Loretto, Pa. (Nov. 7, 2009) – A late Daniel Conley (Burgettstown, Pa./Burgettstown) touchdown was not enough to spark a Red Flash comeback as Saint Francis fell to the Monmouth Hawks 24-10 on a sunny Homecoming in Loretto.

The loss drops the Red Flash to 2-7 overall, with a 1-5 record in the Northeast Conference.  Monmouth improves to 5-4 overall with a 4-2 record in the conference.  That, coupled with an Albany loss to Robert Morris on Saturday, puts the Hawks back in the hunt for a conference championship.

The Hawks victory was spurred by senior running back David Sinisi, who has long been a thorn in the side of his Northeast Conference opponents.  The big running back from Cedar Grove, N.J. is the conference's all-time leading rusher, using a style that combines grit and quickness to gash his opponents.

Sinisi finished with 168 yards on 27 carries, as well as 11 yards on four catches.  He finished with two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving).

“Tough, tough kid,” said Saint Francis head coach Dave Opfar.  “He's a very special football player.”

Saint Francis and Monmouth traded field goals on each of their opening drives, but the Hawks were the first to reach the end zone.  At 3:54 of the first quarter, Monmouth quarterback Kyle Frazier eluded a rushing Tyler Gillmen (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) (Tyrone, Pa./Tyrone) and found Sinisi from nine yards out to make the score 10-3.

After Josh Thiel (Leesburg, Va./Heritage) (Leesburg, Va/Heritage) had his 34-yard field goal attempt blocked, the Hawks went back on the offensive.  They launched an eight-play, 80-yard drive that culminated when Frazier threw his second touchdown of the game, this time to Ryan Folsom, to make the score 16-3 (the extra point was missed).

The SFU offense was able to move the ball fairly effectively, gaining 283 total yards, including a nine-carry, 88-yard performance from running back Kyle Harbridge (Easton, Pa./Easton Area) (Easton, Pa./Easton) that featured his third 50+ yard run in two games.  However, two botched field goals (one block, one bad snap) ultimately caught up to them as the Flash were unable to reach the end zone until Conley's 1-yard plunge late in the fourth quarter.

That made the score 24-10 with less than three minutes to play, which Monmouth ran out to seal the victory.

Defensively, Saint Francis was led by Siafa Lavala (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) and Scott Lewis (South Fork, PA/Bishop McCourt) (South Fork, Pa./Bishop McCort), who each finished with 12 tackles.  Lewis moved to within 13 tackles of the school's career record with his performance.  Matthew Parker (Darlington, PA/Blackhawk) (Darlington, Pa./Blackhawk) notched 10 tackles, 2.5 for a loss, and one sack.

In addition to his strong rushing day, Harbridge also added 113 kick return yards on just four returns, including a 59-yard return to start a Red Flash drive in enemy territory.

Saint Francis will go on the road for the last time this season when they travel to take on the Bryant Bulldogs next weekend in Rhode Island.  Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m.