Sparty time for St. Francis QB
Dual- threat Bobowski getting it done in first year of new offense
Clint Bobowski was on the sideline for some of the greatest moments in St. Francis football history.
Now he’s creating a few of his own.
Bobowski was a water boy for St. Francis’ Class 5A state champs in 2008, when his dad Stan was an assistant coach ( as he still is) and his older brother, also named Stan, was a starting running back.
“That was a really awesome experience,” Clint Bobowski said.
His top memories? “Obviously, state game [ a 49- 35 win in which Stan ran for three touchdowns] and them always thinking they were underdogs. But they were able to beat Driscoll and Montini.”
Now Bobowski can say he beat Montini as well. On Friday, he passed for 266 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 134 yards and two scores as the Spartans rolled by the Broncos 31- 7 in the Catholic League Green. That earned Bobowski Sun- Times Athlete of the Week honors as well as a measure of redemption.
“Sophomore year we lost by one point on a last- second Hail Mary,” Bobowski said. “We had a chip on our shoulders.”
And the Spartans had the right guy to lead them in Bobowski, a 6- foot, 185- pound senior.
“He’s done an unbelievable job,” first- year St. Francis coach Mike Fitzgerald said. “He’s just a great athlete, an unbelievable leader.”
That’s come in handy as the Spartans ( 5- 2) have had to retool their offense after losing running back Steven Fassnacht to injury in a Week 3 loss to Marmion.
Now Bobowski is getting more carries. That might have happened against Montini anyway, according to Fitzgerald.
“I remember watching the [ 2013 Class 5A] state- championship game with Montini,” Fitzgerald said. “I remember the Sacred Heart quarterback having a lot of success. I kidded with Clint, ‘ I think youmight run the ball 25- 30 times.’”
The number was actually 26, along with 25 passes ( he completed 16).
That balance is what the Spartans are shooting for as they make the transition to Fitzgerald’s offense.
“It was a little bit of a shock, going from the Wing-T to the spread,” Bobowski said. “Coach Fitzgerald did a great job this offseason of installing it.”
For his part, Fitzgerald appreciates the luxury of having a couple of capable quarterbacks: Bobowski and Nick Dama, who has been seeing time at receiver.
“It was really competitive situation all summer,” Fitzgerald said. “[ Having Dama] allows us to use Clint very aggressively and not have to worry, ‘ What if he takes a hit?’”
Bobowski has a knack for making tacklers miss, but he’s not afraid of contact, either.
“He’s got great speed, a great burst, good vision,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s not the biggest guy on the block, but he’s not [ always] trying to juke people. He’ll go right at a guy.”
Bobowski took on his offseason regimen with the same attitude. “From the get- go, right after basketball season ended, he never missed a [ weight] lift,” Fitzgerald said.
That effort is paying off now, with wins like Friday’s.
“Week by week, we’ve been getting better,” Bobowski said. “This was a big step. That really proved to ourselves and a lot of other people that we are a good team.”