Two St. Francis Grads to Go Head-to-Head in World Series

Written by Susan C. Schena 

As Game 1 of the 109th World Series gets underway Wednesday at Boston's Fenway Park, two graduates of St. Francis High School in Mountain View are squaring off -- Daniel Descalso of the St. Louis Cardinals and Daniel Nava with the Boston Red Sox. 

"For the St. Francis community, this year’s World Series will go down as one of the most exciting matchups ever, as two former Lancers face off against each other," administrators said on the school's site.  

Their former Lancer coach Chris Bradford is beyond thrilled.

“This is fantastic. Who could have thought this would happen? I’m so proud,” he said on the site. “I started to think about the possibilities, but I didn’t want to be disappointed. I was a basket case last week, but now I’m going to have fun.”

Descalso, 27, a San Carlos native who attended St. Charles School and plays shortstop for the Cards, graduated in 2004 from St. Francis, where he was celebrated with a "Daniel Descalso Day."

Nava, 30, a Redwood City native and 2001 St. Francis grad, is a Red Sox out-fielder with a can-you-believe it past of not making his first college team and regarded as "too small" for the game.