Flash Points:

• Saint Francis meets Sacred Heart on Saturday for a Noon kickoff at Campus Field.
• The game will be livestreamed on NEC Front Row.
• The Red Flash is 5-3 overall and has an NEC-best record 3-0 in conference play, while the Pioneers are 6-1 overall and 1-1 in the NEC.
• Saint Francis is 3-0 in the NEC for the first time since joining the conference in 1996.
• The Red Flash and Pioneers make up the Top Two of the NEC in multiple defensive categories.

SFU Game Notes | SHU Game Notes | SFU Two-Deep | SHU Two-Deep | Live Stats | NEC Front Row | Scouting Report
 
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis football team visits Fairfield, Conn. on Saturday for another key NEC matchup, this week against Sacred Heart.  The Red Flash and the Pioneers are set for a Noon kickoff at Campus Field, with a live webcast on NEC Front Row.
 
Saint Francis is coming off a big 14-10 win over Duquesne last Friday to improve to 5-3 overall and an NEC-best 3-0 in conference play. 
 
With a 16-10 win against Robert Morris last Saturday, Sacred Heart is now 6-1 overall and 1-1 in NEC play, setting up this week's key matchup.
 
LAST WEEK
Quarterback Zack Drayer (Hershey, Pa./Hershey ) ran for two one-yard touchdowns, including a score with 50 seconds to go in the game, to help SFU to a 14-10 win. 
 
Drayer threw for 157 yards on the day, but his biggest impact was on the ground, with touchdown runs to end each half.  Drayer led SFU's game-winning drive, a 10-play, 63-yard drive that started with 5:11 to go and ended on Drayer's sneak on third and goal in the final minute.
 
Receiver Kamron Lewis (Fresno, Calif./Edison) had four catches for 135 yards on the day, including an 83-yard reception in the final minute of the second quarter to setup Drayer's first touchdown run.  Running back Marcus Bagley (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) added 86 yards on 16 carries, including 55 yards in the fourth quarter.
 
Defensively, Saint Francis was held without a sack for the first time this season, but continued to force turnovers, with two interceptions on the night.  Corner Jermaine Ponder (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) had a pick in the second quarter and Corner Jalen Wells (Westerville, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) recorded an interception for the second straight week, with this week's interception coming on Duquesne's final drive to seal the win for SFU.
 
Linebacker Solomon Leaeno (Kapolei, Hawaii/James Campbell), nose tackle Wesley Nagaseu (Waipahu, Hawaii/Waipahu) and safety Delondo Boyd (Indian Head, Md./Henry E. Lackey) tied for the team-lead with seven tackles each.  Nagaseu had two tackles for loss and two pass breakups, while Leaeno added 1.5 tackles for loss and a breakup.  Boyd had half a tackle for loss. 
 
Wells added six tackles and a pass breakup to his interception to earn his second straight NEC Defensive Player of the Week honor.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The all-time series between Saint Francis and Sacred Heart is currently tied at 10-10.  However, the Red Flash has won the last four meetings, including last year's 23-14 win at DeGol Field. 
 
Drayer connected with Terell Smith (West Haverstraw, N.Y./North Rockland) for 64 and 98-yard touchdown passes, while Lance Geesey (Harrisburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) hit three field goals.  Leaeno led the defense with 11 tackles, including a sack.
 
BEST NEC START
Saint Francis is off to a 3-0 start in Northeast Conference play for the first time since joining the conference in 1996.  The Red Flash has earned wins over Robert Morris (24-10), Bryant (38-3) and Duquesne to start the conference slate.
 
The Red Flash is also on a four-game win streak for the first time since 1992.  During that streak, SFU has held all four opponents to 10 or less points. 
 
THROW IT TO LEWIS
Sophomore receiver Kamron Lewis (Fresno, Calif./Edison) is having an outstanding season after taking over as the top receiver in the offense. 
 
With his 135-yard performance against Duquesne, Lewis now has four 100-yard games this season and raised his season total to 854 yards.  Lewis ranks fourth in the FCS in yards and 10th in yards per game (106.8).  He leads the NEC in both categories as well as receptions per game (5.9) and has 47 receptions on the year.  Lewis has five touchdowns to rank third in the conference.
 
After last Friday, Lewis now has the fifth-most receiving yards in a season at SFU.  He is just four yards behind Michael Caputo (2006) for fourth, 32 yards behind Antoine Rivera (2007) for third and 66 yards behind Terell Smith (West Haverstraw, N.Y./North Rockland) (2015) for second.
 
Lewis was named NEC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts against Duquesne.
 
HE PUNTS TOO
Zack Drayer (Hershey, Pa./Hershey ) has enjoyed a solid Red Flash career, doubling as the starting quarterback and punter. 
 
The senior totaled 343 yards on nine punts against Duquesne, averaging 38.1 yards per kick and placing three inside the 20. 
 
Last Friday, Drayer passed the 7,000-yard mark for his career and now has 7,342 career punt yards.  He is tied for second all-time at SFU with a 36.9 career punt average. 
 
Drayer's next punt will be the 200th of his career, which also ranks second all-time at Saint Francis.
 
THE DARKSIDE
The Red Flash defense, nicknamed "The Darkside", has been "light outs" this year, putting up some impressive numbers to put themselves among the FCS leaders in multiple categories.
 
The Saint Francis defense is allowing only 17.3 points per game this year, good for seventh in the FCS.  SFU has held four straight opponents to 10 or less points and six straight opponents to 20 or less points.
 
SFU also ranks ninth in the nation in total defense, giving up just 285.8 yards per game.  Entering the Duquesne game, the Red Flash had held three straight opponents to under 200 yards and five straight opponents to under 260 total yards.  The Dukes totaled 322 yards, but was held well below its season average of 430.3 yards per contest.
 
The Red Flash defense is good for 11th in the FCS, allowing just 104.6 rushing yards per game.  SFU is also 24th in the FCS, giving up 181.1 passing yards per contest.
 
Saint Francis' 30 sacks this season are the most in the FCS this season.  Leaeno leads the team, and ranks 16th in the FCS, with seven sacks.  Freshman Da'Jon Lee (Fairfax, Va./Robinson) has five sacks, while Stewart has four.  Eleven SFU players have at least one sack this season.
 
SFU's 69 tackles for loss are the second-most in the FCS this year, with Leaeno leading the team with 12.5 TFL and Lee right behind with 11.5.  Stewart has seven tackles for loss and McCord has five.
 
Saint Francis has forced 20 turnovers this year, including 14 interceptions.  The Red Flash is tied for the FCS lead in interceptions, with Jerome tied for the FCS lead with six of those interceptions.  He is also the active leader among current FCS players with 18 career picks.  SFU has at least one interception in every game this year.
 
Cornerbacks Malik Duncan (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) and Wells have two interceptions each this year, while linebacker Ben Bruni (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon), McCord, Ponder and Stewart all have one.
 
FLASH ON TV
All eight SFU games this season have been livestreamed, with two appearances on ESPN3, two appearances on CAASports.TV, two on NEC Front Row, one on the Ivy League Digital Network and one on Cowles Media TV in Montana.
 
SFU made its second appearance on ESPN3 this season against Duquesne, its eighth appearance on ESPN3 in the last five years.  The Red Flash has three more appearances on NEC Front Row.
 
Dating back to the 2011 season, 63 straight SFU games have been broadcasted.
 
TOUGH NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Saint Francis played a very difficult non-conference schedule to start the season.  The Red Flash began the season with four straight road games, competing well in all four.
 
SFU started the season at No. 13 Montana and led 10-6 at halftime and 17-13 in the third quarter, before the Grizzlies rallied for a 41-31 win.
 
The next week, at Towson, who was the top team receiving votes outside of the STATS FCS Top 25, the Red Flash jumped out to a 28-13 lead at halftime, but the Tigers came out on top with 22 unanswered points in the second half.
 
SFU got in the win column with a 13-9 win at Columbia in week three. 
 
The following week, SFU led 9-0 at halftime at No. 22 Albany, but the Great Danes won with a 20-point performance in the second half.
 
However, SFU was able to finish out the non-conference slate with a win over Malone on October 1 to get to 2-3 going into conference play.
 
STAYING IN-STATE
The Saint Francis roster includes 103 players, with 36 players hailing from Pennsylvania. 
 
The roster features 16 players from New Jersey, 13 from Maryland, 9 from Ohio and 7 from Florida as well as five each from New York and Virginia, four from California and Hawaii, two from Texas and one each from Massachusetts and North Carolina.
 
ABOUT THE PIONEERS
Sacred Heart is 6-1 overall and 1-1 in the NEC.  The Pioneers are receiving votes in the STATS FCS Top 25 rankings.  SHU went 5-0 in non-conference play with wins over Stetson (18-14), Valparaiso (42-14), Marist (31-6), No. 20 Stony Brook (38-10) and Cornell (31-24).  In NEC play, Sacred Heart fell 45-20 to Wagner and earned a 16-10 win over Robert Morris last week.
 
Head Coach Mark Nofri is in his fifth season leading the Pioneers, with a 33-21 career record. 
 
Sacred Heart is averaging 28 points per game this season to rank third in the NEC and 427 total yards per game, which is good for 25th in the FCS.  The Pioneers average 229 rushing yards to lead the conference and rank 13th in the FCS.  SHU also averages 198 passing yards per game to rank fifth in the league.
 
RJ Noel, a senior and a fourth-year starter at quarterback, has completed 52.5 percent of his passes for 1,384 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions.  He has added 286 yards and three scores on the ground.
 
In the backfield, senior Ose Imeokparia, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound, leads the run attack with 535 yards, good for fourth in the NEC in yards per game (76.4).  Imeokparia has two touchdowns on the ground and 10 catches for 135 yards and a score in the air.  Not far behind is fellow senior Nate Chavious, five-foot-nine, 185 pounds.  Chavious has 532 yards on the year, including six touchdowns and four catches for 31 yards.  Chavious is fifth in the NEC in yards per game (76.0). 
 
Noel's top target at receiver is Moses Webb, a five-foot-nine, 170-pound senior.  Webb is fourth in the NEC in receiving yards (395) and second in catches per game (5.71), with totals of 40 catches for 495 yards and three touchdowns.  Junior Andrew O'Neill, 5-foot-11, is second on the team with 24 catches for 331 yards and two scores.
 
The Sacred Heart offensive line includes two seniors, a junior and two sophomores.  The line has combined for 76 career appearances.  Senior left guard Sean Merrill leads the line with 23 career appearances, while senior left tackle Sean Peters is second with 18 appearances. 
 
The Pioneers defense, a 4-3 system, has been very strong this season, claiming the No. 1 or No. 2 spots in the NEC in multiple categories.  Sacred Heart is eighth in the FCS and second in the conference, allowing just 17.6 points per game.  They are also 12th in the nation in total defense, giving up just 296.3 yards per game.  SHU leads the conference in pass defense, allowing just 176.1 yards, good for 15th in the FCS, and ranks second in rushing defense, giving up 120.1 yards per game to rank 21st in the FCS.  Sacred Heart is sixth in the FCS, averaging 3.29 sacks per game and has 23 total sacks, while also forcing 12 turnovers, including seven fumble recoveries.
 
Senior defensive end James Rentz, a STATS Defensive Player of the Year Watch List member, leads the defensive line.  He has appeared in only four games this year, but has 15 tackles, including eight solo and two for loss.  Fellow senior end Ryan Cottrell is first among the defensive linemen with 21 tackles, including 2.5 sacks, and two fumble recoveries.  Defensive tackle Robert Steffe, a senior, has 18 tackles, with seven solo, 5.5 for loss and a sack.
 
The Pioneers have a solid linebacker unit, with all three starters among the top five tacklers on the team.  Junior middle linebacker CJ Parvelus leads the team with 62 tackles and ranks third in the NEC in tackles per game (8.9).  Parvelus is 17th in the FCS with 11.5 tackles for loss and has 3.5 sacks and three pass breakups.  Senior outside linebacker Kevin Barry is second on the team with 44 tackles, including 21 solo, 9.5 for loss, four sacks, a forced fumble, and returned an interception 44 yards for a touchdown at Stony Brook.  Sophomore outside linebacker Kevin Sears has accounted for 25 tackles, with 15 solo, 3.5 for loss, two sacks and an interception. 
 
In the SHU secondary, junior free safety Alec Finelli leads the unit with 36 tackles, including 19 solo, and three pass breakups.  Senior corner Khaamal Whitaker has recorded 27 stops, with 17 solo and one for loss.  He also has seven pass breakups, a forced fumble and a team-best two interceptions.