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LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University football looks ahead at Senior Day against LIU on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 12 p.m. Saint Francis will honor 14 seniors during the pregame ceremony, beginning at approximately 11:35 a.m.
 
Offense
Quarterback Nick Whitfield, Jr. earned FCS National Freshman Player of the Week and Northeast Conference Player and Rookie of the Week after leading a 15-point comeback victory over Merrimack. He finished 10-of-18 with 164 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and added a two-yard receiving touchdown in his first collegiate start. He filled in for an injured Cole Doyle, who still lads the NEC with a 56.6 completion percentage and is second with 11 passing touchdowns. Over the last four games, Deondre Scott has 262 total yards of offense and four total touchdowns. Despite only two catches for 13 yards against Merrimack, Dawson Snyder still leads the NEC with 502 receiving yards. Mason Imbt has a touchdown on all-three of his offensive touches over the last two games.
 
Defense
Carter Glassmyer remains atop the conference with 72 total tackles and his 9.1 per game average is tied for 24th in the FCS. He is also seventh in the NEC with 2.5 sacks, tied with teammate Eddie Bierals, and 11th with 5.5 tackles for loss. Blye Hill is fourth in the conference with six total pass defends, which is three more than any other Red Flash player. Kesean Dyson forced the fifth fumble of the season for Saint Francis and Buju Aumua-Tuisavura recovered his first with the Red Flash. Saint Francis has allowed just 24 second-half points combined over the last four games.
 
Special Teams
Saint Francis blocked a punt for the second-straight game, produced against Merrimack by James Tharpe and recovered by Nico Nuzzo. The blocked punt set up Saint Francis' game-tying touchdown in the comeback win over Merrimack. Aidan Cirulli had a 58-yard punt against Merrimack, his second longest of the season, and carries a 39.3 average this season.
 
Last Time Out
Saint Francis produced a 15-point comeback victory 28-21 over Merrimack, which was its largest since the 2012 season. Saint Francis scored the first touchdown of the game before Merrimack scored twice in the second quarter and led 14-6 at halftime. The Warriors scored the only touchdown of the third quarter to open a 21-6 lead. In the fourth, Saint Francis scored 22 unanswered points behind a 29-yard run, two-yard pass and 71-yard pass to lead 28-21. Saint Francis sealed the victory on a William Middleton pass breakup in the end zone with 46 seconds remaining in the game.
 
Scouting LIU
The Sharks enter Saturday's game at 2-6 overall and 2-2 in the conference with victories over Sacred Heart and Central Connecticut. LIU's two conference losses are 31-28 to Duquesne and 39-0 to Merrimack. LIU has used three quarterbacks this season and Chris Howell has the most reps with 44-of-91 with 513 passing yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. Davon Wells leads the team with 297 rushing yards and 230 receiving yards. Eric O'Neill leads the defensive side with an FCS second-ranked 17.5 tackles for loss and has four sacks. Antwan Spencer is third in the conference with 67 total tackles, while Jai Roe leads the team with two interceptions. Punter Will Lynch leads the NEC with 42 yards per punt and kicker Michael Coney is 6-for-11 on field goal attempts this season.
 
All-Time vs. LIU
Saint Francis owns a 3-0 record over LIU since the Sharks moved up the FCS in 2019. The Red Flash have defeated the Sharks 30-0 in 2019, 55-10 in 2021 and 57-7 in 2022. The 57 and 55 points were the most in each respective season for Saint Francis. During last season's game, Saint Francis rushed for six touchdowns, which was third in single-game program history.
 
Around the NEC
Saint Francis produced a 15-point comeback victory against Merrimack and moved both teams to 3-2 in conference play. Duquesne remained undefeated at 4-0 in conference play with a 27-0 win over Sacred Heart that dropped the Pioneers to a league-worst 1-5. In the second NEC game televised on CBS Sports Network this season, LIU pulled off a 13-point comeback victory over Central Connecticut. The Sharks improved to 2-2, while the Blue Devils dropped to 1-3. Wagner moved to 3-2 in conference play with a 28-17 win over Stonehill that dropped the Skyhawks to 2-3.
 
Week 10 in the NEC
Duquesne visits Wagner, LIU visits Saint Francis and Central Connecticut visits Sacred Heart in conference action. Merrimack visits UMass in non-conference play, while Stonehill has a bye week. Duquesne enters the weekend with a two-game lead on the NEC standings.
 
Next
After its second bye weekend of the season, Saint Francis concludes the 2023 season on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 12 p.m. against Central Connecticut.