Loretto, Pa. - Five different players scored touchdowns as the Saint Francis football team (2-1) put together a complete team effort to defeat Merrimack 42-14 in its home opener on Saturday.

Turning Point

Merrimack took a 14-13 lead late in the second quarter on a 30-yard interception return from Darion McKenzie with 1:08 to go in the half. Instead of hanging his head after his first career interception, redshirt sophomore quarterback Jason Brown (Fredericksburg, Va./Chancellor) responded with a beautifully-executed two-minute drill, marching the Red Flash 68 yards in three plays and  just 27 seconds. A 29-yard hook-up from Brown to redshirt junior Zach Campbell (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) and a 20-yard screen play to junior Joel Denley (Beaumont, Texas/West Brook) moved the ball inside Merrimack territory and the drive was capped by a 19-yard touchdown reception by redshirt sophomore Brandan Lisenby (Alexandria, Va./West Potomac), the first of his career, as Saint Francis led 20-14 at the half.

Key to the Game

The Saint Francis forced the high-powered Merrimack offense, who came into the game averaging 41.0 ppg, into five turnovers while SFU committed just the one, a pick six. Redshirt sophomore Gio Vonne Sanders (Jeannette, PA/Jeannette) had two interceptions in place of injured senior All-American Nick Rinella (Collegeville, Pa./La Salle College), redshirt freshman Terrell Smith (Baltimore, Md./St. Frances Academy) added his first career pick, and redshirt freshman Tremayn Stott (Germantown, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) recovered a fumble forced by junior Martin Foray Jr. as SFU turned the four Warriors' turnovers into 20 points.

Scoring Summary

• Merrimack opened the scoring with 10:21 to play in the first quarter on a 5-yard touchdown run from Merrimack quarterback Christian Carter.
• Saint Francis answered on the first career touchdown from freshman tailback Chris Wells (Philadelphia PA/Neumann-Goretti), who barreled into the end zone from one-yard out. The score was set up by a 60-yard pass completion from Brown to redshirt sophomore E.J. Jenkins who caught Brown's deep ball in stride down the right sideline and carried a Merrimack defender 20 yards to the one yardline.
• Sophomore Trevor Thompson (Columbus, Ohio/Canal Winchester) connected on field goals of 18 and 42 yards, the latter a career-high to give SFU a 13-7 lead before the teams traded TDs before the end of the half to put SFU ahead 20-14.
• Denley's 5-yard scamper and a two-point conversion reeled in by redshirt sophomore Dominic Clark (Havre de Grace, Md./Loyola Blakefield) with 9:48 to play in the third quarter put Saint Francis ahead 28-14.
• A four-yard strike to redshirt junior Ra'Shaun Henry (Killeen, Texas /Copperas Cove) and an 11-yard touchdown to Jenkins closed the scoring.

Inside the Box Score

• Saint Francis out-gained Merrimack 426-274 in total offense. The Red Flash enjoyed a balanced attack, throwing for 276 yards and rushing for 150. The Warriors threw for 172 and ran for 102.
• Saint Francis controlled the tempo, winning the time of possession 36:18 to 23:42.
• The Red Flash went 7-for-7 in the red zone, scoring touchdowns on five of those trips. 
• Saint Francis also converted 7-of-15 third downs while holding Merrimack to 3-for-11 and 0-for-1 on fourth down.

Notable Performances

• Brown had another strong performance, finishing 17-for-26 with 276 yards and three touchdowns to the one interception.
• Redshirt junior Avery Miliner (Clayton, Ohio/Northmont) led a balanced SFU ground game with 45 yards on 12 carries. Wells added 42 yards and a score on 12 carries and Denley pitched in with 37 yards and a touchdown on eight carriers.
• Jenkins finished with 71 receiving yards and a score to lead all pass catchers while seven different players caught a pass from Brown.
• Defensively, Stott led SFU with seven tackles and a fumble recovery. Sophomore Jalen Brown (Clinton, Md./DeMatha Catholic) had five stops, including one behind the line of scrimmage, while Foray had five tackles, a forced fumble and two pass breakups.
• Jaylen Parks (Dallas, Ga./North Paulding) added two tackles for a loss and a sack, and was joined in the sack column by redshirt junior Sam Cummings (Verona, N.J./Verona) and redshirt freshman Ian White (Waxhaw, N.C./Marvin Ridge).

Notes

• SFU's three interceptions were its most since recording three at Bryant on Oct. 14, 2017. Sanders is the last player to record two interceptions in a game since Jalen Wells (Westerville, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) had two in that same Bryant game.
• The Red Flash start the season 2-1 for just the third time since 2012 and the first since 2017.
• Saint Francis has won its last 11 home opners and is 16-5 at home since the start of the 2015 season.
• The game was delayed one hour due to a lighning storm and kicked off at 1 p.m. instead of the intended noon start time.

Up Next

Saint Francis closes out its non-conference schedule vs. Columbia next Saturday at 1 p.m. Join the Red Flash as it celebrates its 50th anniversary of the football team.