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LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University football travels to Wagner on Saturday, Oct. 19 for a noon kickoff in its first road conference game of the 2024 season.
 
Offense
Running back tandem Markell Holman and DeMarcus McElroy both rank top 10 in the Northeast Conference with 59.3 and 56 rushing yards per game, respectively. Each player has led Saint Francis in rushing three times through the first six games. Gavin Thomson ranks fourth in the NEC with 60.6 receiving yards per game and has scored a touchdown in three of his last four games played. He is second in the conference with 15.9 yards per reception.
 
Defense
The Red Flash defense remains top 10 in the FCS in total yards of offense allowed per game at 285.8. The unit also ranks 11th in the country with 101.8 rushing yards allowed per game and has only allowed one 100-yard rusher this season. Trey McLeer leads the program with 42 total tackles while Pierre Royster leads with 24 solo tackles. Paul Tangelo is tied for third in the NEC with four sacks and he is tied for fifth in the conference with six tackles for loss. 10 different Red Flash players have recorded at least one sack and 10 players have at least two tackles for loss.
 
Special Teams
Aidan Cirulli had 395 punt yards against Duquesne, which was five yards short of tying for fifth in single-game program history. He had a 68-yard punt that tied the fifth-longest in program history and is one yard shy of his career-long. After his eight punts against Duquesne, Cirulli now qualifies for the Saint Francis career records (minimum of 75 punts) and ranks second with 40.7 yards per punt. One of his attempts against the Dukes was muffed and recovered by Nico Nuzzo to set up the only Red Flash touchdown of the game. Cirulli ranks third in the NEC with 43 yards per punt this season and is 0.4 yards behind the conference leader.
 
Last Time Out
Saint Francis dropped its in-state rivalry matchup to Duquesne, 38-7. Saint Francis started the game with momentum and drove down to the Dukes' one-yard line before being stuffed in a fourth-and-goal situation. Duquesne started the scoring a few drives later with a 40-yard pick-six in the first quarter. The Dukes added 10 more points behind a 33-yard field goal and two-yard rushing touchdown and led 17-0 at halftime. After a muffed Duquesne punt with 11:32 remaining in the third quarter, Saint Francis recovered and scored a 14-yard passing touchdown from Adrian Mejia to Thomson on the ensuing play to cut the deficit to 17-7. Duquesne responded with a 12-yard passing touchdown on the following drive and led 24-7 after three quarters. The Dukes tacked on 14 more points in the fourth quarter behind a 22-yard passing touchdown and 40-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown to clinch the victory.
 
Scouting Wagner
The Seahawks hold a 3-4 overall and 1-1 conference record and are coming off a 24-6 home loss to Columbia. Wagner has a 28-7 victory over Stonehill and 21-14 loss at Robert Morris in conference action. Saint Francis and Wagner have one common opponent so far this season, Delaware State, who the Seahawks defeated 30-7 and the Red Flash defeated 28-17. Ricky Spruill ranks fourth in the NEC with 444 rushing yards and is tied for third with three rushing touchdowns. Jake Cady has the bulk of the quarterback work with a 54.2 completion percentage, 932 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and five interceptions. Jaylen Bonelli has a conference second-ranked 497 receiving yards and adds five touchdowns. Justin Reilly leads the program with 47 total tackles and is one of six players with a forced fumble. Nicholas Gadson and Jalin Justice are tied for second in the NEC with 6.5 tackles for loss and Jorel Liverpool is top 10 with six tackles for loss and three sacks. Christian Davis leads the conference with three interceptions. Wagner has used two punters evenly and average 42.2 yards per punt and three different kickers have combined 3-for-4 in field goal attempts.
 
All-Time vs. Wagner
Wagner owns a 23-9 record over Saint Francis since the first meeting in 1992, however Saint Francis is riding a current four-game winning streak. During the streak, the Red Flash have won by an average margin of 23.3 points. Saint Francis has won six of the last eight meetings after Wagner won 21 of the first 24 meetings. The Red Flash made history in the 2023 defeat of the Seahawks in a 31-7 victory that was the NEC's first linear televised game in conference history on CBS Sports Network. Saint Francis also set a home attendance record of 2,878 fans in the game.
 
Around the NEC
Duquesne moved to 2-0 in conference play after a 38-7 win over Saint Francis and LIU moved to 1-1 after a 31-7 victory over Stonehill. Robert Morris defeated Delaware State 23-0 and CCSU defeated Mercyhurst 38-20 to each earn non-conference victories. Wagner lost in non-conference action to Columbia, 24-6.
 
Week Eight in the NEC
Saint Francis takes a trip to Wagner and LIU visits Robert Morris in week eight conference action. Stonehill visits former NEC member Merrimack and CCSU rounds out the weekend with a trip to Dartmouth.
 
Next
Saint Francis takes a trip to Robert Morris on Saturday, Oct. 26 for a 2 p.m. kickoff.