Bethlehem, Pa. – Redshirt sophomore quarterback
Jason Brown (Fredericksburg, Va./Chancellor) threw for 293 yards and two scores in his first career start, redshirt sophomore receiver E.J. Jenkins hauled in five catches for 25 yards and a touchdown and redshirt junior
Terell Johnson (Burlington, N.C./Cummings) scored a go-ahead, 35-yard TD with 1:17 to play as the Saint Francis football team erased a 13-0 second-half deficit to defeat Lehigh 14-13 in its season opener.
Turning Point
Trailing 13-0 with 3:34 left in the third quarter, Jenkins ignited the SFU offense with a 75-yard scoring strike. The 6'8 wide out was able to sneak behind the Lehigh defense and haul in a pinpoint Brown' deep ball in stride to find pay dirt.
Lehigh looked to answer the Saint Francis touchdown, marching inside the SFU 10 on the ensuing drive. Senior captain
Nick Rinella (Collegeville, Pa./La Salle College) followed with a momentum-swinging interception, jumping a slant on second and goal and returning it to the SFU 38.
Game-Winning Drive
Saint Francis took over 1
st and 10 from its own 38 trailing 13-7 before Brown took over the game with his arm. Completions to freshman
Chris Wells (Philadelphia PA/Neumann-Goretti) and Jenkins moved the ball to the Lehigh 38 then Brown moved the chains with a three-yard scramble on 3
rd and 3. After an incompletion, Brown avoided a sack and hit Johnson up the sideline for the game-winning touchdown.
Too Close for Comfort
Lehigh started its final possession on its own 3-yard line but moved into SFU territory thanks to an acrobatic, one-handed catch from Alex Snyder to set up a game-winning 40-yard field goal attempt. Lehigh kicker Austin Henning drilled the first attempt but not before SFU called timeout in an attempt to ice him. It worked as his next attempt sailed wide right.
First Half Summary
Saint Francis hurt itself with miscues in the first 30 minutes. After forcing a three-and-out to start the game, the Red Flash gave the ball back to Lehigh after the ensuing punt hit an SFU player leading to a field goal.
Lehigh made it 10-0 when sophomore punter
Ryan Oliver (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg) dropped a snap and was hit right before getting a punt off. The ball fell into the hands of former Bishop Guilfoyle standout Sam McCloskey who returned it 56 yards for Lehigh's only touchdown.
Two missed Saint Francis field goals and a Lehigh second quarter field goal later and the Red Flash trailed 13-0.
Inside the Box Score
- Brown finished 22-37 for 293 yards and two scores, the most passing yards by an SFU signal-caller since Bear Fenimore (Austin, Texas/Westwood) matched the total vs. Bryant on Oct. 14, 2017
- Jenkins led the Saint Francis receivers with five catches for 125 yards, the first SFU receiver to go over 100 yards since Kam Lewis at Robert Morris on Oct. 28, 2017.
- Redshirt junior Ra'Shaun Henry (Killeen, Texas /Copperas Cove) hauled in five passes for 68 yards and Johnson finished with three grabs for 48 yards.
- Freshman Chris Wells (Philadelphia PA/Neumann-Goretti) led the SFU rushing attack with 46 yards on 16 carries.
- Junior Martin Foray Jr. paced the Saint Francis defense with five tackles.
- Redshirt sophomore James Watkins (Oxon Hill, Md./Oxon Hill) and redshirt junior Sam Cummings (Verona, N.J./Verona) led Saint Francis with two tackles for a loss while Watkins recorded the lone sack.
- Sophomore cornerback Dorian Jackson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy ) paced the team with three pass breakups, while redshirt sophomore Christian Massie (Lorton, Va./South County) added two.
- In addition to his 34-yard interception return, Rinella added a 61-yard kick return and a 26-yard punt return.
- Saint Francis outgained the Mountain Hawks 361-281.
- The Saint Francis defense held Lehigh's offense to just 4.0 yards per play and 11 net rushing yards on 19 rushing attempts.
- Possession time favored the Red Flash, 32:57 to 27:03.
- Lehigh won the turnover battle 3-1, turning the three SFU miscues into 10 points.
Up Next
Saint Francis takes on No. 2 James Madison next Saturday at 6 p.m.
