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LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University football is set to kick off the 2024 season on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 12 p.m. at Dayton.
 
Offense
Quarterback Nick Whitfield Jr. made five appearances with two starts in 2023 and went 34-of-54 with 438 passing yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Adrian Mejia leads returning wide receivers with 14 catches and 138 yards last season that all came in the final three games. Jayden Ivory follows with seven catches for 118 yards in seven games. Saint Francis does not return any rushers with over 50 yards last season and will look to replace the production with DeMarcus McElroy and Markell Holman atop the depth chart. The offensive line returns Preseason All-NEC selection Mason Imbt and is set to feature four new starters.
 
Defense
Preseason All-NEC selections Eddie Bierals and Mercury Swaim will look to anchor the Red Flash defense. Bierals finished tied for first with 3.0 sacks and third with 5.5 tackles for loss last season. Swaim tied Pierre Royster for the team lead with two forced fumbles, finished third with 48 total tackles (34 solo) and fifth with 4.0 tackles for loss. Royster was fourth with 45 total tackles (28 solo). Buju Aumua-Tuisavura finished the season fifth with 36 total tackles and added 3.0 tackles for loss.
 
Special Teams
Punter Aidan Cirulli returns his 39.2 yards per punt on 42 attempts from last season. He had a season-long 62-yard punt, which was the furthest for a Red Flash player since 2018. Kicker Mac Plummer went 5-for-8 on field goal attempts and 33-for-35 on extra point attempts. Aaron Tutino led the 2023 team with six punt returns and finished second with 8.2 yards per return. DaMario Crawford had four kick returns for 90 yards with a season-long 27-yard return against Duquesne. He looks to assume the lead role in the 2024 season.
 
2023 Season in Review
Saint Francis finished the 2023 season 4-6 overall and 4-3 in NEC play. It marked the third consecutive season Saint Francis finished above .500 in conference play. The Red Flash earned two All-American selections, led by Seth Osborne's Associated Press FCS Third Team nod. He became the third AP All-American in program history, joining Lorenzo Jerome and Kameron Lewis. Saint Francis totaled eight All-NEC honors last season. The Saint Francis offense led the NEC with 360.1 total yards and 27.2 total points per game. The defense ranked third with 354.4 yards against and tied for third with 26.4 points against per game.
 
Scouting Dayton
The Flyers went 4-7 overall and 2-6 in Pioneer League in Trevor Andrews' first year as head coach. Dayton ended the season with back-to-back wins 35-6 over Marist and 45-14 over Davidson. Drew VanVleet leads the returning quarterback room after he went 76-of-120 (63.3-percent) with 598 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions last season. Luke Hansen returns his second-ranked 536 rushing yards and team-leading six rushing touchdowns. Gavin Lochow led Dayton last season with 35 receptions, 402 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns, followed by Jake Coleman's 27 catches for 302 receiving yards. Dayton returns four players with at least 50 total tackles last season led by Aiden McKinley's 87. He also leads returners with 12.5 tackles for loss. Cam Cope returns a team-high three interceptions and three pass breakups. McKinley and center Dylan DeMaison were named Preseason All-Pioneer League. Dayton was picked to finish sixth out of 11 programs in the Pioneer League Preseason Poll.
 
All-Time vs. Dayton
Dayton holds a 2-0 advantage over Saint Francis with a 39-0 victory in 2002 and 70-0 victory in the first meeting in 2001. The Flyers were Pioneer League Champions in both seasons, while the Red Flash were 2-18 combined. Both Saint Francis and Dayton were in their ninth and 10th FCS campaigns during the beginning of the series.  
 
Next
Saint Francis has its first of two FBS opponents this season with a trip to Kent State on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 2:30 p.m.