Zach Washington, St. Francis zoom past Sterling 42-18

WHEATON – St. Francis took care of business in its opening-round Class 5A playoff matchup against Sterling as standout speedster Zach Washington ran wild in a 42-18 victory Nov. 1 in Wheaton.

Washington sprinted the length of the field twice during an electrifying second quarter that put an exclamation point on a dominant opening half by the Spartans.

The junior wide receiver found the end zone on a 95-yard kickoff return.

He also scored on a 92-yard reverse.

“As soon as I got the ball, the outside was closed off, so I tried to reverse it back,” Washington said, explaining the way he zigged and zagged, retreating all the way back into the St. Francis end zone before finding a seam and bursting into the open field. “But then I saw an opening back to the outside … [and] once I’m straight, there’s no catching me.”

Junior quarterback Brady Palmer got the night started a bit more conventionally for the Spartans by scoring three first-quarter touchdowns, including a 58-yard strike to junior wide receiver Tanner Glock on the first St. Francis snap from scrimmage.

“Our whole philosophy going into this game was to get out ahead quickly and keep the intensity up the whole way,” Palmer said. “Just make sure they didn’t have a chance and put it away early.”

Palmer was a dual threat for the Spartans. He made life difficult for Sterling throughout the first half, routinely moving the chains with his legs. He raced to the end zone on a 21-yard draw play with 5:38 left to play in the first quarter.

It was all Spartans by the time they brought junior nose guard Jaylen Torres onto the field to punch in a 3-yard touchdown just before halftime.

“I just saw they had a three-tech on the other side, so the A-gap was wide open,” Torres said of his first touchdown. “I just put my head down and got in there.”

The win sent the Spartans into the second round of the playoffs with momentum as they look to avenge a state semifinal loss last year. St. Francis (8-2) hosts Prairie Ridge (8-2) at 1 p.m. Saturday.

“It’s going to get harder,” St. Francis coach Bob McMillen said. “We’re going to play tougher teams and we’ve got to get better as a group because we want to continue to keep this thing going.”

Sterling coach Jonathan Schlemmer said he was proud of the effort his team put forth and the Golden Warriors’ season as a whole.

“If you had talked to a lot of people, they probably wouldn’t have thought we’d be standing here tonight,” Schlemmer said. “Credit to our seniors because our seniors worked really hard. It was a season where we won the games that we had to and we found ways in some close ones. As we got here tonight, we ran into a really talented ballclub.”

Golden Warriors quarterback Drew Nettleton made sure his team did not go down without a fight. He battled all night and threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes, including a 95-yard strike to Kaedon Phillips.

“It was really important. It meant everything to us,” Nettleton said, reflecting on the week. “To work hard every single day, Monday through Friday … it was a wild ride. I love the Blue and Gold more than anything. So it hurts a lot.”

Schlemmer has his sights set on next fall.

“Our goal is to get back and to be able to compete with teams like that,” he said. “So we’ve got a lot of work to do and we’ve got to get some kids in the weight room and get back to work.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20241101/prep-football/washington-zigs-zags-st-francis-to-victory-over-sterling/