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LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University football is set to host its first game of the season in its conference-opener on Saturday, Sept. 14 for a 12 p.m. kickoff against Central Connecticut.
 
Offense
Jeff Hoenstine threw for 195 yards and one touchdown and added 50 rushing yards and a touchdown in his collegiate debut against Kent State. Gavin Thomson had 124 receiving yards on five catches and leads the NEC and ranks 28th in the FCS with 168 receiving yards through the first two weeks. DeMarcus McElroy led the Red Flash rushing attack for the second consecutive week and is second in the NEC with 153 rushing yards. Saint Francis' 402 total yards of offense against Kent State is the most by an NEC team against a Division I opponent through the first two weeks.
 
Defense
The Red Flash defense is ninth in the FCS with 238 total yards of offense allowed and is 18th with 17.5 points against per game. Saint Francis is also eighth in tackles for loss with 8.0 per game and tied for ninth with 3.0 sacks per game. Paul Tangelo leads the unit with 5.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks – his sacks already tied the team lead from last season. Pierre Royster leads the team with 15 total tackles (nine solo) and adds 2.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks and a forced fumble. Trey McLeer has the only Saint Francis interception of the season when he picked off a Semaj Williams deflected pass in the end zone during the fourth quarter of the win over Kent State.
 
Special Teams
Mac Plummer was named FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week after he went 3-for-3 in field goal attempts with conversions from 50, 46 and 33 yards in the win over Kent State. His 50-yard field goal was only the fifth in program history of 50-plus and is tied for the second longest. He is tied for third in the FCS with four field goals and is one of three players in the FCS that has attempted at least four field goals without a miss. Aidan Cirulli pinned two punts inside the 20-yard line at Kent State and is averaging 40.9 yards per punt this season.
 
Last Time Out
Saint Francis made history with its first win over an FBS opponent in program history 23-17 at Kent State. The Red Flash scored the game's first 17 points that started with a Plummer 50-yard field goal six minutes into the game. Hoenstine ran in for a two-yard touchdown with 3:46 remaining in the first quarter and Thomson added a 64-yard touchdown with 10:56 remaining in the second quarter to open a 17-0 lead. Kent State responded with a touchdown at 5:59 remaining in the half before Plummer's 33-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining made it 20-7. Kent State added a 23-yard touchdown with 46 seconds left in the half and cut the deficit to 20-14. Plummer converted a 46-yard field goal to open the second-half scoring and a 23-14 Red Flash lead with 11:30 remaining in the third quarter. In the fourth, Kent State was inside the Saint Francis 10-yard line before McLeer intercepted a pass in the end zone with 9:25 remaining. The Golden Flashes hit a 44-yard field goal and cut the deficit to 23-17 with 1:38 remaining before Saint Francis recovered the onside kick to seal the victory.
 
Scouting CCSU
The Blue Devils enter Saturday's game with a 1-1 record and are coming off a 33-3 victory at home over Fordham. CCSU started the season with a 66-10 loss at FBS member Central Michigan. Brady Olson leads the team with a 52.9 completion percentage, 314 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Elijah Howard has s33 rushes for 87 yards and two touchdowns, followed by Donny Marcus' 21 rushes for 79 yards. Michael Plaskon leads the receiver group with nine catches and 101 yards. Kimal Clark is tied for the NEC lead with 22 total tackles and leads the conference with 11 solo. Malachi Wright trails only Tangelo (5.0) with 3.5 tackles for loss and he adds one sack. CCSU has two players, Vince Thomas and Christopher Jean, with two fumble recoveries. The Blue Devils are tied for the FCS lead with five fumble recoveries. During its game against Fordham in pouring rain, the Rams fumbled 12 times and CCSU recovered five. The Blue Devils' defense is also tied for the FCS lead with nine sacks.
 
All-Time vs. CCSU
CCSU holds a 23-7 record over Saint Francis since the first meeting in 1993 but Saint Francis has won the last two meetings by at least 26 points. Last season's 49-14 victory for the Red Flash was its largest margin of victory in matchup history. Prior to Saint Francis' back-to-back wins, CCSU won four straight games between 2017-21. The Blue Devils had its longest winning streak in matchup history, seven games, between 1998-2004. Saint Francis will looks to win three consecutive games for the first time in matchup history.
 
Around the NEC
Saint Francis became the second NEC team in history to defeat an FBS opponent with its 23-17 victory at Kent State. CCSU earned its largest victory since 2019 in a 33-3 defeat of Fordham. Division II member Edinboro defeated Robert Morris 23-21 on a fourth-quarter safety. Howard narrowly defeated Mercyhurst 32-31, while Wagner lost 49-13 to Lehigh and Stonehill lost 37-10 at Stony Brook. LIU and Duquesne both lost shutout finishes to FBS members TCU 45-0 and Boston College 56-0, respectively. 
 
Week Two in the NEC
Saint Francis and CCSU meet for the first conference game of the 2024 NEC season. Mercyhurst visits Robert Morris in a game that will be non-conference. Stonehill visits New Hampshire, Duquesne visits Youngstown State and Wagner visits Delaware State. LIU is set to host Lehigh.
 
Saint Francis Receives Votes in National Polls
The Red Flash received 11 votes in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 and eight votes in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll after its victory over Kent State. The Stats Perform poll has Saint Francis as the 39th best team in the country and the AFCA poll has the Red Flash 43rd heading into the third week of the season. Saint Francis has now received votes at least one week in three consecutive seasons.
 
Next
Saint Francis travels to Eastern Michigan for its second FBS opponent of the season on Saturday, Sept. 21 for a 2 p.m. kickoff.