SFU GAME NOTES | WATCH LIVE (ESPN 3) | LIVE STATS (WAGNER)

LORETTO, PA- Saint Francis is fresh off its bye week and turns its attention to the Northeast Conference portion of the schedule as it opens NEC play at noon at Wagner in a game that can be seen on ESPN 3. 

Paul Dottino and Kevin Gilbride will be on the call with Craig D'Amico on the sidelines. Saturday's game will have a 12:04 kick off and is exclusively on ESPN 3, there will be no NEC Front Row simulcast. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Red Flash closed out the non-conference portion of the schedule two weeks ago with a resounding 59-3 win over West Virginia Wesleyan. Nick Rinella (Collegeville, Pa./La Salle College) set a Saint Francis, Northeast Conference record and FCS Season-high with 140 punt return yards in the game. Rinella's 79-yard touchdown off one of his five punt returns broke Ted Heisel's school record of a 70-yard touchdown return set back in 1978. 

The offense was led by Bear Fenimore (Austin, Texas/Westwood) who threw three touchdown passes for the third consecutive game. The graduate student found three different receivers for scores in the victory including Kam Lewis who tied Antoine Rivera ('09) for third-most all time in school history with his TD grab.  The Red Flash also had a strong running game, led by freshman Chris Cropper (Wilmington, Del./St. Frances Academy), who busted his second long touchdown run of the year, a 44-yard jaunt on fourth down. He finished with 92 yards on 12 carries and that long TD run. 

ABOUT WAGNER

The Seahawks come into the matchup on a five-game losing streak, dropping their non-conference finale 49-3 at Campbell. The Red Flash defense will be tested on Saturday as Wagner sports one of the top rushing attacks in the Northeast Conference. Ryan Fulse is the top rusher in the NEC, by a wide margin with over 400 more rushing yards through six games than anyone else in the league. If he's the unstoppable force, then the Red Flash defense has been the immovable object. The SFU defense has held teams to just 106 yards per game on the ground, easily the tops in the Northeast Conference. SFU held WV Wesleyan to just 53 yards on 33 carries.

Wagner sets up Fulse's ground game with a pair of solid receivers in Denzel Knight and D'Erren Wilson, who are both in the top-10 in the NEC in yards per game. Wagner has relied on a pair of quarterbacks to get them the ball in TJ Linta and Luke Massei. Together they have thrown nine touchdown passes against what has been a tough non-conference schedule that has included Syracuse , Montana State and Monmouth. 

Defensively, Cameron Gill leads a strong pass rush, leading the Northeast Conference with seven sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss. Santoni Graham has been all over the field with 57 stops on the season, good for tops in the NEC and second in tackles per game. The Red Flash will try to exploit a defense that has allowed nearly 500 yards per game, but those numbers have been inflated after playing Syracuse and a ranked Montana State team. 

SERIES HISTORY
Wagner owns a 21-6 series lead including a 12-1 record on Grimes Hill. The lone Red Flash victory on Staten Island came back in 2007, a 23-20 triumph. The Red Flash did knock off Wagner last season 31-6 at DeGol Field and have won each of the last two meetings on their home soil. 

LOOKING AHEAD
Homecoming week awaits the Red Flash as NEC power Duquesne comes into town next Saturday. Kickoff from DeGol Field is set for noon on NEC Front Row.