Flash Points:
- Saint Francis football dropped a 31-24 decision at Wagner on Saturday.
- The Red Flash snapped a six-game win streak and finished the regular season with a 7-4 overall record (5-1 NEC).
- With three sacks on the day, SFU tied the school-record with 38 sacks on the season, tying the 1992 team.
- Kamron Lewis (Fresno, Calif./Edison) went over 100 yards receiving for the seventh time this season and freshman Cyrus Holder (Uniondale, N.Y./Milford Academy) caught two touchdown passes, including a 92-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Â
- Zack Drayer (Hershey, Pa./Hershey ) moved into second all-time in career passing yards and season passing yards at SFU, while tying the school-record for touchdown passes in a season.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The No. 25 Saint Francis football team scored 24 unanswered points in the second half, but fell 31-21 at Wagner on Saturday at Hameline Field. After trailing 31-0 with 10:48 to go in the third quarter, the Red Flash rallied back to within one score, but a recovered on-side kick sealed the win for the Seahawks. Saint Francis finished the regular season with a 7-3 overall record, including 5-1 in the NEC, while Wagner improved to 6-5 overall and 4-2 in conference play. The loss ended a six-game win streak by SFU.
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The Red Flash will learn its FCS Playoffs First Round opponent tomorrow during the Selection Show at 11 a.m. on ESPNU. SFU football invites the Saint Francis community to join us at DeGol Arena to watch the show.
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Saint Francis gained 373 total yards, with 261 coming in the second half, including 311 passing and 52 rushing yards.
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Senior
Zack Drayer (Hershey, Pa./Hershey ) completed 12 passes for 311 yards on the day, with three touchdowns and three interceptions.Â
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With 311 yards, Drayer moved into second-place all-time at SFU with 5,794 career yards, moving 100 yards ahead of Kevin Magee (1991-93). Drayer now has 52 career touchdown passes.
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Drayer now has 2,357 for the season, the second-most in a season at SFU, passing Kevin Magee (2,122, 1993) for second-place. Drayer's three touchdowns on the day gave him 21 for the year and also tied him for the SFU single-season record, set by Anthony Doria in 2005.Â
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Sophomore
Kamron Lewis (Fresno, Calif./Edison) caught four passes for 122 yards and a touchdown for his seventh 100-yard game this season. He is now at 1,349 yards for the season, just 84 yards behind the SFU season-record, set by Michael Caputo in 2005.Â
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Freshman
Cyrus Holder (Uniondale, N.Y./Milford Academy) made his first two career catches, with both going for long touchdowns. Holder caught touchdown passes of 36 and 92 yards, with the second score tying the second-longest pass play in school history. Junior
Marcus Bagley (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) ran for 69 yards on 15 carries.
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Wagner totaled 390 yards, with 263 passing and 127 rushing. The Red Flash had three sacks and an interception.
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With those three sacks, Saint Francis has 38 for the season, tying the school-record held by the 1992 team.Â
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Senior
Solomon Leaeno (Kapolei, Hawaii/James Campbell) recorded two sacks on the day to bring his season total to 9.5, the third-most in a season at SFU, moving past Russell Long (1990) for third. It was Leaeno's fourth career game with two or more sacks and his third this season.
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Junior corner
Malik Duncan (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) established a new SFU single-season record with his 14th pass breakup of the year with a breakup in the third quarter.
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Leaeno led Saint Francis with nine tackles, all solo, while Duncan had seven stops and sophomore
Hakeem Kinard (York, Pa./York Catholic) had seven tackles, including one for loss. Junior
Delondo Boyd (Indian Head, Md./Henry E. Lackey) had five tackles, with one for loss, and senior
Wesley Nagaseu (Waipahu, Hawaii/Waipahu) added five stops. Junior
Austin Gray (Egg Harbor Township, N.J. /Egg Harbor Township) had two tackles for loss and a sack, while freshman
Da'Jon Lee (Fairfax, Va./Robinson) recorded his first career interception, returning it 25 yards.
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Wagner quarterback Alex Thomson threw for 263 yards and three scores, with John Williams catching five passes for 105 yards and a score and Andre Yevchinez hauling in five receptions for 88 yards and two touchdowns. Matthias McKinnon ran for 95 yards on 22 carries, while Denzel Knight added a rushing touchdown.
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Linebacker Santoni Graham led the Seahawks with six tackles, while linebacker Jordan Baskerville had two sacks and a forced fumble. Safety Jesse Flaherty, linebacker Najee Harris and safety Tim Hayes each recorded an interception and Hayes added four pass breakups.
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The Seahawks got on the board first, with a 54-yard touchdown strike from Thomson to Williams. Earlier in the drive, Thomson picked up a key first down on a 10-yard scramble on third down. Wagner led 7-0 with 9:41 left in the first quarter.
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Wagner extended its lead to 14-0 with 10:27 to go in the first half on a 23-yard touchdown pass over the middle from Thomson to Yevchinecz. That completed a seven-play, 45-yard drive, which included two scrambles by Thomson for first downs.Â
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The Seahawks lead grew to 17-0 on a 40-yard field goal by James Cooper with 5:36 remaining in the half. A 20-yard pass from Thomson to Chris Woodard earlier in the drive helped to setup the field goal attempt.
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Wagner led 24-0 at halftime after a 50-yard touchdown pass from Thomson to Yevchinecz with 42 seconds left in the half. Wagner's Flaherty intercepted a pass by Drayer and returned it to the Wagner 34. A 13-yard catch by Williams setup the 50-yard touchdown throw.Â
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The Seahawks extended their lead to 31-0 with 10:48 left in the third quarter on an eight-yard touchdown run by Denzel Knight off of a direct snap. Thomson completed three passes for 35 yards on the drive.
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Saint Francis scored on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Drayer to Lewis with 5:39 to go in the third quarter. Drayer found Lewis out to the left side and Lewis got into the end zone by leaping over a defender. Lewis made a 52-yard catch over a defender earlier in the drive. Geesey's extra point cut the Wagner lead to 31-7.
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The Red Flash cut the deficit to 31-14 on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Drayer to Holder with 14:16 to go in the game. The freshman caught the pass over his shoulder in the lower right corner of the end zone. It was Holder's first career reception.Â
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Saint Francis scored again on a touchdown reception by Holder, this time a 92-yard reception, with 2:24 left in the game. Drayer hit Holder over the middle and after breaking a tackle at midfield, Holder took it the rest of the way for the score. Geesey's extra point cut the Wagner lead to 31-21.
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The Red Flash's last score of the game came on a 31-yard field goal by Geesey with seven seconds left to cut the Seahawks lead to 31-24. Drayer connected with Rodriguez Alexander for a 25-yard reception and Lewis for a 33-yard catch on the drive.Â
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However, Wagner recovered the ensuing on-side kick attempt by Geesey to seal the win.
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