RIO LINDA, Calif. – Sophomore Lola Fox threw for three touchdown passes while sophomore Piper Bates posted two of her team's five total interceptions, as St. Francis rolled past Rio Linda, 19-7, in a Sac-Joaquin Section Peter J. Saco Foundation flag football game at Marion L. Adams Memorial Stadium Tuesday night.

The contest served as one of 34 contests around the area for which all revenue supports the section's A. Dale Lacky Scholarship and Women In Sports Conference. The games are named in memory of the beloved SJS commissioner. The Foundation Game does not count toward the team's win-loss record or postseason seeding, nor do stats count toward season totals.

Fox fired her TD passes to Jade Abalateo, Natalia Zitelli and Nevaeh Gavino. Her toss to Abalateo actually targeted junior transfer Millie Katzeff, but the tipped pass instead found its way into the hands of Abalateo. Zitelli haul was the only play of the Troubadours' second series following a punt. SF gained possession on its own 30-yard line, then marched forward to the 35 on an offsides call. Zitelli grabbed the pass around the midfield logo, then scampered all the way to the end zone. Zitelli then tacked on the one-point conversion to make it a 13-0 SF lead.

However, St. Francis largely kept its host off the field thanks to the five picks: Bates with 4:23 left in the first quarter, then again on a 2nd-and-1 to start the fourth. Alexa Randall snared a pass on the first play from scrimmage after the two-minute warning of the first half. Rio Linda regained possession with a takeaway of its own immediately after Randall's INT, but Abbey Pavelchik snatched a second-and-2 toss deep in her own territory in the final minute before halftime.

Alexa Randall landed the fifth interception with less than two minutes left in the fourth. The opportunity came on a fourth-and-8 from the Rio Linda 32. Instead of batting the ball down to give her team possession at the original line of scrimmage, the tennis/track star opted to collect the pick –and ended up running the ball back to the home 32 anyhow.

Abalateo posted two short gains plus a five-yard pass to Tayli Paeu-Lindgren to set up a first-and-goal, but more importantly, the fourth-and-short conversion ensured St. Francis could keep the ball for the entire final 90 seconds of the win.

The Troubie varsity volleyball team hosts Vista Del Lago for its version of the SJS Foundation fundraiser on Wednesday on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Flag football returns to action for the 2025 home opener against Rio Americano on Thursday, weather permitting. The JV squad kicks off the doubleheader at 4 p.m. with varsity following at 5 p.m.