BOX SCORE STATESBORO, Ga. – Sophomore running back Khairi Dickson (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) scored a pair of touchdowns and redshirt senior running back Kyle Harbridge (Easton, Pa./Easton Area) rushed for 132 yards in the Saint Francis season opener, but it wasn't enough to overcome No. 10 Georgia Southern Saturday night at Paulson Stadium. The Eagles won, 59-17.

Dickson, who rushed for two touchdowns as a freshman in 2012, matched that mark in the opening game of his sophomore season. His first touchdown cut into a 20-0 Georgia Southern lead in the final minute of the first half, capping a lengthy 16-play, 71-yard drive.

Harbridge rushed for 37 yards on nine carries on the drive that chewed 7:46 off the clock, but the big play was a pass from quarterback Max Ward (Steelton, Pa./Middletown) to Anthony Abeid (Youngstown, Ohio/Youngstown Christian). On 3rd-and-13 from the GSU 26, Ward led Abeid perfectly into the right sideline with a teardrop pass that carried him out of bounds at the 2. Two plays later, Dickson plunged in to make the score 20-7.

The Red Flash (0-1) almost had a golden opportunity on their first defensive possession to take an early lead. After a three-and-out on the opening possession of the game, senior Joe Laukaitis (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St.Clair) forced a fumble with a big hit in the backfield on Eagle running back William Banks. GSU recovered the fumble but was forced to punt a couple plays later.

The Eagles took control with three scores prior to Dickson's 1-yard run, and they used their quick-strike offense to hit again just prior to the end of the half. The fourth score of the first half took just four plays and 29 seconds, but it left just enough time for Saint Francis to take another crack.

Ward hit junior wide receiver Terell Smith (West Haverstraw, N.Y./North Rockland) with a deflected Hail Mary pass to the Georgia Southern 1, but time had expired during the play. With a flag on the Eagles for pass interference, the Red Flash elected to take the 15-yard penalty to move the ball back to the GSU 39. A defensive penalty cannot end a half, so the Flash had one untimed down to make a move. The second Hail Mary pass was intercepted, and SFU went into the break trailing, 27-7.

Ward finished the game 3-of-7 for 49 yards while rushing for 22 more. Fellow redshirt freshman quarterback Capri Thompson (Clairton, Pa./Clairton) went 4-of-11 for 45 yards. Senior Dane Domonkos (Windber, Pa./Bishop McCort) led the team with four catches for 54 yards, while Abeid had two grabs for 31 yards.

Despite the score, SFU had matched the highly-ranked Eagles in every other category. The Red Flash held a 13-9 advantage in first downs and controlled the time of possession, holding the ball for 24:19 compared to the Eagles' 5:41. Saint Francis was also 7-for-12 on third downs during the first half.

The big-play capabilities of GSU (2-0) proved too much, however, as it scored 19 points in the first 7:28 of the second half to put the game out of reach. Harbridge had his longest rush of the game, 42 yards, on a drive late in the third that set up a 41-yard field goal from redshirt freshman Lance Geesey (Harrisburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) to make it 53-10.

Dickson scored the only touchdown for either team in the fourth quarter, bouncing a hand-off out to the right side as he went in untouched with under a minute to play. Dickson finished with 76 yards on the ground, and SFU rushed for 230 while averaging 4.3 yards per carry. On the defensive side, freshman linebacker Wesley Nagaseu (Waipahu, Hawaii/Waipahu) led the Red Flash with seven tackles.

Saint Francis travels to No. 20 James Madison next Saturday night at 6:00 p.m.