St. Francis, James Butler run past Plainfield South

St. Francis 43, Plainfield South 20

THE SKINNY: St. Francis senior running back James Butler was a one-man wrecking crew for the Spartans (2-0) as he scored four touchdowns on his first nine carries in the first half to spark the offense.

TURNING POINT: Plainfield South (1-1) trailed 33-14 with 2:39 remaining in the first half when the Cougars mounted their best offensive series of the game. Plainfield South drove the ball down to the Spartans two-yard line where running back Joshua Harris was stopped just short of the goal line on a fourth-and-goal with less than twenty seconds left in the half.

THE STAR: Butler ran the ball 22 times for 254 yards and scored four touchdowns (66, 57, 31, 51). On each one of his touchdowns Butler broke free of multiple tackles, once even bumping into his own quarterback on a busted play that resulted in a score.

BY THE NUMBERS: St. Francis played to its strength on offense with Butler and a stout offensive line and capitalized on Plainfield South mistakes, forcing three turnovers that resulted in twenty-one points.

QUOTABLE: “I was always taught to never give up on a play because I knew my offensive line was going to keep blocking and I told them that I would meet them all in the end zone,” Butler said.