ESPN3 | Live Stats | SFU Game Notes

LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University football travels to Sacred Heart on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 12 p.m. on ESPN3. The Red Flash sit tied atop the Northeast Conference standings at 4-0, while Sacred Heart is in third at 2-1.
 
Offense 
For the third straight game, Elijah Sarratt led Saint Francis in receiving yards with his 99 against Stonehill and also scored for the fourth game in a row. His four receiving touchdowns is third amongst FCS freshmen and his 52.4 receiving yards per game is fourth. Cole Doyle earned his second straight start and leads the NEC with a 65.8 completion percentage and is tied for second with seven passing touchdowns. Lovell Armstead leads Saint Francis running backs with 324 rushing yards, while Damon Horton leads the group with four rushing touchdowns. Four different Saint Francis players have led the team in single-game rushing yards this season, led by Armstead's three. Despite a running back by committee, Saint Francis ranks 21st in the FCS with 193.1 rushing yards per game and leads the NEC. The Red Flash offensive line is tied for 13th in the FCS with 1.14 sacks allowed per game, which is tied with Duquesne for the NEC lead.
 
Defense
Donnell Brown earned his third NEC Prime Performer selection of the season after he forced a crucial fumble, his second of the season, against Stonehill. Brown is tied for the NEC lead with 10 tackles for loss this season and his 1.4 per game ranks tied for 18th in the FCS. Gregory Reddick had a season-high 12 tackles and earned his first interception of the season against Stonehill. He is second in the NEC with 7.6 tackles for game and set a new career-high with 53 total tackles this season. The Saint Francis defense held all-four conference opponents below 270 total yards of offense and surrendered 40 points total in the four games. The Red Flash rank second in the NEC with 320 total yards against per game, which is also top-25 in the FCS.
 
Special Teams
Saint Francis' punt team faced its first block of the season against Stonehill, though punter Jordan Slaiby still leads the NEC with 39.6 yards per punt. He also had a 55-yard punt in the game, which is his second-longest of the season. Punt returner Casey McKinney had a season-long 23-yard return against the Skyhawks. He also had a muffed punt in the final three minutes of the game that Mark Conrad alertly recovered.
 
Last Time Out
Saint Francis defeated Stonehill 17-13 for its fifth win in a row and 4-0 start to conference play. Stonehill was on the board first with a 39-yard field goal on the first drive before Saint Francis responded with two touchdowns in the quarter. Horton scored on a one-yard run and Sarratt took a shovel pass 65 yards for a touchdown. With a 14-3 lead most of the second quarter, Saint Francis surrendered another Skyhawks' field goal in the final 20 seconds. In the third quarter, Stonehill's Jermaine Corbett scored on a one-yard run and cut the lead to 14-13. Alex Schmoke converted his only field goal of the game at 5:46 in the third and extended the lead to 17-13. In the fourth quarter, Brown forced a fumble inside the Saint Francis 30-yard line that Colt Jennings recovered. With 2:09 remaining, Saint Francis' McKinney muffed a punt on the Red Flash 25-yard line that was recovered by Conrad.
 
Scouting Sacred Heart
The Pioneers enter Saturday's game with a 2-1 conference and 4-3 overall record this season. Sacred Heart started the conference season 2-0 with wins over Central Connecticut and Stonehill before a 31-25 loss to Merrimack last week. The Pioneers are on a current 13-game winning streak at home. Preseason All-American running back Malik Grant leads the NEC with 604 rushing yards and is second in the conference with 86.3 rushing yards per game – both ranked 30th in the FCS. Quarterback Marquez McCray leads the NEC with 232.6 passing yards per game on 63.3-percent passing with five touchdowns and four interceptions. Wide receiver Kenneth Womack leads the unit with 70.4 yards, which is fourth in the conference. The Pioneers' offensive line is tied for the most sacks allowed in the NEC with 18. Ernest Howard leads the defense with 7.1 tackles per game, fourth in the NEC, and he adds four tackles for loss, one interception and three pass breakups. Sacred Heart's defense has seven players with at least three tackles for loss, led by Tyreke Brown's six. John Wood leads the team with two interceptions, while seven other players have one. The defensive until has not forced or recovered a fumble this season.

All-Time vs. Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart owns a 14-11 advantage over Saint Francis and a slight 6-5 advantage at home. The Pioneers are on a current four-game winning streak and won those games by a combined 19 points. Prior to the Sacred Heart four-game run, Saint Francis had a five-game winning streak between 2012-16. Saint Francis lost 14-13 last season after they missed a field goal attempt as time expired.

Around the NEC
Saint Francis defeated Stonehill and Merrimack defeated Sacred Heart as both teams moved to 4-0 in conference play. With the loss, Sacred Heart moved to 2-1 while Stonehill moved to 1-2. Duquesne defeated Central Connecticut 30-6 for its first win of the conference season. The Blue Devils fell to 0-3, which already ties its highest loss total in conference games over the past five seasons. Wagner defeated LIU 37-26 for its first win under head coach Tom Masella, who was hired in 2019. The win snapped a 26-game losing streak for the Seahawks.
 
Brown, Doyle Named NEC Prime Performers
Brown and Doyle earned the honor for a second week in a row. Brown had five total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks and one forced fumble against Stonehill. Doyle was 13-for-21 with 156 passing yards, one passing touchdown and had 10 carries for a game-high 70 rushing yards in the victory over Stonehill. The selection was Brown's third of the season, while Doyle earned his second.

Next
Saint Francis has its final non-conference game of the season with a trip to Georgetown on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 12:30 p.m.