Spartans recover at Chargers' expense

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Friday's Suburban Catholic Conference matchup at Bob Stewart Field provided a difficult test for Aurora Central Catholic on Friday.

The host Chargers faced St. Francis the week after the upstart from Wheaton suffered its first lost of the year at Montini. The Chargers had to believe their opponents would be extra hungry for a win after losing their chance for a perfect season.

And that prediction would have been correct. The Spartans (4-1, 2-1 SCC) won 49-3.

"They had too much speed, too much athleticism," Chargers coach Mike Curry said. "We weren't really good tacklers but it really wouldn't have mattered."

For the second straight week, the Spartans played a road game on the opponents' homecoming night. This time, St. Francis was in no mood to be the polite guest.

"I think it means a lot coming off a game like we had last week," St. Francis running back Stan Bobowski said.

Spartans quarterback Jeff Reckards and running back Mark Kachmer presented the biggest threats to the Chargers (0-5, 0-3), and they combined to get the Spartans on the board early.

Bobowski ran the ball two yards on the opening play as the Spartans took over at 10:22 in the first quarter. Reckards then completed a 17-yard pass to Ryan O'Donnell. On the third play, Kachmer darted up the far sideline and scored at 9:17 to give St. Francis a 6-0 lead. Matt Krese's extra point made it 7-0.

Mike Adams hit a wide-open Tom Barkei for a 60-yard completion that set up Andrew Scott's field goal later in the drive.

Bobowski one-upped that Chargers drive -- and teammate Kachmer's touchdown -- with a 65-yard run to pay dirt. The Spartans took a 14-3 lead heading into the final five minutes of the first quarter.

The St. Francis defense hasn't been bad this year, either, having held seven-time defending state champion Driscoll to seven points in a win earlier this season. That monumental victory served notice to the rest of the conference that the Spartans are not the same team that went 3-6 last year.

Driving that fact home, Adams was sacked multiple times in the first quarter alone.

One such instance came at 3:05 in the first period. Adams followed a brilliant 25-yard play to Mark Brauweiler with a sack for a 10-yard loss. That loss of yardage put the Chargers on the Spartans' 21, and Aurora Central Catholic ended the promising drive with a missed field goal.

The Spartans seized the opportunity and answered with a 54-yard Kachmer touchdown run. That dash made it 21-3 at 1:23 in the first quarter and tempered any real hopes of a Chargers upset. St. Francis 49, ACC 3