LORETTO, PA- Saint Francis football, led by head coach Chris Villarrial, wraps up their spring practice season with their annual spring game on Saturday, April 13^th with a 1245 scheduled kick off from DeGol Field.
 
There will be FREE admission to the spring game and fans will have the opportunity to get their photos taken with the players as part of a post-game photo shoot. The teams will employ honorary "coaches" as the staffs will consist of members of the 2018 senior class.

The Red Flash are coming off a hard-fought 4-7 season with six of the seven losses coming by one score.
 
On the offensive side of the ball, former defensive coordinator Marco Pecora crosses over to the offensive side of the ball as coordinator for 2019. He inherits an offense that will bring back four starters. The big story of the spring has been the development of redshirt sophomore quarterback Jason Brown (Fredericksburg, Va./Chancellor). Brown is the odds-on candidate to replace Bear Fenimore (Austin, Texas/Westwood) as the starting quarterback for the Red Flash in 2019. He was a three-start recruit by 247sports and had interest from several FBS schools before signing with the Red Flash. As a senior, he led Chancellor High School to a 9-3 record and earned the conference's Player of the Year Award after throwing for over 2300 yards and 13 touchdowns while running for over 500 yards and 10 scores. The coaches love his size (6-4), his versatility and mobility as a passer.
 
"Jason has a new found confidence as quarterback," offensive coordinator Marco Pecora said. "I have a great relationship with him, I recruited him hard out of high school, and he's been fun to work with this spring and I'm excited to watch him grow."
 
Fans will also see quarterbacks Jakob Ball (Williamsport, Md./Williamsport) and Tyler Shearer (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Country Day School) take snaps on Saturday. Neither sophomore saw game action during their freshman season. Ball hails from Williamsport, Maryland where he accounted for nearly 4000 yards in high school and helped his team to a 7-3 record as a senior. Shearer is out of Charlotte, North Carolina where he threw for 10 touchdowns as a senior and led Charlotte County Day to the North Carolina Independent School's state title game.
 
At the running back position, fans can look for a bevy of running backs to get carries on Saturday. One player that has turned heads has been Derrick Wiley (Aberdeen, N.J./Matawan Regional), who saw action in nine games as a defensive back and linebacker last season. Wiley ran for nearly 1000 yards and 13 TDs as a high school senior and has a "natural feel as a running back," according to Pecora.
 
Joel "Jojo" Denley returns to the backfield and has made great strides as an every-down back after spending a lot of last season as a receiving threat out of the backfield and the slot.
 
Joining those two in the backfield will be Avery Miliner (Clayton, Ohio/Northmont), the most experience back of the group and has used the spring to "get back up to speed" and Chris Wells (Philadelphia PA/Neumann-Goretti), an early enrollee out of Neumann-Goretti in Philadelphia and Jireh Prep in North Carolina. Wells averaged nearly 10 yards a carry in both high school and prep school.
 
At the wideout position, Brandan Lisenby (Alexandria, Va./West Potomac) has really impressed during spring ball and figures to factor prominently in Saturday's game and on into the fall. The Alexandria, Virginia native saw action in four games last year, but caught only one pass. Alongside Lisenbee, Ra'Shaun Henry (Copperas Cove, Texas/Copperas Cove) has been a consistent force on the outside this spring. Henry has big play capabilities, averaging over 13 yards per catch last season. Another name to watch out for is EJ Jenkins (Fredericksburg, Va./Chancellor), who hails from the same high school as quarterback Jason Brown (Fredericksburg, Va./Chancellor). The familiarity between Brown and Jenkins will help immensely as both grow into larger roles in 2019.
 
At tight end, Terrell Johnson continues to be a steady, consistent presence for the Red Flash. Johnson played in nine games for the Red Flash in 2018, averaging over 10 yards a catch and hauling in three touchdowns. Sean Davis (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) has been the perfect complement to Johnson, serving as a tough, block-first tight end.
 
"I love the toughness that Davis has brought to the spring, "Pecora said. "He is that pit bull, that guy that gives you and edge or swagger that every offense needs."
 
On the offensive line, the Red Flash are looking to replace three players up front. Moving from guard to center this season is Alec Shriner (Oviedo, Fla./Oviedo) while Christian Eubanks (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) returns for 2019 at the tackle position. On the interior line, Seth Osborne (Williamsburg, Va./Lafayette) and Shaun Hastings (Camp Hill, Pa./Cedar Cliff) step into larger roles at the right and left guard positions. Opposite Eubanks will be Bailey Iboleon (Alexandria, Va./West Potomac), who has solidified himself as a starting tackle.
 
"Bailey worked against Da'Jon (Lee) all of last season on scout team and it shows, he's been incredible this spring," Pecora added.
 
Switching over to the defensive side of the ball, the "dark side" will be led by Bishop Neal who takes over as defensive coordinator after serving as the defensive backs coach last season.
 
"We've been working a lot on just building a foundation, core principles this spring," Neal said. "Once we get our base solidified, everything else will fall into place."
 
It has been a base 3-4 set for the Red Flash this spring, with NEC Defensive Rookie of the Year Jalen Brown (Hyattsville, Md./DeMatha Catholic) anchoring the three down lineman as the nose tackle. He has been flanked by James Watkins (Oxon Hill, Md./Oxon Hill) and Sam Cummings (Verona, N.J./Verona).
 
"Both (James) Watkins and Sam (Cummings) have been strong on the end for us," Neal said. "They will only continue to get better with more reps, both have shown good quickness off the line and been getting harder to block."
 
At the linebacker position, Da'Jon Lee (Fairfax, Va./Robinson) is the headliner. The first-team All-NEC linebacker led the FCS in forced fumbles with six and recorded 18.5 tackles for loss last season. Fans can also look for Ian White (Waxhaw, N.C./Marvin Ridge) and Jalen Parks to see significant time on Saturday and on into the fall. Making the transition from end to edge rusher is Kane Piroch (New Kensington, Pa./Valley). The 6-5 redshirt sophomore has thrived in his new position and is using his height and quickness to get into the backfield and disrupt the offense. Anchoring the linebackers is Calvin Beatty who the Red Flash will look to "captain" the defense and will be in charge of making the reads and calls for the defense. Fans will also get a look at redshirt freshman Yosuke Sagano at linebacker. "Yo" started playing football for his high school back home in Japan and helped Kwansei Gakuin win the Japan National Title.
 
"Yo (Sagano) works harder than almost anyone on the defense," Neal said. "The game comes so easy to him and he absorbs everything like a sponge, he's fun to watch."
 
In the secondary, returning for the Red Flash is safety Nick Rinella (Collegeville, Pa./La Salle College). The senior was third on the team in tackles last season and earned second-team All-NEC honors at both safety and returner. Alongside Rinella is Jake Heiple (Somerset, Pa./Somerset), who saw action in all 11 games last season, recording 44 tackles an interception and a fumble recovery. Taking on a bigger role this spring is Martin Foray Jr. Foray saw action in all 11 games last season but has shown the versatility to play everything from corner to linebacker to safety.
 
On the outside, look for Dorian Jackson (Pittsburgh, Pa./University Prep) to solidify himself as the top cornerback on the defense. At the other corner Tremayn Stott (Olney, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) has shown great strides and has the ability to play either corner or safety.
 
"Stott has definitely shown strides," Neal said. "He's shown maturity and as cliché as it sounds, the game has slowed down for him, allowing him to make those 'splash' plays that we love to see."
 
On special teams, kick off specialist Trevor Thompson (Columbus, Ohio/Canal Winchester) will now inherit all kicking duties after the graduation of Eric Bofenkamp (Warren, Ohio/John F. Kennedy). At punter, sophomore Ryan Oliver (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg) will handle the punting duties. Oliver stepped in admirably for an injured Andrew Zecca (Berkeley Heights, N.J./Gov. Livingston) last season, and averaged 38 yards per punt with a long of 52 in 2018.
 
The annual spring game wraps up the spring football season. The Red Flash will release its full 2019 schedule next week.