Flash Points:

• SFU Football takes on Wagner on Saturday to start its NEC schedule.
• The Red Flash and the Seahawks will kickoff at Noon on ESPN3.
• Paul Dottino, Kevin Gilbride and Matt Popelka will be on the call.
• SFU opened the season with a 69-3 win over Lock Haven.
• Wagner spoiled SFU's perfect NEC record last season in Staten Island, winning 31-24.

SFU Game Notes | Wagner Game Notes | SFU Two-Deep | Wagner Two-Deep | Live Stats | ESPN3/WatchESPN | Scouting Report
 
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis Football team welcomes Wagner to DeGol Field on Saturday to open the entire NEC league schedule.  Kickoff is scheduled for Noon against the Seahawks to open SFU's 24th season in the NEC.  The game will be broadcast on ESPN3, with Paul Dottino, Kevin Gilbride and Matt Popelka on the call. 
 
The Red Flash, led by Head Coach Chris Villarrial, had an impressive performance in its season opener, winning 69-3 against Lock Haven.  Saint Francis set the tone with a 24-0 lead in the first quarter, including an interception returned for a touchdown, one of two pick-six's in the game.  SFU looks to get a good start in its NEC Title defense against Wagner. 
 
Wagner, coached by Jason Houghtaling, won its opener, 37-7, against Saint Anselm.  The Seahawks totaled 417 yards of offense.  Wagner ended SFU's attempt at a perfect conference record with a 31-24 win over SFU last year in Staten Island.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Saint Francis trails the all-time series, 21-5, against Wagner.  The Seahawks jumped out to a 31-0 lead last year.  SFU stormed back, scoring 24 unanswered points, but fell short in its comeback.
 
LOTS OF POINTS
With 69 points against Lock Haven, SFU scored its third-most points in a game in program history and its most since scoring 80 against Virginia-Lynchburg in 2014.  SFU's 69 points were the fifth-most of any FCS team in week one.
 
Saint Francis' 24 points in the first quarter were the fifth-most in a quarter in program history.  SFU scored 24 points in the first quarter and 21 in the second and fourth quarters.  SFU scored on nine of its 10 drives, including its first four drives.
 
KAM BEING KAM
Junior receiver Kamron Lewis (Fresno, Calif./Edison) picked up where he left off when the 2016 season ended.  The All-American caught eight passes for 153 yards and a touchdown against Lock Haven.  Lewis had six catches for 14 or more yards and three of 29 or more yards.  He caught a nine-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter.  Lewis now has nine career 100-yard games and has 1,738 career yards, just 16 behind Todd Eckenroad (1991-93) for fourth all-time at SFU.
 
THIS BEAR IS BEST
Quarterback Bear Fenimore (Austin, Texas/Westwood) had an impressive SFU debut on Saturday, his first appearance in a college game.  He completed 21-of-31 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns.  He led SFU scoring drives on seven of the first eight drives of the game.  He connected with Cyrus Holder (Uniondale, N.Y./Milford Academy), Kamron Lewis (Fresno, Calif./Edison) and Jorge Solano (Coral Springs, Fla./Coral Springs Charter) on touchdown passes.
 
BOFENKAMP'S PERFECT PERFORMANCE
Senior kicker Eric Bofenkamp (Warren, Ohio/John F. Kennedy) got his first career start against Lock Haven.  Bofenkamp hit both of his field goal attempts, from 27 and 36 yards, and all nine extra point attempts.  He tied Lance Geesey (Harrisburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley)'s SFU game record with nine extra points.
 
VILLARRIAL NAMES TEAM CAPTAINS
The 2017 team captains were named before SFU's scrimmage on August 26.
 
Senior safety Delondo Boyd (Indian Head, Md./Henry E. Lackey), senior cornerback Malik Duncan (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic), junior tackle Mederick Flavius, Jr. (Lauderhill, Fla./Northeast) and senior tight end Matt Valenzuela (Sterling, Va./Dominion) were elected by their fellow players to represent the program as captains.  Boyd is in his second year as a captain after being the only underclassman captain last season.
 
THE DARKSIDE
The SFU defense, known as "The Darkside", got off to a strong start in 2017.  The Red Flash forced four turnovers, including three interceptions, and recorded seven tackles for loss.  SFU held Lock Haven to 223 total yards, including 152 passing and 71 rushing.  SFU held an opponent without a touchdown for the first time since October 15, 2016 against Bryant. 
 
On the fourth play of the game, senior corner Malik Duncan (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown.  It was his first career pick-six.  Early in the second quarter, senior safety Delondo Boyd (Indian Head, Md./Henry E. Lackey) got his own pick-six, a 25-yarder, for the second of his career.  SFU returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the same game for the first time since October 3, 2015 at East Tennessee State.  Boyd was all over the field, with a team-high nine tackles, a pass breakup and a forced fumble to go with his pick-six.  SFU broke up five passes.
 
SFU's strong performance in against the run, included two tackles for loss by senior linebacker Zane Stewart (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg).  Junior linebackers Ben Bruni (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) and Sean Orsini (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) and senior defensive end Luke Weiss (Verona, N.J./Verona) each had a tackle for loss, while Marcus Galie (Upper St. Clair, Pa./Upper St. Clair), Trysten Hunt (Levittown, Pa./Truman), Gibbs Tinne (Burtonsville, Md./Paint Branch) and Izzy Watson (Mayfield, Ohio/Mayfield) each had half a tackle for loss.
 
ZO WATCH
Former Saint Francis All-America safety Lorenzo Jerome (Sunrise, Fla./J.P. Taravella) signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in May 2017.  He officially made the 49ers' 53-man roster on September 2.
 
Jerome played in all four preseason games, starting the first two games at free safety.  He tied for seventh on the team with nine tackles, including eight solo, and broke up a pass.  He made three tackles in the 49ers opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, two tackles and a pass breakup against the Denver Broncos and four stops against the Minnesota Vikings. 
 
The Florida native is set to make his regular season debut on Sunday, September 10 against the Carolina Panthers.  Jerome will become the first SFU player since Joe Restic (Philadelphia Eagles) in 1952 to play in a regular season NFL game.
 
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
Houghtaling, the third-youngest head coach in Division I, is in his third year leading the Seahawks.
 
Wagner has a very experienced team, returning 68 lettermen and 16 starters from the 2016 squad.  The Seahawks averaged 26.1 points and 375.5 total yards per game, while allowing 21.1 points and 342.5 total yards per game last year.
 
Third-year starting quarterback Alex Thomson leads the Wagner offense.  He threw for 2,346 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions last year.  He had 256 yards and a touchdown against Saint Anselm.  A talented Wagner backfield also features juniors Denzel Knight and Ryan Fulse.  Knight ran for 61 yards and three touchdowns last week, while Fulse had 79 yards and a score. 
 
Thomson's targets include senior John Williams and junior D'Erren Wilson.  Williams, six-foot-six, led Wagner with 701 yards and five touchdowns in 2016.  Wilson, a UCF transfer, had 10 catches for 136 yards and a score last week. 
 
Wagner's offensive line is led by All-NEC selection Matt Diaz, a left tackle who has started the majority of the last three seasons.  Wagner's line has over 60 combined starts.
 
Preseason All-NEC defensive end Jordan Baskerville leads the line after recording 34 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, six sacks and a forced fumble last year.  Nose tackle Christian Gore had 23 stops last year, while defensive tackle Kiser Terry had 37 and three tackles for loss.
 
A solid linebacker group features Santoni Graham and Quintin Hampton on the inside after the duo were the top two tacklers for Wagner a season ago.  Graham had a team-high 83 tackles, with 9.5 for loss and two sacks, while Hampton had 74 stops, with 9.5 for loss and five sacks. 
 
Senior safety Jesse Flaherty leads returning members of the secondary with 55 tackles and four interceptions last year.  The rest of the secondary, which includes corners Myron Morris and Malik Warner and safeties Tyamonee Johnson and Sterling Lowry, moves into bigger roles this year.  Johnson and Lowry each had an interception last week.