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Loretto, Pa. – The Saint Francis football team (4-5, 2-3 NEC) looks for its second win over a nationally-ranked team in the FCS poll in program history on Saturday. A win over No. 17 CCSU on Saturday would be the highest-ranked opponent SFU has ever beaten. It's only other win over a ranked team came in 2017, a 13-7 win over #22 Liberty.

SCOUTING CCSU

The Blue Devils have earned a No. 17 ranking in the FCS Coaches' Poll thanks to a five-game win streak to put them at 8-1 overall and 4-0 in conference play. Even more impressive has been the dominant fashion in which CCSU has won in conference, outscoring its opponents 135-30.
It's hard to find a weakness when looking at CCSU's stats as it ranks first in the NEC in scoring offense (33.6 ppg), scoring defense (16.8 ppg), total offense (419.9 yds/g), total defense (259.1 yds/g), rushing offense (205.1 yds/g), rushing defense (63.8 yds/g), and turnover margin (+11).
Senior dual-threat quarterback Aaron Winchester is in contention for NEC Offensive Player of the Year and has accounted for 18 total touchdowns, 14 through the air and four on the ground. The Blue Devils have a heavy run-oriented offense with Winchester leading the charge at 68.2 rushing yards per game. He also completes 66.8% of his passes and throws for over 213 yards per game. Sophomore running back Keonte Lucas and junior Danley Exilhomme are also weapons out of the backfield. Lucas averages 54.1 rushing yards per game and Exilhomme leads the team with five rushing touchdowns. Junior Tyshaun James is the top pass catcher with 32 grabs and six touchdowns.

CCSU's defense is opportunistic, leading the league with 15 interceptions and six takeaways. Sophomore Dexter Lawrence Jr. leads the league with four interceptions. The Blue Devils defense has held its opponents to 14 or less points in each of the last five games after allowing 26.75 ppg over its first four contests.

SERIES HISTORY

Saint Francis is 5-21 all-time vs. the Blue Devils with CCSU winning the last two contests.

TWO-HEADED MONSTER

Saint Francis ranks second in the NEC in passing offense at 240.1 yards per game thanks to the emergence of the receiving tandem of redshirt junior Ra'Shaun Henry (Killeen, Texas /Copperas Cove) and redshirt sophomore E.J. Jenkins. Henry has come on particularly strong of late, averaging 189.5 receiving yards per game with three touchdowns in the last two games. The Killeen, Texas native ranks second in the NEC in receptions with 59 and third in receiving yards per game at 80.0. Four of his six career touchdowns have come in the last three weeks.
Speaking of touchdowns, Jenkins has turned into a touchdown machine. The 6'8" receiver has caught a touchdown pass in eight of nine games this season to rank second in the conference in overall touchdowns. He is four shy of the single-season school record for td catches in a season with three games to play.
 
DJ ISLAND

Sophomore Dorian Jackson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy ) added another pass breakup at Duquesne to run his NEC-leading total to 13, two shy of the single-season school record set by Jermaine Ponder (Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) last season. Jackson has broken up at least one pass in six of nine games this season, including a career-high six vs. Robert Morris on Oct. 12.

CLOSING OUT GAMES

The Red Flash took a 21-20 third quarter lead at Duquesne last weekend after E.J. Jenkins touchdown before the Dukes closed out the game with the final 10 points. Holding a lead has been a big issue for Saint Francis this season as the Red Flash have led in four of its five losses and held second half leads in all three conference losses. Saturday's loss at Duquesne was its first conference defeat in which the Red Flash never led in the fourth quarter.

BIG PLAYS IN THE PASSING GAME

Ra'Shaun Henry's (Killeen, Texas /Copperas Cove) 71-yard touchdown reception against Duquesne was SFU's fourth touchdown catch of 70-plus yards this season and the fifth over 60 yards. In fact, seven of SFU's 17 passing touchdowns have been of 25 or more yards. The rushing attack hasn't showed the same explosiveness. Quarterback Jason Brown (Fredericksburg, Va./Chancellor) holds the longest rush of the season at 28 yards and Joel Denley (Beaumont, Texas/West Brook) holds the longest rush among the six running backs to have a carry at 24 yards.

MOVING THE CHAINS

The Saint Francis offense has struggled to move the chains on third down in its last two losses. The Red Flash went 4-for-12 on third downs and 0-for-3 on fourth downs at Duquesne a week after going just 2-for-15 on third downs against Sacred Heart. The Red Flash rank eighth in the NEC in third down conversion pct. at 32.1% and are last in fourth down pct. at 15.4%.

CLEANING UP THE PENALITIES

Saint Francis was penalized 11 times for 95 yards in Saturday's loss and is the second most penalized team in the league at 70.1 yards per game. The Red Flash are averaging nine penalties for 98.97 yards over the last three contests, a stretch that has seen them go just 1-2.