LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis football team had a big start to Northeast Conference play with a 43-14 win over Wagner on Saturday at DeGol Field.  The Red Flash improved to 4-2 on the year and 1-0 in the NEC.  The Seahawks are now 0-6 overall and 0-2 in the conference.

The Red Flash posted a school-record 628 yards of total offense, including 336 on the ground and 292 through the air, both season-high totals.  Saint Francis held Wagner to 253 total yards, with 142 coming on the ground.

Zack Drayer (Hershey, Pa./Hershey ) connected with tight end Frank Failace (Wayne, N.J./Don Bosco Prep) for three scores on the day.  Drayer completed 16-of-28 passes for a career-high 292 yards and the three touchdowns.  He also had a career day on the ground, rushing for 49 yards on nine carries.

Running backs Khairi Dickson (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) and Marcus Bagley (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) both topped 100 yards for the second time this year.  Dickson had a season-high 161 yards on 23 carries, including a touchdown, his 12th 100-yard game of his career.  Bagley added 126 yards and a score on 12 carries. 

Senior Terell Smith (West Haverstraw, N.Y./North Rockland) posted his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season, hauling in six passes for 130 yards.  Daniel Adams (Washington, D.C./Northwestern) added a career-high 97 yards on four catches.  Anthony Abeid (Youngstown, Ohio/Youngstown Christian) had two receptions for 28 yards, while Failace totaled 23 yards on his three scores.

Junior Lance Geesey (Harrisburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) connected on all three of his field goal attempts, to extend his SFU record to 36 career makes.

On the defensive side, Delondo Boyd (Indian Head, Md./Henry E. Lackey) led the squad with eight tackles, while Lorenzo Jerome (Sunrise, Fla./J.P. Taravella) had seven, including two for loss and a sack.  Solomon Leaeno (Kapolei, Hawaii/James Campbell) added six stops, with one for loss, and Max Ma'afala-Maiava (Pearl City, Hawaii/Aiea ) had two sacks and five tackles.

Saint Francis got on the board first on a 10-yard pass from Drayer to Failace with 7:29 left in the first quarter.  Drayer connected with Terell Smith (West Haverstraw, N.Y./North Rockland) on passes of 22 and 60 yards on the drive.

The Red Flash extended the lead to 13-0 on a five-yard completion from Drayer to Failace at the start of the 2nd quarter.  A 10-play, 81-yard drive was aided two Drayer rushes, combining for 34 yards.

Wagner answered with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Alex Thomson to Lloyd Smith in the corner of the end zone, making the score 13-7 with 9:32 left in the half.

The Red Flash responded with a 13-play, 78-yard drive, ending in a Lance Geesey (Harrisburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) 23-yard field goal.  Smith had receptions of six yards and 15 yards, while Drayer had a 21-yard run on the drive.

Wagner missed a 32-yard attempt at the end of the first half to give SFU a 16-7 lead going into the break.

The third quarter started with the Red Flash scoring on a two-yard run by Khairi Dickson (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic), who had three rushes for 13 yards on the drive.  The drive was also aided by a 20-yard pass to Smith and a 36-yard pass to Adams.

Geesey connected on a 26-yard field goal to give Saint Francis a 26-7 advantage midway through the third quarter.  The drive included a 42-yard pass play to Adams.

Wagner got on the board again, blocking a punt and recovering it for a 13-yard score.  Jarrid Williams blocked the punt, with Najee Harris recovering. 

Saint Francis bounced back on the following possession as Khairi Dickson (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) had a 65-yard rush to setup Failace's third touchdown catch of the day, an 8-yard reception.  Geesey's extra point put SFU up 33-14. 

After a three-and-out by Wagner, the Red Flash added another score on a five-yard run by Bagley.  The sophomore had 27 yards on four carries on the drive, while Dickson added an 18 and a 19-yard run.  Saint Francis led 40-14 with 9:44 left in the game.

Geesey chipped in his third field goal of the evening on a 33-yard attempt with 3:47 left in the game.  Bagley again influenced the drive, with runs of 17 and 53 yards.

Next week, the Red Flash travel to Bryant for a 1 p.m. kickoff.  The Bulldogs are 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the NEC this season.