Francis’ blocked PAT helps Devils fend off Hornet comeback

By Bill Rudick
WEST GROVE—In a tight game, getting the little things right can make all the difference in the world, and seemingly small mistakes, are magnified 100 times over if they come at the wrong time. Friday night at Avon Grove, the Red Devils got a few little things right—like a blocked PAT—while visiting Oxford made some costly mistakes at exactly the wrong time.
That combination allowed the host Devils to improve to 2-0 with a razor-close 14-13 victory over the Hornets, who fall to 0-2 after a pair of hard luck losses.
“It seems like we are having the same conversation again this week, but we just have to learn how to win,” said Oxford coach Mike Means. “I think they came out a lot more physical than I think we expected in the first half, and we dug ourselves a hole.”
The Red Devils ground it out all game, attempting just seven passes, all in the first half, while running the ball for 223 yards on the ground on 39 carries.
Nate Jones had the hot hand in the first half, piling up 125 yards on 13 carries. Jones churning out the yards set the Devils up for a pair of first half scores, one a five-yard pass from quarterback Joey Borcky to Zachary Long, the other a 2-yard plunge from Kevin Francis, who finished the night with 46 yards on 16 carries.
“We know they are a physical team, but we just wanted to go out there and pound it out with them,” said Jones (158 yards on 22 carries for the night). “The line did a great job of giving me room to run.”
With Jones and Francis running on all cylinders, and the defense stout against Oxford’s attack, it looked like Avon Grove might get another easy win.
But a different Hornet team came out of the lockerroom after halftime, one that decided it was time to play.
Avon Grove, having deferred choice to the second half, got the ball first, and with pretty good field position near midfield. But after allowing six yards on the first play, the Hornet defense stuffed runs for no gain and minus two, and the devils were forced to punt. They wouldn’t see the ball again until the fourth quarter.
The Hornets marched off an 80-yard drive that ate up all but 26-seconds of the third quarter, capped by a 16-yard scoring run from Tim Davis, who led the Hornet ground game with 52 yards—51 in the second half– on 15 carries.
After recovering an onside kick just before the start of the fourth, Oxford scored again, this time on a one-yard run from Davis, to pull the Hornets within a point. But Francis found an opening, and batted down the PAT try, preserving the Devils’ lead.

“I told my linebackers that I was going to be blitzing so to leave a hole for me,” said Francis. “I just knew I had to block this kick. I just got through, jumped up and blocked it.”
Still, there were eight minutes left on the clock, more than enough time for the Hornets to score again should they stymie the Devils like they did at the start of the half.
The Devils weren’t going to let that happen, and while they didn’t score again, they slowly but surely moved the ball upfield, notching all the first downs they would need. When Jones busted one to the outside for 13 yards on a third and five, it put the final nail in the coffin.

“He very well may be the best kid I’ve ever coached, so I am going to give him the ball and let him carry the load,” said Devils’ coach Harry ONeill. “But that drive just showed the kind of character this team has, and the kind of culture we’re building here. I’m not sure even two years ago we would have had it in us to win a game the way we did against a very good Oxford team that is building a culture of its own over there.”