the 2022 season. Here’s an inside look at the St. Francis Golden Knights of the CIF Southern Section, the No. 47 team in our countdown.

ST. FRANCIS TEAM PAGE | 2022 FALL FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

HEAD COACH

Dean Herrington

• 2nd season as St. Francis head coach, 38th year coaching
• Overall record at St. Francis: 10-3
• Herrington has coached at Alemany, Paraclete and Hart (offensive coordinator) winning eight CIF championships and two state championships 

2021 AT A GLANCE

• Overall record: 10-3
• League record: 2-1 (T-1st in Angelus League)
• Fell in Division 4 Southern Section championship game 38-7 to Long Beach Poly

2022 SCHEDULE

(All games are at 7 p.m. unless noted otherwise)

• Aug. 19 @ West Ranch
• Aug. 26 @ Mira Costa
• Sep. 2 @ Long Beach Millikan
• Sep. 9 vs. St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy
• Sep. 16 vs. Muir
• Sep. 30 vs. Paraclete
• Oct. 7 @ Cathedral
• Oct. 14 vs. Crespi
• Oct. 21 vs. St. Paul
• Oct. 29 @ Loyola

RETURNING STARTERS

• 6 on offense
• 3 on defense

IMPACT PLAYERS DEPARTED

• Max Garrison - RB - Graduation (San Diego State)

• Duncan Sprengel - OL/DL - Graduation - Angelus League Lineman of the Year

• Myles Shannon - OLB/WR/RB - Graduation

• Milo Orona - DE - Graduation

PLAYERS TO WATCH

QB Jack Jacobs - Sr. - 6-5, 220

2021 stats: Threw for over 2,000 yards completing 64% of his throws. Threw 11 TD's and 5 INT's

Coach said: "Last year our second and third string running backs had to move to receiver, so we didn't really have a great receiving corps for Jack. This year we do and it's going to make a world of difference."

RB Devyn Turner - Sr. - 5-9, 180

Offer sheet: UNLV, Washington State

2021 stats at Allen High School (Texas): Over 1,000 yards rushing, 19 TD's

Coach said: "Devyn is dynamic. He had 8.6 yards per carry last season at Allen, which is big time Texas high school football. He's going to have an unbelievable season."

OL Racin Delgatty - Sr. - 6-4, 305

Offer sheet: Arizona State and Nevada

Coach said: "Racin was All-CIF for us last season."

OL Phillip Ocon - Jr. - 6-4, 325

Offer sheet: San Jose State

Coach said: "Phillip was another All-CIF pick for us."

LB/TE Preston Jernegan - Jr. - 6'2, 215

2021 stats: 81 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 tackles for loss on defense, 30 catches for 359 yards, 1 TD on offense

Coach said: "Preston was All-CIF as a sophomore."

WR/CB Jett McCullough - Sr. - 6-0, 185

Coach said: Jett is almost like getting a new kid. He broke his collarbone right before the season last year and he missed every game before finally starting in our CIF championship game. He's got great speed. 

IMPACT TRANSFERS IN

RB Devyn Turner - Sr. - 5-9, 180 - Allen High School (Texas)

WR/S - DruShun Phillips - Sr. - 6-1, 190 - North Springs High School (Ga.)

WR Antonio Merlos - Sr. - 5-7, 155 - Sherman Oaks Notre Dame

WR/CB Hank Foley - Sr. - 5-10, 160 - Santa Monica

REGULAR SEASON GAME(S) OF THE YEAR

The two best games on St. Francis' schedule come at the end: home against St. Paul and then at Loyola. Last season, the Golden Knights beat St. Paul 26-20 and then lost to Loyola 6-3. St. Francis, St. Paul and Loyola all went 2-1 in the Angelus League a year ago to finish in a three way tie for first place. To win the league outright this fall, one of these three teams will have to go 2-0 against the others. If St. Francis stays healthy, they'll have a great shot at finishing on top.  

BEST-CASE SCENARIO

10-0 and a Division 3 playoff berth

St. Francis has the offensive firepower to run the table, but going into the playoffs as an undefeated league champion may lead to a Division 2 playoff berth. St. Francis could win a game or two in D2, but they wouldn't be title contenders.

A playoff berth in Division 3 gives the Golden Knights a shot at a CIF crown. That's the best case scenario. 

MOST REALISTIC SCENARIO

9-1/8-2 and a Division 4 playoff berth

If St. Francis drops a game or two, the Knights will most likely land in either Division 3 or Division 4.  

If the team stays healthy all season they're a good bet to win all ten of their games, but St. Francis could trip up once or twice due to an injury issue or simply having a slow start to the season. 

The Golden Knights only bring back three defensive starters, which is the team's biggest concern. West Ranch, Long Beach Millikan, St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy, St. Paul and Loyola all have talent. Those five teams will all give St. Francis a game. 

COACH SAID

"I couldn't even run my offense last year. We had to be more of a run dominated offense and this year we're going back to what I like to do: spread the ball around, attack and be aggressive. We have some weapons at receiver this year that we didn't have last year."

"Last year we had five guys going both ways in our league game against Loyola playing dang near every down. This year, we're not going to have that. No one is going to have to fully go two ways, we'll have some guys switching out, which I'm pretty excited about."

"Overall, I think we're a much better team this year than we were last year and we made the Division 4 CIF championship game and tied for a league title. This year, I think we should be right in the hunt there for the league title, but when it comes to the playoffs, if we go 10-0, we might get thrown into Division 2, which we don't belong in."

"If we're in Division 4 or Division 3, I think we'll have a shot and a chance to make a run at it if we're healthy. But I'm excited about the season. Our kicker, Clint Geryak, is back also so that's big. We'll just have to see how it happens. 

-- Dean Herrington