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LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University football is back on the road Saturday, Oct. 26 for a 2 p.m. kickoff at Robert Morris.
 
Offense
DeMarcus McElroy regained the Saint Francis rushing lead with 386 yards – one yard ahead of Markell Holman's 385. McElroy had led the Red Flash backfield in rushing four games this season to Holman's three. Both are top 10 in the NEC. Gavin Thomson ranks fifth in the NEC with 349 receiving yards and has caught all-three touchdowns by Red Flash wideouts this season. Both quarterbacks Jeff Hoenstine and Nick Whitfield Jr. returned to the field last game at Wagner and Whitfield led the tandem with 162 passing yards.
 
Defense
Reigning Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week Geno Calgaro has led Saint Francis in tackling the last two games with 16 combined. He is fifth on the team with 28 total this season and made his first collegiate start at Wagner. Semaj Williams recorded his first interception and forced fumble in his Saint Francis career at Wagner. He joined Eddie Bierals (two forced fumbles) as the only two Saint Francis players to force two turnovers in a game this season. Saint Francis allowed just 47 rushing yards at Wagner – its second time allowing less than 50 in a game this season. The unit ranks third in the FCS with 94 rushing yards allowed per game.
 
Special Teams
Aidan Cirulli ranks third in the NEC with 42.7 yards per punt and is tied for second with 12 punts inside the 20-yard line. He is tied with CCSU's Aidan Clark atop the conference with eight punts of 50-plus yards and has two of the four longest punts by an NEC player. Mac Plummer is 4-for-7 in field goal attempts and has attempted just one field goal in the last three games.
 
Last Time Out
Saint Francis took a 14-0 defeat at Wagner that snapped a four-game winning streak against the Seahawks. Williams intercepted a pass on Wagner's first offensive drive of the game but after Saint Francis failed to capitalize, Wagner scored on the ensuing drive with a 24-yard passing touchdown to open a 7-0 lead. Wagner added its second touchdown of the game with 11:29 remaining in the first half on a 31-yard pass for a 14-0 lead. Both offenses stalled in the second half, coming for 11 punts, before Wagner clinched its shutout victory.
 
Scouting Robert Morris
The Colonials sit tied atop the NEC standings with Duquesne at 2-0 after a 21-14 victory over Wagner and 45-31 win over LIU. Robert Morris is 4-3 overall with additional victories 55-28 over Mercyhurst and 23-0 over Delaware State. The non-conference slate also featured a 23-21 loss to Division II member Edinboro on Sept. 7. Anthony Chiccitt is second in the NEC with 1,538 passing yards and his 152 passing efficiency is 17th in the FCS. He adds 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. Noah Robinson leads the NEC with 80 receiving yards per game, tied for 20th in the FCS, and is second in the conference with 560 receiving yards. Tyvon Edmonds Jr. is second in the conference with 81 rushing yards per game and fourth with 486 total. Both Keon Freeman (56) and Jamar Shegog (53) rank top five in the NEC in total tackles. Turner Schmidt's 4.5 sacks and Lucas Lamber's 3.5 are second and third in the conference, respectively. The Colonials lead the NEC with 371 total yards of offense but rank sixth with 388.4 yards of offense allowed. 
 
All-Time vs. Robert Morris
Robert Morris holds a 17-9-1 record over Saint Francis since the first meeting, a 14-14 tie, in 1994. The Colonials are 15-9 against the Red Flash as a member of the NEC. Saint Francis went on a seven-game winning streak between 2012-2018 before Robert Morris won the last two games in 2019 and 2023.
 
Around the NEC
Robert Morris took a 45-31 victory over LIU to move into a first-place tie with Duquesne, who was on a bye week, at 2-0. Wagner defeated Saint Francis 14-0 to improve to 2-1 in the conference. LIU dropped to 1-2 and Saint Francis dropped to 0-3. Nationally ranked Dartmouth defeated CCSU 20-16, and Merrimack defeated Stonehill 48-28 in non-conference action.
 
Week Nine in the NEC
CCSU visits LIU, Duquesne visits Stonehill and Saint Francis visits Robert Morris in week nine conference games. Mercyhurst visits former NEC member Sacred Heart and Wagner visits FBS independent UMass to round out this week's action.
 
Next
Saint returns home for both homecoming and senior day on Saturday, Nov. 2 for a 1 p.m. kickoff.