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Long and Dorsett Preview RMU

LORETTO, Pa. (Oct. 3, 2012) – The Saint Francis University football team returns home to take on in-state conference rival Robert Morris Saturday at noon as the university hosts' family weekend.
 
JUST THE FACTS
Saint Francis (2-3, 1-1 NEC) vs.
Robert Morris (1-3, 0-1 NEC)
Kickoff: Noon
All-Time: Robert Morris leads 15-2-1
Last Meeting: Sept. 24, 2011 – RMU 45, SFU 14
 
SETTING THE STAGE
The Red Flash enter Saturday's contest coming off a pair of losses after falling to nationally ranked Towson Sept. 22 and being bested in a tight conference match up with Duquesne, 24-21. The Dukes used a field goal in the final minute to slip past the Flash in the closest game ever between the two rivals in their 99-year history. Robert Morris enters Saturday's meeting with the Red Flash coming off its first win of the season. RMU opened the season against the defending national champion and top ranked North Dakota State, followed by meetings with preseason conference favorite Albany and a meeting with Dayton. The Colonials picked up their first win of the season last Saturday by knocking off previously unbeaten Lafayette out of the Patriot League.
 
SFU brings in the top rated rushing attack in the Northeast Conference led by Keion Wade (East Orange, N.J./East Orange), John Kelly (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora) and Khairi Dickson (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic), who all rank in the Top 10 in the league in rushing. Kelly has also been efficient in the passing game and currently ranks fifth in the NEC in pass efficiency. SFU also brings in the league's top punter in Grant Price (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll). The Fort Wayne, Ind. native leads the NEC in punting average and enters the weekend ranked 17th nationally. Wade has been the biggest threat inside the red zone and currently ranks fourth in the NEC in scoring, a mark which is tied for 30th nationally.
 
The Colonials bring in a struggling offensive unit that currently ranks last in the NEC in scoring and last in the league in total offense. RMU is coming off its best offensive output of the season as the Colonials racked up 31 points against Lafayette. The Colonials racked up 185-yards on the ground with running back Evan Taylor gaining 94 yards and quarterback Jeff Sinclair picking up 84 yards. Donte Jeter posted a huge day receiving for RMU with seven catches for 131 yards.
 
NUMBERS TO KNOW
0 – Despite 368 rushing yards and a 6.2-yards per carry average, John Kelly (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora) has yet to score a rushing touchdown this season.
 
1 – Kelly needs one completion to move into second all-time at SFU in career completions.
 
3 – Josh Thiel (Leesburg, Va./Heritage) moved into third in career points at SFU last week and now has 152 career points.
 
6- The Red Flash offense has six fewer turnovers this season through five games then it did last season.
 
7 – The Red Flash offense arrives at the sixth weekend of the season ranked seventh nationally in rush offense entering its match up with Robert Morris averaging 262.2 yards per game on the ground.
 
13.8 – The average number of points scored by the Colonials per game this season.
 
15 – Thiel sits just 15 made PATs  away from tying Adam Sciulli for the most in SFU history.
 
28.2 – The Red Flash offense enters the sixth week of the season averaging 28.2 points per game, 5.2 points better than the SFU offense last season through five games.
 
31 – Under head coach Chris Villarrial the Red Flash hold a record of 4-3 when scoring 31 or more points. However when the Red Flash allows 31 or more points they hold a record of 1-17 under Villarrial.
 
34 – The Red Flash have generated 34 plays of 20-yards or more this season with eight of those plays going for touchdowns.
 
58 – The longest play of the season for the Red Flash was made by the SFU defense when Mike Dennis (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck) returned an interception 58-yards for a score.
 
465 – In place of the injured Kyle Harbridge (Easton, Pa./Easton Area), Keion Wade (East Orange, N.J./East Orange) continues to produce big numbers for the Red Flash offense. Wade enters the weekend having rushed for 465 yards with seven touchdowns with a 5.8-yards per carry average.
 
RUNNING TOWARD SUCCESS
The last three seasons the team that finished the season as the conference leader in rush offense claimed at least a share of the Northeast Conference title. The Red Flash currently rank first in the NEC in rushing and seventh nationally averaging 262.2 yards per game on the ground. One of the other keys to conference success in the past three seasons has been a running quarterback. The conference champion in each of the past three seasons has featured one of the top two rushing quarterbacks in the conference. John Kelly (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora) currently ranks as the top rated rushing quarterback in the NEC and fourth ranked QB nationally in rushing. The senior enters the sixth week of the season ranked 57th nationally in rush yards per game with a 73.6-yards per game average.
 
NEC Leader in Rush Offense
2012 – Saint Francis (262.2)
2011 – Duquesne (212.8)*
2010 – CCSU (212.5)*
2009 – CCSU (219.4)*
*-won NEC title
 
TURNING OVER OFFENSE  
The Red Flash defense has triggered its offense this season. The Flash defense has generated the third most turnovers in the Northeast Conference (11), but SFU has generated the most points off those turnovers. In total this season, Saint Francis has generated 31.9-percent of its offense off turnovers, the second highest percentage in the NEC behind CCSU, who has had 34.7-percentage of its offense come off turnovers. The Flash also rank among the top teams in the NEC in points off turnovers, which means SFU is one of the league's best at punishing teams for turning the ball over.
 
Points off TO; Per Turnover
SFU – 4.1
Bryant – 3.5
Albany – 3.4
Duquesne – 3.2
CCSU – 2 .9
Monmouth – 2.5
RMU – 2.3
SHU – 1.0
Wagner -0 .9
 
CORNER STONES
SFU cornerbacks Patrick Paul (Port Charlotte, Fla./Port Charlotte ) and Mike Dennis (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck) have turned themselves into one of the top cornerback combinations in the Northeast Conference. Together Paul and Dennis have more interceptions than any other NEC CB combination. Dennis might be slowly becoming one of the league's top corners with two picks and ranking third in the NEC with five pass-break ups through five games this season. Paul, who saw limited action as freshman, continues to excel in a starting roll for the Flash. The sophomore has two interceptions through five games and more tackles (20) this season then all of 2011 (10). Combined with the Flash safeties, Paul and Dennis have posted the sixth best pass efficiency defense in the NEC.   
 
FIFTH YEARS
Dan Conley (Burgettstown, Pa./Burgettstown) and Ryan Revtai (Oakdale, Pa./West Allegheny) have been two of the leaders for the Red Flash on offense and defense so far this season. Conley leads the team in receptions through five games with nine grabs for 63 yards, while Revtai stands second on the team in tackles through five games with 33 total stops. The senior linebacker also ranks tied for second on the team in pass break ups and also collected a fumble recovery against Duquesne.
 
PROTECTING HOME FIELD
The Red Flash fall sports programs have done a great job protecting home field so far in 2012. Through three games entering the weekend, the Red Flash have not lost a game played at DeGol Field in the 2012-13 season. The Red Flash field hockey team picked up its second home win of the season last Sunday, while the football team claimed a win in its home opener Sept. 8 against Bryant.
 
UP NEXT
The Red Flash hit the road to take on preseason favorite and defending conference champion Albany Oct. 13.