LORETTO, Pa. (Nov. 8, 2008) – The Saint Francis football team used both quarterbacks, but neither one could find the end zone as the Red Flash were shut out 36-0 by the Blue Devils of Central Connecticut State Saturday afternoon at Arute Field in New Britain.

The Flash now fall to 0-9 on the season and 0-6 in the Northeast Conference. They were also shut out in their season opener 49-0 at Virginia Military Institute on September 7.

The Flash received the ball first and picked up the first down with quarterback George Little (Duquesne, Pa./Duquesne) (Duquesne, Pa./Duquesne) under center, but couldn't hold on to the ball and had to punt it away. The Blue Devils then went three-and-out on their first possession.

After an uneventful second drive, linebacker Scott Lewis (South Fork, PA/Bishop McCourt) (South Fork, Pa./Bishop McCort) recovered a fumble by CCSU's Anthony McCoy at the Saint Francis 45-yard line to give the Red Flash another chance with the ball. Unfortunately, that possession would also end with a punt by Bobby Fuller (Mount Savage, Md/Beall) (Mount Savage, Md./Beall) after Little was sacked by Ray Saunders for a loss for 7 yards.

The second quarter was also a defensive battle, with CCSU's first drive ending in a punt. After the Flash got the ball back, Little made consecutive completions of 6 and 7 yards to Omar Winston (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland South) (Cleveland, Ohio/South) pick up the first down. An 8 yard completion to Anthony Howze (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) as brought by five yards by a false start on the Flash, but an 8 yard catch by Winston brought the Flash to the Blue Devils 10-yard line. Kicker Zak Campbell (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley)'s (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley) 22-yard field goal attempt went wide right to give the Blue Devils the ball at their own 20-yard line.

Again, CCSU picked up a first down, but couldn't find the end zone and punted the ball back to the Flash. Little was sacked again by Saunders for a loss of 8 yards, and Fuller again punted the ball back to the Blue Devils.

CCSU had more luck on their next possession. Josue Paul caught a 12-yard pass from quarterback Hunter Wanket, who replaced Aubrey Norris, to bring up first down at the Saint Francis 45-yard line. James Mallory, who is currently the sixth-best running back in the country for Division I FCS, had consecutive carries of 22, 8 and 13 yards before finishing the drive with a 2-yard run into the end zone for 6 points. Kicker Joe Izzo's point after attempt was blocked to keep the score at 6-0.

The Flash got the ball back once more before the end of the half and picked up the first down with a 24-yard pass to Winston. Little then threw an 8-yard toss to Winston before being intercepted by Marcus Dorsey at the Blue Devils 5-yard line. CCSU was unable to gain any yardage before the half ended with the Red Flash down by 6.

Fuller kicked the ball off to start with second half, and the Blue Devils downed it at their own 27. CCSU went 3-and-out and were forced to punt the ball back to the Red Flash. Little was then intercepted by Dominque Rose on his first pass of the second half to turn the ball over.

Mallory rushed for 11 yards to start the Blue Devils' drive off. Wanket then threw a 10-yard pass to Paul to pick up CCSU's second first down of the possession. A 20-yard completion to Gomes picked up another first down at the Saint Francis 29-yard line, and Mallory continued to lead the Blue Devils up the field before Wanket rushed 9 yards into the end zone for another 6 points. Izzo's point after put the score at 13-0.

Ryan Zarnich (Rochester, Pa./Rochester Area) (Rochester, Pa./Rochester Area) caught a 16-yard pass from Little to pick up the first down for the Red Flash before Little was replaced under center by Colton Sipe (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin). Sipe handed the ball off to Jude Yearwood (Elkridge, Md./Howard) (Elkridge, Md./Howard) who ran for 5 yards, but the Red Flash were again forced to punt the ball back to the Blue Devils.

Wanket rushed for 12 yards, and then handed the ball off to Mallory on the next play. Mallory took the ball up the field 70 yards for a touchdown. Izzo's kick put the Blue Devils ahead 20-0 with 3:53 remaining in the third quarter.

Little re-entered the game and threw an 8-yard pass to Jared Colmer (Ducansville, Pa. /Hollidaysburg) (Duncansville, Pa./Hollidaysburg) to bring up 2nd and 2 at the Saint Francis 39-yard line. Yearwood rushed for a combined 5 yards on the next 2 plays before Little hit Colmer again for a pick up of 5. Winston was the target on next three plays, picking up a combined 25 yards to end the quarter with the ball on the Blue Devils' 41-yard line.

Rose then intercepted Little on his first toss of the fourth quarter. Rose, with his second pick of the day, took the ball 85 yards for a touchdown. Izzo's extra point gave the Blue Devils a commanding 27-0 lead with 14:33 left to play in the game.

Sipe got another chance with the ball for the Red Flash, and started the drive off with a 27-yard run, and then picked up another 14 yards a few plays later. The series ended shortly after when CCSU's Jeff Marino intercepted the ball at his own 30-yard line.

The Blue Devils picked up the first down but couldn't get farther than their own 48-yard line and had to punt it back to the Red Flash. Yearwood rushed for a gain of 11 and then another 2 on the first two plays of the next drive before Sipe was intercepted by Cory Robinson who returned the ball 19-yards to the Saint Francis 28-yard line.

Norris came in for Wanket at quarterback and rushed for 11 yards. He then threw a 2-yard pass to Nick Colagiovanni, who fumbled the ball but then recovered it at the Saint Francis 23-yard line. Norris picked up another 10 yards, and Mallory added 2 more. Izzo's 23-yard field goal put the score at 30-0.

Calvin Williams (Cleveland, Ohio/South High School) (Cleveland, Ohio/South) rushed for a yard but fumbled the ball. CCSU's Ernie Greywacz recovered the ball and then took it 21 yards into the end zone for another 6 points. Izzo's point after was blocked by Russel Fisher (Kailua, Hawaii/Mid-Pac Institute) (Kailua, Hawaii/Mid Pac Institute), leaving the score at 36-0 with 1:43 left to play in the game.

The next drive was all Yearwood, as he rushed for a gain of 3 then a gain of 8 yards. His final run would be a 20 yard pick-up, but wouldn't be enough to reach the end zone leaving the score at 36-0.

Yearwood led the rushing with 53 yards on 15 attempts. Sipe was close behind with 46 yards on 3 carries. Mallory finished the game with 175 yards on 24 carries for the Blue Devils, reaching 100 yards for the 8th time this season.

Little had 18 completions on 28 attempts with 3 interceptions for a total of 166 yards. He was sacked twice by the Blue Devils' defense. Sipe did not have a completion and was picked off twice.

Winston led the receivers, picking up 97 yards on 10 catches. Colmer had 4 catches for 27 yards, followed by Howze, who made 2 catches for a total of 25 yards.

Lewis led the defense again for the Red Flash, with a total of 16 tackles, including 3 tackles for loss and one fumble recovery. Fellow linebacker Matthew Parker (Darlington, PA/Blackhawk) (Downingtown, Pa./Blackhawk) had 13 tackles with 1 TFL. Fisher had the only sack on the day.

The Red Flash return home to host Robert Morris in a 1 PM match up on November 15 at DeGol Field. They will wrap up the regular season on November 22 when the host Bryant.