No. 20 Cougars Dominate Against Judson Eagles for Coach Donley's 340th Career Win
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Judson (0-3) | 0 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 19 |
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) (3-0) | 13 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 51 |
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – On Saturday evening the No. 20 University of Saint Francis Cougars (2-0) played host to the Judson University Eagles (0-2) in their home opener at Bishop D'Arcy Stadium and dominated the action again, winning 51-19.
After a dominating opening week last Saturday in their 52-14 route over the Saint Francis Fighting Saints, the Cougars looked to pick up where they left off and a couple solid defensive stops in the first quarter got them off and running.
Their first two possessions on offense saw junior quarterback Heath Simmons guide his team downfield, but each drive resulted in a field goal by Jack James. Towards the end of the frame though, senior running back Cameron Peterson had several rushes for 10 yards and got the Cougars back in the red zone.
Simmons then connected with Peterson for a 25-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 13-0 for Saint Francis.
After the Eagles answered back with a scoring drive of their own, the Cougars went right back to work on offense as Simmons and Peterson continued to answer the call. This time it was Ryan Walsh who got in on the action with several carries to put the Cougars into Eagles territory.
Now in the red zone, the Cougars pushed their way in as Peterson scored his second touchdown of the game. Saint Francis now led 20-7, but they weren't finished.
The defense stepped up and made the plays to give the Cougars the ball back with under two minutes to play. After a penalty pushed the Cougars back to a 3rd and long situation from the 39, Simmons connected with Laban Davis for a touchdown pass that put the Cougars in command, ahead 27-7 as the game went to halftime.
Heading into the second half, the Cougars managed another successful offensive drive as they started with the ball but resulted in a 30-yard field goal by James, his third of the game.
After the Eagles clawed back and scored a touchdown on their next possession, the Cougars answered right back with stellar running by Peterson and a couple clutch passes by Simmons to find the endzone again. This time it was sophomore receiver Adjaye Dandridge who made the catch for a four-yard score.
A couple more touchdowns followed, one to senior receiver Jay Segal from Heath Simmons, and the other in the final seconds of the game came on a reception by sophomore tight end Reid Schepers on a pass from junior quarterback Luke Robertson.
Throughout the game the Cougars managed 578 yards on offense with 327 on the ground and 251 in the air. A couple interceptions by senior cornerback Damon Hunter and the other by sophomore cornerback Tamaris Springfield also led to a couple scoring drives for the Cougars. In addition, Cam Peterson rushed for 216 yards, which is tied for fifth all-time in program history (with Justin Green) for rushing yards in a single game.
The Cougars resume play next Saturday evening with another home game at Bishop D'Arcy Stadium when they play host to the Saint Xavier University Cougars (1-2) with kickoff set for 6:00 pm.
Cougar fans, stay updated with all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting Saintfranciscougars.com or by downloading the Saint Francis Cougars app.
