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LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University football will play its second FCS playoff game in program history on Saturday, Nov. 26 at No. 23 Delaware for a 2 p.m. kickoff. The Red Flash clinched the playoffs on Oct. 29 against Sacred Heart and won the Northeast Conference on Nov. 19 against Merrimack.
 
Offense
Saint Francis ranks eighth in the FCS with 37.6 points per game and 16th with 444.4 total yards of offense per game. The Red Flash offense is led by NEC Offensive Player of the Year quarterback Cole Doyle, who has 917 passing yards and 14 passing touchdowns over the past three games. Freshman wide receiver Makai Jackson is eighth in the FCS with 7.3 receptions per game and leads freshmen with 83.6 receiving yards per game. Saint Francis' other freshman wideout Elijah Sarratt is tied for third in the FCS with 13 touchdown receptions, which is five more than Jackson's second-ranked eight. The Saint Francis offensive line, which consists of three All-NEC selections, is one of 10 teams in the FCS to allow less than one sack per game. They pave the way for an FCS 21st-ranked rushing attack that averages 192.2 yards per game. Saint Francis has set a new single-season program record with 52 touchdowns and 414 total points scored this season.
 
Defense
Saint Francis ranks seventh in the FCS with 18.4 points against per game and ninth with 310 yards against per game. The defense is led by NEC Defensive Player of the Year Donnell Brown's 13.5 tackles for loss and he adds 5.5 sacks. He became the first player in program history to earn NEC Defensive Player of the Year. Gregory Reddick ranked second in the NEC with 7.9 tackles per game, while Willie O'Hara is fourth with seven per game. Travell Cook leads the team with five total takeaways, which is the most by a Saint Francis player since 2018.
 
Special Teams
All-NEC First Team kicker ranks second in single-season program history with 17 converted field goals this season. His 84.2 field goal percentage ranks first in Saint Francis career program history. Punter Jordan Slaiby ranks third in the NEC with 39 yards per punt and has a season long punt of 56 yards. Punt returner Casey McKinney's 8.3 yards per return ranks third in program career history amongst players with at least 20 returns.
 
Last Time Out
Saint Francis clinched its second NEC title in program history with a 52-23 victory over Merrimack. Lovell Armstead put Saint Francis up 7-0 in the first two minutes of the game with a four-yard touchdown reception. Sarratt followed with under four minutes remaining in the quarter with a nine-yard touchdown reception. Merrimack scored a 34-yard touchdown on the second play of the second quarter and cut the Red Flash lead to 14-7. Saint Francis responded with a one-yard Holmes touchdown run, six-yard Sarratt touchdown, 15-yard Snyder touchdown and 24-yard Schmoke field goal and took a commanding 38-7 lead at halftime. Snyder's touchdown was scored three plays after O'Hara's interception. After a defensive stop to start the first half, Holmes scored a 69-yard touchdown on the first offensive play and extended the lead to 45-7. With under five minutes remaining in the third quarter, Snyder scored his second touchdown of the game and Saint Francis took a 52-7 lead. Merrimack scored 16 points in the final 13 minutes of the game, with it out of reach, before Saint Francis clinched its title victory.
 
Scouting Delaware
Delaware finished 7-4 overall and 4-4 in CAA play to earn an at-large bit to the FCS playoffs. They enter the playoffs with losses in three of their final four games of the season, to ranked opponents Elon and Richmond, and Villanova who received votes. The Blue Hens are ranked 23rd in the Stats Perform Top 25. The Delaware defense ranks third in the FCS with 278.5 yards allowed per game and fourth with 16.2 points per game allowed. The offense averages an FCS 33rd-ranked 412.4 yards per game and scores 27.6 points per game. The offense is led by quarterback Nolan Henderson who is tied for sixth in the FCS with 28 touchdowns passes and 12th with 2,934 passing yards. Wide receiver Thyrick Pitts leads the team with nine touchdown receptions and Jourdan Townsend leads with 56 receptions and 672 yards. Linebacker Johnny Buchanan is second in the FCS with 10.9 tackles for loss and Chase McGowan and Artis Hemmingway leads the team with 7.5 tackles for loss. Buchanan was named a finalist for the Buck Buchanan award, presentied to the national defensive player of the year in the FCS.
 
All-Time vs. Delaware
In the only matchup between Delaware and Saint Francis, the Blue Hens took a 27-10 victory in the second game of the 2021 season. Delaware quarterback Nolan Henderson was 18-for-23 with 259 yards and one touchdown during the game. Saint Francis defensive lineman Donnell Brown had 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack in the game. At the time of the first game, Delaware was ranked No. 6 in the FCS.
 
Saint Francis Earns Four Major Yearly Awards, 13 All-Conference Selections
Saint Francis earned four of the five major Northeast Conference yearly awards, 10 First Team All-NEC selections and three Second Team All-NEC honors on Nov. 23. Doyle was named NEC Offensive Player of the Year, Brown was named NEC Defensive Player of the Year, Jackson was named NEC Offensive Rookie of the Year and head coach Villarrial was named NEC Coach of the Year. This is the first time since Sacred Heart in 2013 that a team earned at least four of the five major awards. Brown became the first Defensive Player of the Year selection in Saint Francis history, while Doyle was the fourth Offensive Player of the Year and first since Kamron Lewis in 2016. Jackson is the fifth Offensive Rookie of the Year and first since Marcus Bagley in 2014. Coach Villarrial earned his third-career Coach of the Year after back-to-back honors in 2015 and 2016. The 10 All-NEC First Team selections broke the previous program record of seven set in 2015 and 2016. Saint Francis earned seven more First Team selection than last season.
 
Saint Francis Represented in Four of the Five Major FCS Awards Presented by Stats Perform
The Red Flash have a finalist in four of the five yearly awards presented by Stats Perform on Jan. 7 in Frisco, Texas. Quarterback Doyle is a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, presented to the top offensive player in the FCS, wide receiver Jackson is a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, presented to the top freshman in the FCS, head coach Chris Villarrial is a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, presented to the national coach of the year in the FCS and linebacker Colt Jennings is a finalist for the FedEx Ground Doris Robinson Award, presented to an FCS student-athlete who excels on the field, in the classroom, in the community and beyond.

Northeast Conference Champions
Saint Francis took a 52-23 win over Merrimack to clinch its second Northeast Conference in program history. The Red Flash finished with a 7-0 conference record to become the ninth team in NEC history to go undefeated. Saint Francis clinched its first NEC title since 2016.
 
Saint Francis Receives Votes in National Polls
The Red Flash earned votes in FCS national polls for the fifth week in a row. Saint Francis earned 92 points in the Stats Perform Top 25 and 43 in the FCS Coaches Poll, which landed the program 27th in each ranking. The previous week, Saint Francis earned 37 votes in the in the Stats Perform Poll and 18 in the Coaches Poll. Saint Francis has cracked the top 25 once in program history in 2016.
 
Next
The winner of Saturday's playoff game will advance to the second round and face No. 1 South Dakota State on Saturday, Dec. 3.