BOX SCORE FAIRFIELD, Conn. – In what can be described as the most significant win in school history, the Saint Francis football team won for the first time against a ranked opponent as the Red Flash defeated No. 22 Sacred Heart, 30-27, Saturday afternoon.

History can be a pesky villain to shake. The Flash dominated most of the first three quarters of action and held a 27-10 lead at one point in the third quarter, but 17 unanswered points from the Pioneers had the score tied and momentum squarely on the home team's side.

The Pioneers had just tied the game at 27 with a field goal, and the Flash needed some plays to regain control with 9:47 to play. They got it with sophomore quarterback Zack Drayer (Hershey, Pa./Hershey ) hitting Terell Smith (West Haverstraw, N.Y./North Rockland) for 14 yards on a third-and-5. Khairi Dickson (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) had 21 of his 95 yards on the drive. And kicker Lance Geesey (Harrisburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) punctuated the drive with a 35-yard field goal to put the Flash ahead, 30-27, with 5:28 remaining.

The teams traded punts, and Sacred Heart started from its 30 with just 1:33 remaining and had no timeouts. On the fourth play of the drive from the SHU 48, freshman Delondo Boyd (Indian Head, Md./Henry E. Lackey) deflected RJ Noel's pass, and it fell into Dave Coleman (Montclair, Pa./Montclair)'s arms for the interception and the exclamation point on an impressive road victory.

The maturation of Drayer continued against the Pioneers as he threw for 242 yards and three touchdowns. But on the Red Flash's first possession, Drayer showed the overflow crowd at Campus Field that he can catch the ball, as well. On the first play from scrimmage after DaQuan Minter (Johnstown, Pa./Greater Johnstown) intercepted a Noel pass and returned it 24 yards to the Sacred Heart 33, Drayer handed to Anthony Abeid (Youngstown, Ohio/Youngstown Christian) on a sweep. As Abeid slowed down and found the proper grip, Drayer snuck out the backfield and was wide open down the left side for a easy pitch-and-catch to give the Flash a startling 7-0 lead just 1:41 into the game.

Ranked 22^nd in the coaches' poll and 24^th in The Sports Network's poll, Sacred Heart wasn't going to fold so easily. A Red Flash fumble led to a 23-yard field goal and a short punt on the Flash's next drive set up the Pioneers at the SFU 44. Five plays later, Noel found Tyler Dube for a 10-yard score to put the Pioneers ahead, 10-7, with 6:40 remaining in the first.

With the score still 10-7 midway through the second quarter, the Flash forced a Sacred Heart punt with Boyd's sack and forced fumble. Although the Pioneers recovered, the ensuing punt went just 24 yards to set up the Flash at its own 46. Drayer went back to work. He connected with four different receivers on the drive, and he and Abeid reverted to their familiar roles on an 11-yard touchdown pass to give the Flash a 14-10 lead.

After Drayer was intercepted on a deflected pass at the SFU 35, Lorenzo Jerome (Sunrise, Fla./J.P. Taravella) played takeaway with his third interception of the season to stop the threat. The score remained 14-10 Saint Francis headed into the intermission. Sacred Heart ran 18 plays in the second quarter and gained just 53 yards, a 2.9 average.

The big plays opened for the Flash early in the third. Drayer found Abeid wide open for a 63-yard touchdown connection on the opening drive of the half to make it 20-10. The extra point was blocked, but the Flash had a two possession advantage. The defense forced a three-and-out, and the offense picked up where it left off. Khairi Dickson (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) rushed for 29 yards on the drive, and Drayer found a streaking Cole Bush (Apollo, Pa./Burrell) down the seam for a 32-yard score. It's the first career touchdown for Bush, and it gave Drayer his second game in three weeks with at least three touchdown passes. Perhaps the biggest play of the drive came on a third-and-8 at the SFU 33. Drayer found Smith for eight yards and the first down. Smith was his favorite target on the day. He finished with a career-high six receptions for 105 yards. The Flash led, 27-10, with 7:49 left in the third quarter.

Just as some of the demons of past games against ranked opponents appeared to be exorcised, the Pioneers found life. Later in the third quarter, reigning NEC Offensive Player of the Year Keshaudas Spence plunged in from four yards out to cap a 67-yard drive that took just 1:59 off the clock. He finished with 173 yards on 23 carries.

On defense early in the fourth quarter and holding a 27-17 lead, it appeared the Flash had stopped the Pioneers with a sack by Lorenzo Coscarelli (Millstone Township, N.J./Red Bank Catholic). But a late hit penalty on the Flash allowed the drive to continue, and Noel went 18 yards for the touchdown to make it 27-24 with 12:53 remaining. A three-and-out gave the ball right back to the Pioneers, and a Spence 47-yard run set the ball at the Flash 23. The defense held, though, and Sacred Heart had to settle for a 36-yard field goal and a tie game with 9:49 to play.

Abeid had his second multi-touchdown receiving game of the season, hauling in three passes for 86 yards and two scores. Dickson's 95 yards gives him 1,884 for his career, and that moves him into fifth place on the Saint Francis all-time rushing list.

Terrace Bourne (Wilmington, Del./Alexis I. Dupont) wreaked havoc all afternoon in the Pioneer backfield. He finished with a career-high nine tackles. He also registered a half sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. Bishop Neal (Clairton, Pa./Clairton) and Max Ma'afala-Maiava (Pearl City, Hawaii/Aiea ) each had eight tackles. Jerome finished with seven tackles, the interception, and his 10^th pass breakup of the season. He also returned a punt for a touchdown that was called back due to a penalty.

Saint Francis registered four sacks among its seven tackles for loss.

The Red Flash returns to Loretto next Saturday for Homecoming. Saint Francis faces Duquesne at 1:00 p.m.