MOUNTAIN VIEW — First play: 50 yards in the air. Touchdown.
Sixth play: 60 yards in the air. Touchdown.
Fourth quarter: 50 yards in the air. Go-ahead touchdown.
When Archbishop Riordan football coach Adhir Ravipati called quarterback Michael Mitchell Jr. “special” after the Crusaders’ 47-28 victory over host St. Francis in a West Catholic Athletic League opener on Friday night, this is what he meant:
“I think he’s the best quarterback in the country,” Ravipati said after Mitchell engineered a comeback that gave Riordan its first victory at Brother Fisher Field since 1971.
Archbishop Riordan quarterback Michael Mitchell Jr. (9) throws a pass in the first quarter of their football game against Saint Francis High in Mountain View, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
Trailing by deficits of 28-20 in the third quarter and 28-26 in the fourth, Riordan closed out the game with 27 points over the final 17 minutes to improve to 4-0 as the No. 2-ranked team in the Bay Area News Group’s Top 25.
Mitchell, a Vanderbilt commit, completed 17 of 30 passes for 363 yards and four touchdowns. He now has 17 touchdown passes against one interception this season and has 95 touchdown passes in his career as a four-year starter.
“I’ve got all the faith in the world in those kids and I’ve got all the faith in the world in No. 9 over there,” said Ravipati of Mitchell. “I know what I’ve got and he’s special. I know what he’s capable of. And he’s proved it time and time again. He did it again tonight.”
Big gainers in Riordan’s 503-yard offensive effort were running back Adonyae Brown (18 carries, 136 yards, three touchdowns), and receivers Judge Nash (three catches, 140 yards) and Kyle Welch (four catches, 132 yards).
The game swung during a sequence of three consecutive plays that put Riordan in position to not only go ahead, but do so decisively.
St. Francis (0-4 overall, 0-1 in the WCAL) sought to add to its lead as the Lancers drove as far as Riordan’s 33-yard line before the drive stalled. On fourth-and-18 on the 38, the Lancers declined to punt and went for it, only for quarterback Drew Cumby — who rotated with starter Andrew Franzino on each series – to get sacked by Frank Ennix for a 10-yard loss.
Archbishop Riordan’s Kyle Welch (15) celebrates a touchdown in the first quarter of their football game against Saint Francis High in Mountain View, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
Given possession at its own 48, Riordan needed one play to get into the end zone – a 52-yard deep ball to Nash against single coverage for a 34-28 lead with 8:45 left.
The ensuing kickoff appeared to be headed out of bounds, but instead was fielded by a Lancer who stepped out at the 6. And on the next play, Franzino was intercepted by Kyle Welch to set up a Brown 8-yard TD to break the game open.
Afterward, Ravipati raved about his own quarterback.
“There’s no one that does what he does at the line of scrimmage,” Ravipati said about Mitchell. “He has full reign to check plays, he checks runs, he sets all of his protections. He really is an extension of the coaches on the field. He’s a brilliant kid.
“Outside of his talent, his makeup is what’s going to make him special. That’s not even football, that’s in life. He’s going to be a CEO or a senator or something some day. I’ll take ‘9’ over anybody in the country any day of the week.”
And the arm strength?
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“It’s incredible,” Ravipati said. “It’s the thing that separates him, frankly. I talk to college coaches and the word they use to describe him is, he’s a freak. There’s not a lot of guys that can do that.”
Despite Riordan’s quick early 13-0 start, St. Francis began to rally when Franzino connected with Sefania Alatini for gains of 45 and 22 yards – the latter for a touchdown. The Lancers took a 14-13 lead later in the second quarter on a 48-yard deep post from Franzino to Sean Walsh. It marked the first time Riordan trailed all season.
Franzino completed 9-of-16 passes for 199 yards and Cumby was 10 of 21 for 135.
“That’s a really good team,” Mitchell said. “They should not be taken lightly by anybody. I’m just proud of the way we fought. That’s the most important thing.”
Archbishop Riordan’s Judge Nash (14) celebrates with Max Mitchell (81) and Kyle Welch (15) after Nash make a reception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of their football game against Saint Francis High in Mountain View, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
Archbishop Riordan’s Judge Nash (14) catches a pass for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of their football game against Saint Francis High in Mountain View, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
Saint Francis High’s Sefania Alatini (32) catches a pass for a touchdown tying the game while being covered by Archbishop Riordan’s Cynai Thomas (17) in the second quarter of their football game in Mountain View, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
Saint Francis High’s Sean Walsh (14) makes the reception before running the ball in for a touchdown in the second quarter of their football game against Archbishop Riordan in Mountain View, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
Saint Francis High quarterback Andrew Franzino (8) trows a pass in the third quarter of their football game against Archbishop Riordan in Mountain View, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)