Notre Dame (5-1), ranked fourth in the Pac-5 Division, scored the game-winning touchdown on a 10-yard run by quarterback Ryan Kasdorf, the reigning Gatorade Player of the Year, with 3:49 remaining in the game. It was Notre Dame’s first lead of the night.
But the dramatics were far from over.
St. Francis quarterback Justin Posthuma engineered a seven-play, 71-yard drive in which he ran for 16 yards and went three-for-four passing for 51 yards. But on its final play, he ran two yards before fumbling. Notre Dame recovered with 1:08 to play and ran out the clock.
“Justin got us down there in the end. I know he’s going to have a hard time sleeping tonight, but without his effort, it’s not as close as it was — I tip my hat to his efforts,” said Bonds of Posthuma, who had 320 total yards. “In the biggest game of his life, he played the game of his life.”
Posthuma finished with 216 yards passing, completing 18 of 25 passes. He also rushed for a team-high 104 yards in 13 carries and a six-yard touchdown with 1:43 to play in the third quarter. The score put St. Francis ahead, 24-14, answering a Notre Dame score that had cut the lead to three points.
Notre Dame rallied for the game’s final 14 points, with the first seven coming off a Dietrich Riley fumble and Kasdorf’s score coming after St. Francis failed to covert a third down when a Posthuma pass was dropped.
It was Riley who started the talk of the upset, weaving 64 yards for an interception return for a score on the game’s first drive. On the ensuing drive, he picked off Kasdorf again on the St. Francis 1, returning the ball 51 yards.
