SELECT GAME NOTES VS. STONEHILL (FULL GAME NOTES PDF) |
FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
•Saturday's game between Saint Francis and Stonehill marks the fourth meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 2022 season.
• Since joining the NEC in 2022, Stonehill has yet to record a win against Saint Francis at home and on the road. The closest the Skyhawks have come to beating the Red Flash was during the first matchup, where they came up just short in a 17-13 shoot out at DeGol Field.
• The last time the Red Flash and Skyhawks played was during the 2024 season, when Saint Francis hosted a Massachusetts program for only the fourth time in program history. Along with the combined Senior Day and homecoming celebrations, there was plenty to cheer about after a 34–0 win, the largest margin of victory in the all-time series.
• Saint Francis would like to thank seniors Nahjee Adams, Ashtin Ancheta, Aidan Cirulli, Mike Darcy, Brenden Hodge, Mason Imbt, Gavin Irons, James Lilley, Adrian Mejia, Mac Plummer, Scott Raymond, Connor Van Tassell, and Nick Whitfield, Jr., for their hard work and dedication to Saint Francis and the football program during their time in Loretto.
• Heading into Week 13, Saint Francis is still searching for its first win of the season. The 2003 and 2010 Red Flash teams each recorded a victory, while the 2025 squad is looking to avoid becoming the fifth team since joining the NEC to finish a season winless (1998, 2000, 2004, 2008). The 2003 team defeated La Salle on Oct. 4 in non-conference play, and the 2010 team beat Sacred Heart 41-0, marking head coach Chris Villarrial's first win.
• This weekend's game at Stonehill will be the Red Flash's first game outside Pennsylvania in 71 days. In that span, the Saint Francis men's basketball team began its season on Nov. 4 and has already played three road games since the football team last left the state on Sept. 14, when it traveled to CCSU.
• Veteran NFL player and Saint Francis head coach Chris Villarrial spent more than 10 seasons with the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills, competing in both the AFC and NFC. Although Villarrial faced some of the league's top defensive players, he earned his first win in New England in late December of 2000. That Patriots team finished 5-11 but featured rookie Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick in his first season back with the franchise after a brief stint with the Jets.
AN SFU WIN WOULD
•Be the team's first win of the season
•Be the squad's fourth win against Stonehill
•Be the latest in the season the team picked up its first win of the year since winning 35-30 on October 27, 2007
•It would be Saint Francis' first road win and first win overall in 371 days, dating back to a victory over LIU on Nov. 16, 2024.
DID YOU KNOW
•Over the past four seasons, Saint Francis has ended its season on the road. Saturday's matchup against Stonehill will mark the third time since 2022 that the Red Flash finish their campaign in New England. The other two came in 2023, when Saint Francis earned a 49-14 win over CCSU, and in 2022 at Merrimack, when the Red Flash clinched their second NEC title.
LAST TIME OUT
• Saint Francis falls 10-3 to LIU in NEC football action on Saturday. The Red Flash seemed to be running on full throttle, starting the second half with a nine-play, 30-yard drive that ended with a Mac Plummer 40-yard field goal with 9:54 left in the third quarter. Just when it seemed like the skyhawks' lead was within striking distance, with the score tied at 3, a LIU 36-yard interception return with 11:10 left in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference.
THE WORD ON THE SKYHAWKS
• Led by veteran head coach Eli Gardner, Stonehill is 2-4 in NEC play and sits seventh in the conference standings. Outside league action, the Skyhawks are 3-8 overall in 2025, with notable non-conference matchups against Maine, Yale, and Penn, losing two of those three games.
•Turning to the offense, senior quarterback Jack O'Connell has completed 189 of 301 passes for 1,778 yards and 13 touchdowns this season. In the backfield, senior Zavion Woodard and graduate student Jarel Washington have combined for 171 carries and 585 yards.
•On the defensive side of the ball, junior linebacker Charles Battaglia leads the team with 75 total tackles, including a team-high in assisted stops. Sophomore defensive lineman Aidan Horodnik leads the Skyhawks in sacks with 2.5.
•With special teams, junior punter Logan Chenette is averaging 40 yards per punt, totaling 2,163 yards with a long of 69. Sophomore kicker Domenic Scalese is 8-for-9 on field goals this season, with a long of 44 yards.
LAST TIME WE MET
• The Red Flash dominated both on the ground and through the air, as sophomore Nick Whitfield Jr. completed nine passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt sophomore DeMarcus McElroy added 147 yards on 19 carries and scored once. The Saint Francis defense shut out the Skyhawks, holding Stonehill to just 34 rushing yards and minus-4 passing yards. Freshman linebacker Geno Calgaro led the unit with 13 tackles, while redshirt freshman defensive lineman Eyan Thomas recorded a team-high two sacks.
TWO-DEEP QUICK HITS
•#6 Nick Whitfield, Jr. went 7-for-18 for 36 yards against LIU after coming in relief. Last week, the redshirt junior exceeded his season total with 1,536 yards following the 15-16 loss to Mercyhurst, having posted 1,033 yards last season. He now has over 3,000 career yards, totaling 3,043.
•#2 Jeff Hoenstine went 4-for-6 for 65 yards and a touchdown against LIU but was cut short due to injury. For the year, Hoenstine is 18-for-28 with 145 yards passing, and is 59-for-98 in his career with 640 passing yards and five TDs.
•#3 Raphael Ekechi led the team in rushing against LIU, recording 12 carries for 52 yards, averaging 4.2 yards per carry. Despite missing two games, the running back had his Best game in a Red Flash uniform with a career-high 114 yards against Robert Morris, thanks to 85 yards on the ground on 17 carries and two catches for 29 yards. He also had a two-touchdown rushing game against Bucknell. Ekechi has 312 yards on the ground on 78 attempts this season, along with 17 catches for 65 yards.
•#1 Brenden Hodge hauled in three catches for 29 yards against the Lakers, and has five catches for 49 yards in his last two games. He registered the best game of his collegiate career against Delaware State, with a career-high nine catches for 131 yards, including a 47-yard reception. He has 16 catches for 205 yards this season and has 62 catches for 733 yards in three seasons between NCAA Division II Western Oregon and Saint Francis.
•#9 DJ Maultsby recorded two catches for 24 yards against LIU, and now has 19 catches for 293 yards and a touchdown on his resume. He was named NEC Rookie of the Week after posting nine catches for 141 yards and a TD against Bucknell, including two plays selected for the NEC Pick-6.
•#87 Scott Raymond led the team in catches and receiving yards vs LIU with three receptions for 26 yards, the longest of which was 11 total yards. Earlier this season, he caught a career-high three passes for 59 yards against Duquesne, then had three catches for 27 yards against Robert Morris. Raymond has 12 catches for 104 yards this season and 17 receptions for 149 yards in his career.
