Saint Francis (0-2, 0-0 NEC) at CCSU (1-1, 0-0 NEC)
Date | Time	Saturday, September 13, 2025 | 12 p.m.
Location	New Britain, Conn. | Arute Field
Television	NEC Front Row (Bruce Biel, play-by-play; Marc Robbins, color analyst)
Live Stats	PrestoSports
Printable Notes	Saint Francis | CCSU
Stats	Saint Francis | CCSU | Northeast Conference
Social Media	X: @RedFlashFB  | IG: @RedFlashFB | #RaiseTheStandard #HoldTheRope

SELECT GAME NOTES VS. CCSU (FULL GAME NOTES PDF) | GAME PREVIEW (VIDEO)

FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Saturday's meeting between Saint Francis and CCSU marks the 31st meeting and the 29th NEC matchup in the all-time series dating back to the 1993 season. The Blue Devils hold a 23-7 record in the all-time series, but the Red Flash have won two of the last three in the series.
• The game at CCSU will also be the first game for Saint Francis against an FCS program after facing a pair of FBS programs in the first two weeks of the season (at Louisiana-Monroe [August 28], Buffalo [September 6]). It will be the second year in a row that Saint Francis and CCSU will square off after the Red Flash played an FBS opponent. Last season, Saint Francis defeated Kent State 23-17 on September 7 before hosting the Blue Devils. Fast forward to this season, the Loretto program travels to New Britain after falling to Buffalo on September 6.
• Saint Francis is 10-18 in NEC openers, including 3-12 on the road. The Red Flash has won two of its last three NEC openers on the road in 2016 and 2022, which turned into NEC Championship runs for the Flash. Under head coach Chris Villarrial, Saint Francis is 8-6 in NEC openers.
• It will be the fourth time the Red Flash will open the league slate against CCSU, and for the second consecutive season. The two teams also met in Loretto in 2001 and New Britain in 2013. It is also the third time Saint Francis will open the NEC slate in the Nutmeg State after also opening the 2003 season at Sacred Heart. Wagner has appeared on the Red Flash schedule as the inaugural game of the circuit the most times, with 11 matchups.
• Saint Francis opens NEC play in the first three weeks of the season for the 17th time in program history and the ninth time in the third week of the schedule. The Red Flash is 7-9 when the league opener falls in the first three weeks of the season and 4-4 when it aligns with the third week. Villarrial has led Saint Francis to a 6-2 mark when the NEC opener is the third game of the season.
• Saint Francis has finished with a non-losing NEC record seven times in program history. The Red Flash posted at least a .500 record when the squad won the league opener six out of the nine occasions. The only time Saint Francis lost an NEC opener and finished with a .500 record was in 2013, when the team opened play in New Britain. The only times Saint Francis won the circuit starter and finished under .500 were in 2010 and 2021. All seven .500 or better seasons have come in the last 16 years under Villarrial.
• After Saturday's game, Saint Francis will not leave the state for 70 days, with five home games and two road games in that span, starting with its home opener against Delaware State on September 20. The Red Flash has two road games in that stretch at Bucknell (September 27) and Duquesne (October 11), but both of those games are in the Keystone State between 90-120 minutes in opposite directions from Loretto. The team will also have five home games in this span.

AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Open the NEC slate with a win for the 11th time in program history and seventh time under head coach Chris Villarrial
• Be the second consecutive win in New Britain
• Be the team's first win of the season
• Finish a three-game road trip on a winning note and head home to play five of the next seven games in Loretto
• Improve to 9-6 in NEC openers under Villarrial

ON THIS DATE
• This will be the seventh game on this date and the first since 2018
• The 2018 game was not supposed to happen on this date, but with the aid of Hurricane Florence the game was moved from Richmond to Loretto and played two days before the scheduled date. 
• Saint Francis is looking for its first win on this date
 

LAST TIME OUT
• Saint Francis registered its first touchdown of the season after playing its second consecutive FBS program in a 45-6 loss at Buffalo in non-conference football action on September 6.
• Jordan Theodore scored a two-yard rushing touchdown in his hometown.
• Geno Calgaro paced the defense again with a career-high 15 tackles against the Bulls, while Zachary Betts also had a personal-best 10 tackles.

THE WORD ON THE BLUE DEVILS
• CCSU comes into the contest 1-1 after defeating American International on September 6. 
• Quarterback Brady Olson threw for 247 yards (15-for-21) with two touchdown passes. Running backs Donny Marcus and Davon Smith, Jr. each recorded a rushing touchdown, and Marcus also had a 54-yard TD reception. Malachi Wright paced the Blue Devils' defense with nine tackles, 2.5 sacks, and a forced fumble.
• Olson has 365 yards passing this season on 23-for-40 completions. Elijah Howard leads the rushing attack with 11 carries for 60 yards, and Dave Pardo is the top receiver with four catches for 80 yards. Wright powers the defense with 13 tackles and 2.5 sacks. 

LAST TIME WE MET
• CCSU scored on a 10-yard fumble return with 1:45 left in the fourth quarter to defeat Saint Francis 27-20 on September 14, 2024 in Loretto.
• The Red Flash took two leads on the afternoon thanks to massive runs. DaMario Crawford had a 94-yard kickoff return with 9:50 left in the first quarter to give Saint Francis a 7-6 edge, and then DeMarcus McElroy had a 97-yard run with 7:21 left in the second quarter for a 14-13 lead. Crawford's run was the fourth longest in single-game history, while the McElroy run was the second longest in team history. The team also scored on a fumble recovery of the Blue Devils.
• Jeff Hoenstine was 12-for-16 with 112 yards passing for Saint Francis, while Brady Olson was 21-for-42 for 163 yards, a passing touchdown, and a rushing TD. 
• Fran Brown, Jr. led Saint Francis' defense with nine tackles. Paul Tangelo and Trey McLeer added eight tackles for the Red Flash. Davone Walden, Jr. and Jack Stoll had eight tackles for CCSU.

IN THE NATION AND THE NEC
• Geno Calgaro ranks fifth in the FCS with 27 tackles and 13.5 tackles per game. The sophomore also leads the NEC in that category and is second in tackles for loss/average per game (3.5/1.75).
• Aidan Cirulli leads the NEC in punting yards (727), punting average (45.4), and his 61-yard punt at Louisiana-Monroe currently is the longest in the league. He also ranks ninth in FCS in punting yards and is ninth in punting average. 
• Zachary Betts is third in the NEC in tackles (17) and average per game (8.5). Betts is also second in sacks/sacks per game (1.5/.75)
• Kendric Council is sixth in the NEC in tackles for loss/average per game (2.5/1.25).
• Raphael Ekechi ranks 10th in the NEC in rushing (58 yards/29.0 avg.).

TWO-DEEP QUICK HITS
• #5 Corey Williams notched a career-high six tackles and his first collegiate interception against Buffalo. Williams ranks third on the team with nine tackles (five solo, four assisted). He has appeared in three career games and registered all of his stats this season.
• #7 Zachary Betts backed up his performance in the season opener with a career-high 10 tackles against Buffalo. He leads the team with 1.5 sacks and is second on the team with 17 tackles. In 10 career games, Betts has registered 16 solo tackles, 15 assisted tackles, six tackles for a loss, and 2.5 sacks. 
• #8 Kendric Council also had a standout performance against Buffalo with a career-high seven tackles and has 12 tackles on the year. The sophomore also had seven tackles against Robert Morris on October 26, 2024. Council has 42 tackles (17 solo, 25 assisted) with six tackles for loss and one sack in his career. He notched his first career sack against Delaware State on October 5, 2024.
• #13 Emmanuel Dyson tied Nelson for the team lead with four receptions against Buffalo for 22 yards in his collegiate debut.
• #19 Colin Douglas has eight tackles in 2025 (seven solo, one assisted), including a season-high four tackles against Buffalo. Douglas, who made a career-high five tackles against CCSU on September 14, 2024, has 19 tackles (14 solo, five assisted), three pass defenses, and a forced fumble in six games.
• #23 Dwayne Carter made his collegiate debut at Buffalo and notched his first career tackle.
• #35 Arison Walker registered a career-high five tackles against Buffalo and has appeared in two games with seven tackles (four solo, three assisted). 
• #83 Peyton Nelson leads the team with six catches for 41 yards, including a team-best four catches for 34 yards at Buffalo. The freshman helped set up the Red Flash touchdown against the Bulls with a 16-yard reception. 
• #95 Balaam Miller had a career-high six tackles at Buffalo. The redshirt junior has all nine of his career tackles this season after playing in two games last season without registering a stat.