The three people stopped, stared at what was going on on the field and had obvious looks of confusion on their faces.

Even after more than a year of preparation and talking about adding football, it was still somewhat odd to see St. Joseph’s grass soccer field dressed up for a different kind of football.

Indeed, that’s what happened. Soccer goals were off to the side, with new American football goalposts front and center, as the Jayhawks played their first eight-player football game and lost 54-7 to preseason No. 1 team Monticello.

Their first American football touchdown was scored by Brazilian junior Daniel Fontes, who’s scored 66 goals in two seasons for the SJC boys soccer team.

Patrick Carr, Standard-Examiner

Fontes took a direct snap down the left side for a 90-yard touchdown, nearly cramped in the last 10 yards, jogged across the end zone, caught his breath, kicked the extra point and then kicked the ensuing kickoff for a touchback.

“Most of the kids were kind of nervous but, like we always talk in the locker room, meetings before the game, to stay cool, we knew they were good … just try to do our best,” Fontes said. “Thankfully, we could get a touchdown.”

A couple hundred people filed into the grass soccer field to watch the game. The booster club fed everyone burgers and hot dogs for free. The weather was about as good as one could ask for in mid-August, and both teams joined together in a prayer circle at midfield afterward.

Things also started well in the game for St. Joseph. The Jayhawks stopped Monticello on fourth down on the Buckaroos’ first series deep in St. Joseph territory.

Once Monticello got the ball back, however, it scored and didn’t stop. Eventually, Monticello built a 40-0 lead at halftime and 54-0 advantage after three quarters.

Patrick Carr, Standard-Examiner

The Buckaroos took advantage of multiple St. Joseph fumbles and bad snaps, and manufactured some long drives of their own — including one that ended with a passing score as the second-quarter clock hit zero.

The second half was played with a running clock, but Fontes’ TD run gave the home fans and home team something to celebrate at the end of what proved to be a difficult game.

“Well we kind of just, I just try my best,” Fontes said. “I was almost cramping so I just kept running … it felt awesome, they all went crazy. It was a good feeling.”

The Jayhawks worked all week on the center-quarterback exchange but on their first offensive play, they fumbled the snap, which happened several additional times.

St. Joseph running back Roderick Richards III picked up some first downs with runs outside early on, giving the team some glimmers of optimism on offense.

“Now we just need like six more of those and then we’re in the end zone,” one person in the student section remarked after one of Richards’ runs.

Richards nearly scored on a sweep down the right side in the second quarter but was pushed out of bounds at the 15-yard line.

Injuries later took their toll, with Richards and Korbyn Morrisey sitting out the second half with various ailments, and quarterback Jake Scehnet getting a cramp in the fourth quarter.

St. Joseph dressed 12 players and had two more in jerseys on the sideline. Monticello dressed 25.

Jayhawks head coach Jeramy Hunt-Loveless feels the team needs to chew up more clock to give itself a break on defense and control the tempo, since it’s mostly the same eight players on the field the whole game.

But he a took a lot from Friday’s game, which was the first football game not just for the school, but for about half the players on the team.

“We got beat bad on the score but there’s lots of victories … that I feel real positive about,” he said.

SYRACUSE 23, BRIGHTON 17

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Shaun Blanton took a screen pass for an 18-yard, go-ahead touchdown as Syracuse (2-0) escaped Brighton with a 23-17 comeback win late Thursday night.

Television replays showed Blanton, a Lone Peak transfer, step out of bounds twice on his TD catch, but it was called good on the field.

Rhett Thompson went 3 for 3 on field goals and made two in the fourth quarter as Syracuse outscored the Bengals 13-0 in the final frame.

Keller Facer intercepted two passes and Hoyt Pula intercepted one for the Syracuse defense. Facer had a fumble return for a touchdown inadvertently whistled dead by the officials in the first half. The defense made two fourth-down stops in the final minutes to close out the game.

Syracuse’s offense struggled to take advantage of early defensive success and some short fields, and turned it over three times. Thompson’s first field goal made it a 3-0 Titans lead in the first quarter.

Brighton’s Miles Peters caught a 30-yard TD pass where the ball first tipped off his hands, then the Syracuse safety’s hands, and then back into Peters’ hands for a 7-3 Brighton lead.

Syracuse responded on the next series when Blanton threw a 54-yard TD pass to DJ Mayes. The Titans led 10-7 at halftime before Brighton took a 17-10 lead into the fourth quarter.

Mayes had 10 catches for 152 yards. Blanton had 71 receiving yards on seven catches.

Connect with reporter Patrick Carr via email at pcarr@standard.net, Twitter @patrickcarr_ and Instagram @standardexaminersports.