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Kornovich fumble recovery sparks Rogers' win over St. Francis

By Matthew Davis, SportsEngine, 09/30/16, 1:30PM CDT

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Kyle Kornovich's defensive play gave the Royals an extra push to defeat the Fighting Saints.

Kyle Kornovich made the most of a botched play.

The Rogers senior linebacker flew in to make a fumble recovery that turned the tide in a defensive battle Friday night with St. Francis. It gave the Royals an extra push in a 21-0 win over the Fighting Saints.

Rogers led 7-0 in the third quarter when St. Francis muffed a punt return. After the Saints returner fell on the football, it came loose and got knocked around toward the end zone.

“Someone kicked it,” Kornovich said. “I think it was Hunter Derouin and another guy jumped on it [but] it squirted out. I just saw it and jumped on it and tried to keep the ball.”

It set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Derouin, the senior running back's second score of the night, and gave the Royals a 14-0 lead.

Derouin scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter, ending a quarter and a half of scoreless football that was a result of St. Francis stuffing the Rogers running attack early.

The Royals returned the favor in a punt-filled first half, but Saints senior defensive back Gabe Spah interrupted that trend with an interception in Rogers' territory, which led to a bungled field goal try.

“Our defense played really well throughout the game,” Spah said.

Despite standing 5-foot-9, Spah has a team-best three interceptions this season. Moreover, a Saints secondary that doesn't have any players at 6-0 kept the Royals passing game in check most of the night.

“We have some good speed at the corners, but we have smaller corners,” St. Francis coach Tate Hermann said. “When we go up against teams that like to throw the ball, especially if they have a wideout that's looking a little taller than our guys, they're going to throw the ball.”

Throwing finally paid off for the Royals in the fourth quarter. Senior quarterback Tanner Palm found senior wide receiver Mitch Spilles on a 16-yard TD that sealed the game 21-0.

On that same drive, Palm hit senior receiver Jake Moss for passes of 14 and 12 yards along with a 20-yard completion to senior running back Jarett Flander -- ending a night filled with dropped balls, including one in the end zone earlier in the game.

Penalties, however, bothered Rogers coach Marc Franz all the more. It even kept a Saints' drive going with an offsides call on fourth down.

“We just had way too many penalties,” Franz said.

Royals senior defensive back Alec Camarote quickly made up for the aforementioned call with an interception. Kornovich also stifled a St. Francis drive that started at the 50-yard when he sacked senior quarterback Jared Carda.

Neither Carda nor Saints leading rusher Tommy Schwieger could get the offense going as Rogers keyed in on the senior back who had 529 yards coming into the game.

“I just want to give credit to the D-line,” Kornovich said. “They were taking away their O-line, so me and Jack Kammers could easy reads.”

Kornovich also showed the ability to read and react to a bouncing football, a play that's nearly impossible to replicate in practice.

“Every Tuesday and Thursday we do a takeaway drill where we throw the ball and practice stuff like that,” Kornovich said. “With a football, you really can never guess which way the ball's going to roll because of its shape.”

Rogers (4-1, 2-1), ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press Class 5A state high school football poll, stayed in good shape to win the North Central District Blue Division title with the win. The Royals get unbeaten and No.1-5A-ranked Elk River (5-0, 3-0) next Friday.

“They're good, we're good [and] it's going to be a fun game,” Franz said.

St. Francis (3-2, 1-2) looks to rebound at defending Class 5A state champion and No. 7-ranked St. Michael-Albertville (4-1, 2-1) next week.

First Report

Senior running back Hunter Derouin had two rushing touchdowns for Rogers (4-1, 2-1) in a 21-0 home win over St. Francis  (3-2, 1-2) Friday night.

The game was a scoreless defensive battle through a quarter and a half but turned in favor of the Royals, ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press Class 5A state high school football poll, when Derouin punched in a 1-yard run. 

Durouin solidified Rogers’ advantage with a 4-yard TD run in the third quarter following a botched punt return by the Fighting Saints.

St. Francis senior defensive back Gabe Spah intercepted a pass in Royals territory early in the fourth quarter, but the Saints could not capitalize on it.

Mitch Spilles’ 16-yard TD reception with six minutes remaining sealed the win for Rogers.

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