DAYTON, Ohio – Saint Francis University football fell in its first game of the 2024 season 18-10 against Dayton. Saint Francis allowed just 196 total yards of offense.
 
What You Need to Know
» Nick Whitfield Jr. went 15-of-26 for 121 passing yards.
» DeMarcus McElroy had nine carries for 69 yards and added four catches for 22 yards.
» Markell Holman had 13 carries for 48 yards and a one-yard touchdown run.
» DaMario Crawford led the team with eight total tackles (six solo).
» Paul Tangelo had six total tackles, 2.0 sacks, 1.0 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.
» Eddie Bierals had two fumble recoveries.
 
Turning Points of the Game
Dayton started the scoring on a 12-yard pass at the 7:51 mark of the first quarter and opened a 7-0 lead. After the Flyers pinned Saint Francis at the one-yard line on a punt, Dayton tackled a Saint Francis running play in the endzone for a safety.
 
Saint Francis responded with the only points in the second quarter, a Mac Plummer 26-yard field goal at the 6:25 mark, as Dayton led 9-3 at halftime.
 
Dayton opened the third-quarter scoring on a trick-play, 27-yard passing touchdown and opened a 15-3 lead with 11:04 remaining. Saint Francis then scored a one-yard Holman rushing touchdown with 5:24 remaining in the frame after Tangelo forced a drive-ending fumble to set up Saint Francis in Dayton territory.
 
Dayton added a field goal with seven seconds left in the third and opened an 18-10 lead. Saint Francis had the ball on Dayton's five-yard line in the first drive of the fourth before the Flyers forced and recovered a fumble on third down. With Saint Francis unable to score the remainder of the game, Dayton earned its eight-point victory.
 
Flash Nuggets
Saint Francis allowed 40 rushing yards – its lowest total since 40 rushing yards allowed on Nov. 13, 2021 against Merrimack (24-game span).
 
Geno Calgaro forced the first fumble of his collegiate career nine seconds into the second quarter of the game.
 
Tangelo forced the first two fumbles of his Saint Francis career. He also became the first Red Flash player with two sacks in a game since Sebastian Bemjamin recorded four in the 2022 season-opener at Akron (22-game span). 
 
Bierals recovered two fumbles in the game after he recovered one in his first 33 collegiate appearances. He's the first player since Bishop Neal on Nov. 17, 2012 to recover two fumbles in one game. 
 
Gavin Thomson led Saint Francis with 44 receiving yards in his debut.
 
17 players made their Saint Francis debut, which included five true freshmen.
 
Next
Saint Francis returns to the field against its first FBS opponent of the season, Kent State, on Saturday, Sept. 7 for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff.