Flash Points:
- Saint Francis football welcomes Central Connecticut State to DeGol Field on Saturday.
- Kickoff is scheduled for Noon with a broadcast on ESPN3.
- The Red Flash will celebrate Senior Day, with the ceremony being held after the game.
- SFU is 6-3 overall and 4-0 in the NEC. With a win on Saturday, SFU can clinch at least a share of the NEC title and an automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs, both would be the first time in program history.
- CCSU is 2-7 overall and 1-3 in conference play after a 37-35 win over Sacred Heart last week.
SFU Game Notes | CCSU Game Notes | SFU Two-Deep | CCSU Two-Deep | Live Stats | ESPN3 | Scouting Report| Senior Day
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis football team hosts Central Connecticut State on Saturday for a Noon kickoff on ESPN3/Watch ESPN. The Red Flash and the Blue Devils meet at DeGol Field on Senior Day, with Paul Dottino (Play-by-Play), Kevin Gilbride (Color) and John Schmeelk (Sideline) on the broadcast.
The Senior Day ceremony will be held after the game, including the introduction of the seniors and their families.
The Red Flash is coming off a bye week, but earned a big 38-17 win at Sacred Heart on October 29. SFU improved to 6-3 and got to 4-0 in the NEC for the first time in program history.
Saint Francis leads the NEC and, after Duquesne's win over Wagner last Saturday, has a chance to clinch at least a share of the NEC Title this week, which would be the first in program history. With a win, SFU would also clinch an FCS Playoffs bid, also a program first.
The Blue Devils are 2-7 overall and 1-3 in the NEC after a 37-35 win over Sacred Heart last week.
A LOOK BACK AT SACRED HEART
The Red Flash earned a key win at Sacred Heart a couple weeks ago, exploding for 21 points in the second half to pull away from the Pioneers.
Kamron Lewis (Fresno, Calif./Edison) earned NEC Offensive Player of the Week honors after catching three touchdown passes within a 10 minutes span in the third and fourth quarters. He caught 10 passes for 184 yards and tied a school-record with his three touchdown catches.
Zack Drayer (Hershey, Pa./Hershey ) set a new career-high with 316 yards passing, completing 20-of-28 passes, and tied his own school-record with four touchdown passes, including three to Lewis and a 26-yarder to
Colin Hindle (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union).
Freshman
Avery Miliner (Clayton, Ohio/Northmont) made his Red Flash debut and answered with 96 yards, including 91 in the fourth quarter, on just eight carries, including a 74-yard run. That run was the longest for SFU since 2013.
On the defensive side,
Delondo Boyd (Indian Head, Md./Henry E. Lackey) led the team with 11 tackles and added a pass breakup, while
Solomon Leaeno (Kapolei, Hawaii/James Campbell) and
Ben Bruni (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) each had nine stops.
Robert Miller (Coral Springs, Fla./Taravella) made eight tackles, while
Shawn McCord (Aberdeen, N.J. /Red Bank Catholic) had six tackles and a sack.
Malik Duncan (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) had three pass breakups.
Wesley Nagaseu (Waipahu, Hawaii/Waipahu) earned NEC Defensive Player of the Week after recording four tackles, a sack and two pass breakups.
SERIES HISTORY
Saint Francis trails the all-time series 19-4, but won last year's game, 22-13, at CCSU. That was SFU's first road win in the series.
SFU kicker
Lance Geesey (Harrisburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) set a school and NEC record with five field goals in last year's win, while
Khairi Dickson (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) added a two-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. The SFU defense had six sacks in that game, with two by nose tackle
Wesley Nagaseu (Waipahu, Hawaii/Waipahu).
DRAYER ADDED TO CFPA WATCH LIST
Zack Drayer (Hershey, Pa./Hershey ) was one of 36 players named to the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) FCS National Performer of the Year Trophy Midseason Watch List on Wednesday.
On the year, Drayer has completed 58 percent of his passes for 1,821 yards and 15 touchdowns, while adding four rushing touchdowns.
He has two or more touchdown passes in six games this season and three games of 250 or more yards.
Drayer is on pace to set a new career high for season passing yards (1,977) and could become the fifth SFU player to top 2,000 yards in a season. He has already tied his season-high for passing touchdowns and is six away from tying the school's single-season record, held by Anthony Doria (2005).
He is also moving up the SFU career records list for passing yards and touchdowns. Drayer went over the 5,000-yard mark for his career in the win over SHU and now has 5,258 for his career. Drayer needs just 123 yards to move past Kevin Magee (1991-93) for third all-time. He also has 46 touchdowns, good for second all-time at SFU.
Drayer is also fourth all-time in completions (399), fifth in pass attempts (677) and third in total offense (5,337).
GEESEY, WEISS ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
Senior kicker
Lance Geesey (Harrisburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) and junior defensive end
Luke Weiss (Verona, N.J. /Verona) were named CoSIDA Academic All-District on November 3. They will move on to the Academic All-America Ballots, with the All-America team announced on December 1.
Geesey is currently pursuing his Masters degree in Business Administration. He graduated last December with a 3.92 GPA as a double-major in management and marketing. He currently owns a 3.96 GPA in grad school and is on pace to graduate this December.
On the field, Geesey has made 10-of-16 field goal attempts this year, including four makes of 40 or more yards and is 31-of-31 on extra points.
He owns the SFU career records for field goals made (55), attempted (71), percentage (77.5) , extra points (155) and points (280). He has already passed the previous NEC record for field goals made and is locked in a battle with Duquesne's Austin Crimmins for the current record.
Weiss is a double major in Criminal Justice and Sociology, as well as a minor in Accounting, and has a 3.55 GPA.
He has 23 tackles this season, with nine solo, three for loss, half a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. He has started six games this year.
SENIOR DAY
Saint Francis will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday, in which it will honor 18 seniors. The group has already combined for 23 wins over the last four season, which is the second-most wins in any four-year period in program history. That mark trails only the 24 wins by the 1971-74 teams.
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.
He won his second straight NEC Offensive Player of the Week award after his 10-catch, 184-yard, three-touchdown performance at Sacred Heart. Lewis tied a school record with his three touchdown catches.
Lewis posted his fifth 100-yard game of the season and his second over 180 yards. He had 188 yards against Malone. Three of Lewis' 100-yard games have come in conference play.
On the season, Lewis is fifth in the FCS, and leads the NEC, in both receiving yards (1,038) and receiving yards per game (115.3). He also has eight receiving touchdowns to rank 16th in the nation and averages 6.3 catches per contest, ranking 24th.
Lewis' 1,038 yards this year are the second-most in a season at SFU, trailing only Michael Caputo's mark of 1,433 yards in 2005, which is also the NEC season record.
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 17.2 points per game this year, good for eighth in the FCS. SFU has held five straight opponents to 17 or less points, four of the last five opponents to 10 or less points and seven straight opponents to 20 or less points.
SFU also ranks ninth in the nation in total defense, giving up just 284.9 yards per game. The Red Flash held Sacred Heart to 278 total yards, the Pioneers' first only game under 370 yards this season.
The Red Flash defense is good for 16th in the FCS, allowing just 111.6 rushing yards per game. SFU is also 16th in the FCS, giving up 173.3 passing yards per contest.
SFU has not allowed a team to rush for more than 175 yards this year and has only allowed over 200 passing yards in two games. In NEC games, SFU has not allowed over 172 passing yards in any game.
Saint Francis' 32 sacks this season are tied for the second-most in the FCS this season. Leaeno leads the team, and ranks 24th in the FCS, with seven sacks. Freshman
Da'Jon Lee (Fairfax, Va./Robinson) has five sacks, while Stewart has four. Twelve SFU players have at least one sack this season.
SFU's 72 tackles for loss are the eighth-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 six.
Saint Francis has forced 20 turnovers this year, including 14 interceptions. The Red Flash is tied for ninth in the FCS 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 had at least one interception in the first eight games of the season, but did not have one against Sacred Heart.
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 nine SFU games this season have been livestreamed, with two appearances on ESPN3, three appearances on NEC Front Row, two on CAASports.TV, one on the Ivy League Digital Network and one on Cowles Media TV in Montana.
SFU will make its third appearance on ESPN3 this season against CCSU, its ninth appearance on ESPN3 in the last five years. SFU's games against Robert Morris and Duquesne were also on ESPN3 this year. The Red Flash has one more appearances on NEC Front Row.
Dating back to the 2011 season, 64 straight SFU games have been broadcasted.
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 BLUE DEVILS
The Blue Devils picked up their first NEC win of the season last week against Sacred Heart and improved to 2-7 overall this year.
Head Coach Pete Rossomando, in his third season at CCSU, is 9-23 as the leader of the Blue Devils and 50-36 overall in eight years of coaching.
CCSU is averaging 22.8 points per game, ranking sixth in the NEC, and 349.8 total yards, ranking fifth in the conference. The Blue Devils lead the league in passing offense, averaging 258.9 yards per contest, and rank fifth in rushing offense, with 90.9 yards per game.
Sophomore quarterback Jacob Dolegala has thrown for 2,325 yards this season, the 14th-most in the FCS and the most in the NEC. He also leads the league with a completion percentage of 60%. Dolegala has thrown 11 touchdown passes and nine interceptions, while rushing for four touchdowns.
Cameron Nash, a five-foot-seven, 185-pound junior, leads the team with 551 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 136 carries as well as 34 catches for 248 yards.
Junior Joey Fields, five-foot-eight, leads the receivers with 36 catches for 523 yards and four touchdowns. Sophomore tight end KJ Smith has 32 catches for 417 yards and three touchdowns, while senior wideout Dan Hebert has 225 yards on 23 receptions.
The Blue Devils offensive line includes two seniors, a junior, a redshirt freshman and a true freshman. Senior right guard Paul Spada and senior right tackle Shane McQuillan have started all nine games this season.
CCSU uses a hybrid 3-3-5 defense, which allows 33.3 points and 401.1 total yards per game, ranking seven in both categories. CCSU is giving up 248.1 passing yards and 153 rushing yards per game, also seventh in both categories. They have forced 16 turnovers and recorded 15 sacks this year.
Junior "B" linebacker Randall Laguerre leads the NEC and ranks 15th in the FCS with 91 tackles. He has 33 solo stops, five tackles for loss, two sacks, two fumble recoveries and an interception. Sophomore middle linebacker Kenneth Keen has 66 tackles, with 9.5 for loss, while outside linebacker Keir Minor has 35 stops. At the "R" position, a hybrid linebacker-safety position, senior Lance Orsmby has 17 tackles.
Senior defensive end Asia Bolling leads the line with 36 tackles, including 14 solo, 4.5 for loss and a sack. Junior defensive tackle Chad Woodfine has 30 tackles, while sophomore nose tackle Chris Tinkham has 25 stops, with five for loss.
Sophomore free safety Tymer Hinton tops the secondary with 53 tackles to go with three interceptions, two of which he has returned for touchdowns. At strong safety, junior Jarrod Cann has 46 tackles and three pass breakups, while corner Carlton Nash has 44 stops, with eight pass breakups and a pick. At the opposite corner, Andre Morris has 19 tackles and four breakups.
