St. Francis Stumbles in Day 2 of Claremont Passing Tournament

St. Francis had mixed results from its performance during the Claremont Passing Tournament on Saturday. After easily cruising past Summit 26-12, everything went south against Villa Park and the Golden Knights were eliminated in the second round of the championship bracket 32-14. 

“We shouldn’t undersell Northwood’s effort, since that was a great team we played,” Knights quarterback Jared Lebowitz said. “It's still no excuse. We just didn’t play at the level that we should be at, myself included. You take this, learn from your losses, and get better.”

A sign of players being winded over the last two days might have been the issue in the second game, as Villa Park had no trouble executing its long routes, catching the Golden Knights well off guard. Jared Lebowitz and the St. Francis offense also struggled for most of the second game, as Lebowitz failed to hit his prime receivers, Travis Talianko and Christian Hess, in a number of short routes. 

With the last week of summer practice approaching, it could not come at a better time for St. Francis. With most of the Golden Knights’ key players returning, their iron man style roster has been aching after playing in consecutive passing tournaments. Last year they fell in the semifinals to St. Bonaventure at the LA Valley College Tournament, which lasted nearly all day. Lebowitz still needs time to mesh in with the offensive scheme, as he as only had a few weeks to understand their style. Fortunately, the man out of Vermont is a quick learner, and eager to improve his game over the dead period. 

“It is a well deserved break for us,” Lebowitz said. “We have been going all out every practice. We will get back at it the last week, keep the hype during our time off, and come ready to compete. Watch out for St. Francis.”