Saint Francis (0-4) at Bucknell (2-2)
Date | Time	Saturday, September 27, 2025 | 6 p.m.
Location	Lewisburg, Pa. | Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium
Television	ESPN+ (Doug Birdsong, play-by-play; Charlie Wilson, color analyst)
Live Stats	SideArm
Printable Notes	Saint Francis | Bucknell
Stats	Saint Francis | Bucknell | Northeast Conference
Social Media	X: @RedFlashFB  | IG: @RedFlashFB | #RaiseTheStandard #HoldTheRope

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

FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Saturday's game between Saint Francis and Bucknell marks the first meeting in the all-time series. The Red Flash is 1-2 against Lehigh 2-1 against Georgetown, two members of the same conference as the Bison.
• There are eight FCS teams in the state of Pennsylvania, and Bucknell becomes the fifth Keystone State program Saint Francis will face in program history, and the third in non-conference play. The Red Flash has played Lehigh (1-2) and Villanova (0-2) from the state in non-conference play and will square off against Duquesne (October 11), Robert Morris (October 25), and Mercyhurst (November 8) later this season in NEC play. After Saturday's game, only Lafayette and Penn will be the only two FCS teams from the state that Saint Francis will not have faced.
• Saint Francis head coach Chris Villarrial is 14-16 against teams from the state of Pennsylvania and 5-11 on the road. The last time the Red Flash won a road game in the Keystone State was a 17-10 decision against Duquesne on October 30, 2021. Villarrial is 3-1 against the Patriot League with a 14-13 win at Lehigh on August 31, 2019 and two wins against Georgetown (2015, 2022). The Loretto program scored twice in the second half to come from behind to beat the Mountain Hawks, including a 35-yard touchdown to Terrell Johnson from Jason Brown with 1:17 left in the fourth quarter. Trevor Thompson made the kick for the decisive score.
• While it's the first time Saint Francis will play Bucknell, the Bison have played Bryant, Duquesne, Sacred Heart, and Robert Morris in NEC games. Duquesne and Robert Morris are the only two still connected with the NEC as associate members in football.
• Saint Francis' first win of the season has come on the road in each of the last three seasons and in four of the previous eight seasons. The 2023 team could resemble this season after that team started 0-4 and won its fifth game of the year on the road, having played three on the road and one at home. In three of the four times the win has been on the road, the team had not played at home to that point in the season for its first win (2016, 2019, 2022).
• After spending the first three weeks of the season traveling 3,403 miles round-trip, starting on September 14, the Red Flash will spend the next 70 days in the state of Pennsylvania. The team will play five games at DeGol Field, two road games, and have two byes in this stretch before its regular season finale at Stonehill on November 22. Saint Francis traveled to Lousiana-Monroe (2,209 miles), Buffalo (421 miles) and CCSU (773 miles in the first 16 days of the season, but will only travel 1,524 miles in the final 71 days of the season round trip: at Bucknell, September 27 (260 miles); at Duquesne, October 11 (157 miles) and Stonehill (1,107 miles).
• To put these 71 days in perspective, the first day of fall is September 22, two days after the Red Flash home opener, while the team will not be on the road again until five days before Thanksgiving. The Saint Francis men's basketball team will play more road games between now and the football trip to Massachusetts, with three, and the defending NEC Champions do not open the season until November 4.
• After the game against Bucknell, Saint Francis will have a bye in two of the next three weeks, with a date at Duquesne sandwiched in the middle of the two byes for the Red Flash.

AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Win the first meeting against Bucknell
• Be the team's fourth win against the Patriot League
• Be the team's first win of the season
• Be the fourth different FCS team in the state of Pennyslvania the Red Flash will have earned a win against
• Be the fourth straight year the Red Flash's first win is on the road
• Head into the bye week on a high note

ON THIS DATE
• This will be the ninth game on this date and the first since 2014
• Saint Francis defeated Virginia-Lynchburg 80-0 on this date in 2014, a record for most points in a game in team history along with a single-quarter record 35 points in the first quarter followed by 28 points in the second quarter
• It is the second time the team has been on the road in the state (2003, Robert Morris) on this date
• Saint Francis is looking for its first win on this date

DID YOU KNOW
• Saint Francis defeated Virginia of Lynchburg 80-0 on this date in 2014. It is the most points scored in a single game in program history, the top two points scored in a quarter (35, first quarter; 28, second quarter), and the most points scored in a half (63). Lorenzo Jerome had a 41-yard interception return for a touchdown in the game. It was he second time in his career he returned an interception for a TD. Jerome is the program's all-time leader in interception return yards (396, 2013-16) and ranks second in INTs (18).

LAST TIME OUT
• Saint Francis fell to Delaware State on Saint Francis Athletics Champions Day, 39-10, on September 20. The Red Flash honored the 69 NEC Tournament Championship teams during the day and presented the 2024-25 Men's Basketball NEC Tournament and 2025 Softball NEC Tournament Championship rings to those teams in a pregame ceremony.
• Brenden Hodge registered nine catches for 131 yards, while Nick Whitfield Jr. was 26-for-36 for 271 yards passing. It was a career-high reception for Hodge and a career high for passing yards for Whitfield. 
• Geno Calgaro paced the defense with 12 tackles. Zachary Betts registered a sack for a loss of 21 yards.

THE WORD ON THE BISON
• Bucknell comes into the contest 2-2 after falling 41-24 to No. 10 Lehigh on September 20.
• Quarterback Ralph Rucker IV threw for 291 yards (23-for-34) with two touchdown passes and a rushing TD to account for all three Bison touchdowns. Wide receiver Sam Milligan registered 109 yards receiving on five catches, while wide receivers Nate Anderson and TJ Cadden each hauled in a touchdown catch. Deuce Geter and Nick Hoying paced the Bison defense with six tackles each.
• Rucker has 1,058 yards passing on 72-for-103 completitions and eight touchdowns. Tariq Thomas has 208 yards on 54 attempts and two touchdowns to pace the rushing attack, while Milligan has 19 catches for 429 yards and five touchdowns.
• Geter leads the defense with 34 tackles, while Brandon Biagiarelli is second with 27 tackles. Geter, Jack Goheen, and Terian Williams each have a sack, and Logan Busson has an interception for the defense.

IN THE NATION AND THE NEC
• Geno Calgaro ranks fifth in the FCS with 48 tackles and 12.0 tackles per game. The sophomore also leads the NEC in that category and is third in tackles for loss/average per game (5.5/1.38).
• Aidan Cirulli leads the NEC in punting yards (1,241), ranks third in punting average (41.1), and his 61-yard punt at Louisiana-Monroe currently is the second longest in the league. He also leads the FCS in punting yards and is 17th in punting average. 
• Zachary Betts is third in the NEC in sacks (2.0) and fourth in sacks per game (.50).
• Colin Douglas is fifth in the NEC in pass breakups (1.00).

TWO-DEEP QUICK HITS
• #0 Geno Calgaro has recorded 48 tackles this season, including a career-high 15 against Buffalo to become the first player since Carter Glassmyer against Sacred Heart on September 23, 2023, to register 15 tackles in a game. Calgaro ranks fifth in FCS in tackles and tackles per game (12.0).  Calgaro has 106 tackles in his last 10 games, with eight contests with at least nine tackles.
• #1 Brenden Hodge 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. The receiving yards were eight yards off his career high that he set at NCAA Division II Western Oregon, including a 74-yard touchdown reception against UT Permian Basin on October 28, 2023. He came to Saint Francis after two years at NCAA Division II Western Oregon. He started his collegiate career at El Camino Community College. Hodge registered 49 catches for 557 yards and four touchdowns in 22 games in his last two seasons. Hodge leads the team with 11 catches for 156 yards this season. Hodge was the first Red Flash player with 100 yards receiving since Gavin Thomas against Kent State on September 7, 2024, and the first player with six catches since Thomas in last year's meeting against Delaware State.
• #6 Nick Whitfield Jr. went 26-for-36 with 271 yards passing and a TD against Delaware State on September 20 to set a new career high in completions and passing yards. Whitfield's 26 completions marked the first time since Jason Brown had 35 completions against CCSU on November 9, 2019, that a player completed at least 25 passes for the Red Flash. He is 39-for-69 this season with 306 yards passing, and is 181-for-307 for 2,048 yards passing and 11 TDs in his career.
• #8 Kendric Council notched a career-high nine tackles against Delaware State after a seven-tackle performance against Buffalo. He ranks third on the team with 24 tackles (11 solo, 13 assisted). Council has 54 tackles (23 solo, 31 assisted) with 5.5 tackles for loss and one sack in his career. He notched his first career sack against Delaware State on October 5, 2024.
• #10 Kahmari Cook also had a career-high in tackles against Delaware State with five. He has 13 tackles (seven solo, six assisted) in eight career games.
• #14 Aidan Cirulli currently leads FCS in punting yards (1241) and is 17th in punting average (45.25). He has attempted 138 punts in four years and 25 games. He has posted 5,678 yards with 13 touchbacks and a 41.1 punting average. He boomed a career-high 69-yard punt at Eastern Michigan on September 21, 2024, and had a 61-yard punt against Louisiana-Monroe. His career punting average is currently tied with Andrew Zecca (41.1, 2015-18) and could also move past Zecca for fifth place (6,002 yards) on the career punt yard list this season. He will also be the holder on field goal attempts.
• #16 Denzel Lambert notched the first three catches of his collegiate career against Delaware State for 26 yards, half of those yards coming on one catch.
• #88 Mike Darcy has posted his first four receptions of his career in the previous two games, including three catches for 28 yards against Delaware State. Darcy came to Loretto from West Chester and moved to tight end last season, and was used primarily as a blocking tight end.
• #96 Motuila Malafu registered a Saint Francis career-high six tackles against Delaware State (three solo, three assisted). Malafu came to Saint Francis after playing 13 games with 20 tackles (three solo, 17 assisted) and a half-sack in 2023-24 at Angelo State. He also played a season at Merced College.