Cougars Down No. 19 Fighting Saints
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
#19 St. Francis (IL) (6-2) | 7 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 20 |
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) (7-2) | 7 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The University of Saint Francis (Ind.) football team downed the visiting Fighting Saints of No. 19 St. Francis (Ill.) by a final score of 28-20 on Saturday, November 2.
The Cougars wasted no time putting seven points on the board as Joshua Kulka connected with Adjaye Dandridge for a 71-yard touchdown at the 14:17 mark in the first quarter. The Fighting Saints were able to find the endzone with just 26 seconds left on the clock in the first quarter to tie the score at 7-7. Dandridge scored his second touchdown of the half with 13:01 left to play in the second quarter off a 36-yard pass from Kulka to put USF up 14-7. St. Francis (Ill.) would score again at the 5:10 mark to knot the score up 14-14. The Cougars answered with a 1-yard rushing touchdown from David Smith with just under a minute left in the second to take the 21-14 lead at halftime.
After scoring their third touchdown of the game with 6:56 on the clock in the third quarter, the Fighting Saints would miss the point-after attempt to make the score 21-20 in favor of the Cougars. Lenny Bennett extended Saint Francis's lead to 28-20 with a six-yard rushing touchdown with 13:12 left to play in the fourth quarter. St. Francis (Ill.) was able to put a drive together that put them within field goal position with just over seven minutes left to play in Saturday's game, but Trey Morrell blocked the field goal attempt to keep the Fighting Saints from scoring. The Cougars would hold St. Francis (Ill.) scoreless in the fourth quarter to earn the upset win and take control of the top spot in the MSFA Midwest league.
USF had 497 total yards of offense on 65 offensive plays against St. Francis. Kulka finished the afternoon completing 18 of 24 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns. Bennett led the Cougars on the ground with 112 rushing yards on 14 carries for one touchdown. Smith rushed for 53 yards and had one touchdown against the Fighting Saints. Dandridge caught four passes for 126 yards, an average of 31.5 yards per catch, for two touchdowns. Austin Deleon was perfect in point-after attempts, putting all four between the uprights. Deleon also had five kickoffs for 292 yards and two touchbacks on Saturday.
Defensively, the Cougars forced a pair of fumbles, had seven pass breakups, and a blocked field goal attempt. Saint Francis also held the Fighting Saints to 38% efficiency on third downs and 20% on fourth downs Saturday afternoon. Three Cougars finished with nine total tackles, including Samuel Ampeliotis, Nate Newcomer, and Jaydin Evans. Of those nine tackles, Ampeliotis finished with six solo tackles and two pass breakups. Newcomer also had six solo tackles, a pass breakup and assisted on a tackle for a loss of yards. Marquise Cross had 1.5 tackles for a loss of yards, a forced fumble, and a QB hurry on Saturday. Elijah Hunter also forced a fumble and broke up a pass, while AJ Moore broke through the line to sack the Fighting Saints' quarterback for a loss of five yards on Saturday.
Up next, USF football (7-2, 3-0) will host Saint Xavier University for Senior Day at Bishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium on November 9.
Cougar fans can stay updated on all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting saintfranciscougars.com.
