Aurora Christian gets signature victory over St. Francis

After cruising to four easy wins to start the season, Aurora Christian entered Friday’s game with St. Francis looking to make a bit of a statement as the Eagles headed to the more difficult part of their schedule.

Four dominant quarters later, they did just that.

Behind a stifling defense and a running game led by Joel Bouagnon, the Eagles stayed perfect on the season at 5-0 with a 41-14 win.

“This is one of the signature wins in Aurora Christian football history,” said ACHS coach Don Beebe. “That’s a Class 5A powerhouse that we just beat. This team has some moxie about them and it was really evident (Friday).”

After the Spartans (3-2) took the opening kickoff and scored three minutes, 45 seconds into the game on a 49-yard pass from Michael Robinson (162 yards passing) to Andrew Brundage (6 catches, 103 yards) to make it a 6-0 game, Aurora Christian took over and scored 21 points in the final six minutes of the first quarter.

Bouagnon put the first touchdown on the board with a 21-yard run. Brandon Mayes blocked a punt and two plays later hooked up with Ryan McQuade on a 29-yard scoring play, and Mayes then capped the onslaught by forcing a fumble that Bouagnon recovered in the end zone to make it a 21-6 game after one.

The defense, which held the Spartans to 23 yards rushing on 23 carries in the first half, later added the Eagles’ final touchdown when MJ Zepeda returned an interception 18 yards to make it a 41-6 game. In between all of that, Bouganon rushed for 200 yards on 15 carries while scoring twice.

“We were ready to come hard and ready to win,” said Bouganon. “The coaches stress being hungry, that the score is always 0-0 and we need to get more. We came ready to play and worked hard.”

The Eagles, who were missing wideout Chad Beebe who broke his left arm in last week’s win over Wheaton Academy, rushed for 245 yards, while McQuade threw for 128 yards and two scores.