`BATTLE' BECOMES RUNAWAY ST. FRANCIS WR DOMINATES IN WIN ST. FRANCIS 40, CRESCENTA VALLEY 7.

Byline: Erik Boal Special to the Daily News

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE - The ``Battle for Foothill Boulevard'' might as well have been called ``The Battle for the Foothill Freeway'' the way Scott Stephens was racing past Crescenta Valley High of La Crescenta's football team Friday night.

Stephens, a senior receiver/defensive back for St. Francis of La Canada Flintridge, used his speed to record 217 all-purpose yards and a career-high four touchdowns, leading the host Golden Knights to a 40-7 nonleague victory, their fourth in a row over their intercity rival.

``He's a gamebreaker. That's why we wanted to try to get the ball in his hands as much as possible,'' St. Francis coach Jim Bonds said . ``We've been so impressed with him as a defensive back. We knew he could catch the (deep) ball, but he's shown some real skill as a defensive back.''

St. Francis improved to 14-5 all-time against C.V. in a series that began in 1961.

Stephens, at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, made his impact on offense and defense, catching four passes for 145 yards - including touchdown passes of 30 and 50 yards - along with scoring on a 1-yard run.

Also considered one of the top sprinters in the Mission League, Stephens demonstrated his ability when he outran five would-be tacklers on a 62-yard interception return to give St. Francis (2-0) a 20-0 lead in the second quarter.

``I'm a realist. This is a good football team and we came out and were thundered by their execution,'' said C.V. coach Alan Eberhart, who received a 2-yard touchdown run by his son, junior Eric Eberhart, to break the shutout with 2:30 remaining.

St. Francis, which limited Arcadia to 169 yards in its opener, held the Falcons to 162.