Loretto, Pa. (Sept. 8, 2007) – The Saint Francis football team played their inaugural game of the 2007 season against untested Morehead State on Saturday, Sept. 8, at 1pm at DeGol Field in Loretto, Pa.

After going down 13-0 at the conclusion of the first half, the Red Flash showed resiliency by coming back and taking a 14-13 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, Morehead State had more than enough time to stage a comeback, and with 8:39 left on the clock, the Eagles let their big fullback, Ricky Cornelius, handle business. Cornelius totaled 39 yards on the 4:34 minute drive, and eventually, MSU quarterback Brian Yost found his sophomore halfback, Jerrod Pendelton in the end zone on an 8-yard touchdown toss for the winning score of the game. The final score of Saturday's match-up resulted in a 21-14 Morehead State victory.

The Red Flash's overall play was highlighted by two phenomenal offensive outputs from junior wide receiver Antoine Rivera (Willingboro, NJ/Willingboro -BCIT) (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) and first-time starter at quarterback, George Little (Duquesne, Pa./Duquesne) (Duquesne, Pa./Duquesne).

Rivera, a returning wideout from last year's offense, hauled in 8 balls for a total 169 yards. Those extraordinary numbers earned him 5th place all-time receiving in a single game in the Saint Francis record books, edging out Elliot Miller who had the previous 5th place mark at 168 yards. Also, Little wasted no time in his debut under center, showing off his arm strength by completing 17 passes for a total 290 yards.

“It's great to see our ball club finally reach the playing level of our opponent”, stated SFU head coach Dave Opfar. “It's a little frustrating to drop a decision when our team displayed signs of brilliant play throughout the game. We needed to start off the game the way we played in the second half. It was liberating to see George Little (Duquesne, Pa./Duquesne) mature in the later stages of the game. He played even better than his numbers showed. In the first half, he threw some great passed that could have been caught, and in the end, that may have been the deciding factor. If our defensive schemes hold up and we develop a bit of a stronger ground attack, we most assuredly have all the tools to be a competitor in the NEC. We have the talent, now we just need to learn how to win.”

Not only were Rivera's and Little's numbers on offense quite impressive in the opening tilt of the season, but an exhilarating one-handed, 32-yard touchdown grab in the middle of traffic with one second left in the third quarter from sophomore wide receiver Troy Eison (Shelton, Conn/Shelton) (Shelton, Conn. / Shelton) showed the kind of potential this Red Flash offense can exude.

Another encouraging statistic came from the two freshman linebackers who played well in their opening scrimmage at IUP on Aug. 30. Matthew Parker (Darlington, PA/Blackhawk) (Darlington, Pa. / Blackhawk) and Scott Lewis (South Fork, PA/Bishop McCourt) (South Fork, Pa. / Bishop McCort) each tallied eight tackles. Lewis registered two sacks for a loss of 12 yards; a sign of things to come from the youthful defender. Saint Francis' defense was guided by junior defensive back Andrew Ardestani (Oakmont, Pa/Riverview) (Oakmont, Pa. / Riverview) and senior linebacker Louis Beninato (Colts Neck, NJ/Colts Neck ) (Colts Neck, N.J. / Colts Neck), each making a team-leading 11 tackles in the game.

Morehead State succeeded in the time of possession battle, posting a 37:25 to 22:35 count. In the fourth quarter, the Eagles had custody of the ball for 12:05.

Morehead State won the toss and deferred the kick to Saint Francis. Eagles' placekicker Max Hammond booted it to Red Flash returnman Calvin Williams (Cleveland, Ohio/South High School) (Cleveland, Ohio/South) at the nine-yard line. Williams attempted to kick start the offensive charge by returning it to the 41-yard line for 32 yards. Senior tailback Anthony Richards (Parlin, N.J./Cardinal McCarrick) (Parlin, N.J./Cardinal McCarrick) broke out an 11-yard run on the first offensive touch of the season. Little, his first career start as Saint Francis' quarterback, looked sharp on his first few pass attempts. A few dropped passes early in the first half thwarted any of Little's attempts to get some SFU points on the board. On the fourth play in the opening drive, starting from his own 44-yard line, Little fired a direct strike to Rivera for 17-yards, but that was about all the Flash could put together on that charge. Senior kicker Adam Sciulli (Pittsburgh, Pa/Central Catholic) (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) came on for a 45-yard field goal attempt, but sprayed it right.

Morehead State took over possession at their own 28-yard line and ran a few ineffective plays on their first drive of the game, but a pass interference call kept the drive alive as Eagles' halfback Ricky Cornelius carried the ball for seven yards on the next play. MSU Quarterback Brian Yost scrambled for a 25-yard gain directly after, and three snaps later, Eagles' halfback Jerrod Pendleton found the end zone on a 6-yard carry at 7:35 of the first quarter.

Richards returned MSU's second kick of the game for 19-yards, but the Red Flash could not capitalize on the noble return. Morehead State started their next drive right around the halfway stripe at 5:15 of the first quarter after a 40-yard punt from junior punter Bobby Fuller (Mount Savage, Md/Beall) (Mount Savage, Md./Beall), but SFU junior cornerback Rickey Williamson (Waldorf, Md/Crosslands) (Waldorf, Md./Crosslands) read Yost's first pass of the drive perfectly, picking him off and dashing 32 yards down to the Eagles' 31-yard line. Little duplicated Yost's action two plays later. MSU linebacker Wes McDermott snagged Little's attempt to give the Eagles field position at their own 20-yard line.

Morehead State did not convert on the turnover, but Eagles' punter Mason Webb pinned SFU on their own six-yard line, one of three punts he nailed inside the 20. Little did not hesitate to find his favorite receiver of the day at the start of the second quarter. A 23-yard rope to Rivera allowed the offense some breathing room, but the fancy catch was annulled after he coughed the ball up at the Flash's 22-yard line. After two positive carries from Morehead State's two-back set, Yost tossed his first touchdown pass to a wide open Pendelton at 12:43 of the second stanza. The extra point attempt failed, but MSU stayed on top, at a 13-0 count. Little was sacked on a fourth-and-five play on the next drive, but that had no effect on the first half score as five punts were exchanged between both squads to conclude the first half of play.

On MSU's opening charge of the second half, a nice offensive drive was foiled when Yost lost the ball on SFU's 12-yard line. SFU's Beninato scooped up the fumble, and three plays later, Little found his workhorse, Rivera, on a 42-yard heave. Another 21-yard pass to Rivera gave the Flash a first-and-ten opportunity on MSU's 14 yard-line, but two incomplete passes and two unsuccessful rushes lead to a turnover on downs. Two possessions later, the Flash marched down the field on the efforts of Little's arm. The drive was amazingly capped off on MSU's 32-yard when Little bulleted a pass to Eison's outstretched right hand. Eison made the miraculous one-handed catch, and plowed his way through three MSU defenders to get the Red Flash on the board at 0:01 of the third quarter. Sciulli tacked on the point after, ending the successful 6 play, 80 yard drive.

On the Eagles' next drive, Yost found the wrong color jersey for the second time of the day. Senior defensive back Antwan Coleman (Braddock, Pa. / Woodland) made the energetic interception and carried the ball 17 yards down to Morehead State's 25-yard line. Little wasted no time leading the charge. On the very next play, Little went over the top to a flanking Rivera for 24 yards. Little finished what he started on a 1-yard rushing touchdown at 14:39 of the final quarter. That one-yard scamper marked Little's first rushing touchdown of his career and gave SFU the first lead of the game, 14-13.

Each team punted on the following two possessions. Mammoth MSU fullback Ricky Cornelius had three carries in a row for 9, 2 and 25 yards, respectively, bringing MSU all the way down to Saint Francis' 29-yard line. Nine plays later, Yost located a wide open Pendelton for an 8-yard touchdown pass with 4:05 left in the game. That was the second Yost-Pendelton touchdown connection of the day, and it would be the final tally in Saturday's contest. Saint Francis tried to mount a comeback two offensive possessions later, marching all the way down to MSU's 42-yard line, but time expired before the offense could find the end zone.

The Red Flash will play their second regular season game on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 1pm when the venture to Moon Township, Pa. to take on the Robert Morris Colonials at Joe Walton Stadium. This will be Saint Francis' first Northeast Conference match-up of the season. Opfar will hope to have his team ready for this very crucial opening NEC competition.