SELECT GAME NOTES VS. BUFFALOÂ (FULLÂ GAME NOTES PDF) | VIDEO GAME PREVIEW
FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Saint Francis heads to the University of Buffalo to square off against the Bulls for the first time in program history.
• While it will be the first meeting against Buffalo for the Red Flash, it will be the sixth time the Loretto program will face a MAC school. Saint Francis is 1-4 against the conference after earning a signature 23-17 win against Kent State on September 7, 2024, for the program's first FBS win in team history. The Red Flash also had three leads against Akron, but fell to the Zips 30-23 in overtime on September 1, 2022, and lost twice to Eastern Michigan (2021, 2024) and once to Western Michigan.
• It is the seventh time Saint Francis will play some #MACtion football, with the only other game against an FBS coming against Louisiana-Monroe last week in the season opener. The games against Louisiana-Monroe and Buffalo also mark the first time the Loretto program has played consecutive games against FBS teams.
• Saint Francis will be making its first trip to Buffalo to play a football game since the Red Flash defeated Canisius 19-13 in 1941. Saint Francis has a more recent contest against another Western New York team with a 32-7 win at Niagara in 1986. Saint Francis is 5-3-1 in the Niagara Frontier vs the two teams that have a rivalry called The Battle of the Bridge (Niagara-Canisius).
• The game will be a homecoming of sorts for Saint Francis quarterback
Nick Whitfield Jr., who played at Fredonia High School, which is 50 miles away from the town of Buffalo. Whitfield had 3,490 passing yards, 30 passing touchdowns, 1,266 rushing yards, and 23 rushing touchdowns in his career at Fredonia and was selected as the Player of the Year in his league.
• It will also be a return of head coach
Chris Villarrial to the Buffalo area. Villarrial wrapped up his NFL career as an offensive lineman with the Buffalo Bills from 2004 to 06. He played two seasons under head coach Mike Mularkey and then finished his career under Dick Jauron, who was his head coach with the Bears from 1999 to 03.
• Saint Francis wraps up its three-game road trip to start the season at CCSU on September 13. The team will then be in the state of Pennsylvania for 70 straight days. Saint Francis does have 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
• Be the team's second win against an FBS program and the MAC after the Red Flash defeated Kent State 23-17 on September 7, 2024
• Be the team's first win in the Niagara Frontier since 1986 against Niagara
• Be head coach Chris Villarrial's first win in Buffalo since he was a member of the Buffalo Bills as a player and defeated Miami 21-0 on December 17, 2006
ON THIS DATE
• This will be the sixth game on this date and the first since 2014
• Khairi Dickson rushed for 148 yards and the game's first two touchdowns in a 27-13 win against Clarion on this date in 2014. Max Ward also had a rushing TD, while Lance Geesey made field goals from 35 and 47 yards.
• This will be the fourth time the team will play on the road and first since 2009
WESTERN NEW YORK HOMECOMING
• Along with quarterback Nick Whitfield Jr. (Fredonia, N.Y./Fredonia), Kahmari Cook (Buffalo, N.Y./Bennett), Balaam Miller (Buffalo, N.Y./Saint Francis), Scott Raymond (Clarence, N.Y./Clarence) and Jordan Theodore (Buffalo, N.Y./Sweet Home) are on the trip with the Red Flash and played in the Western New York area in High School.
• Raymond and Theodore both played in championship games at the home of the Buffalo Bills.Â
LAST TIME OUT
• Saint Francis lost 29-0 at Louisiana-Monroe in the 2025 season opener on August 28.
• Sophomore Geno Calgaro posted 12 tackles to lead the defense, while Zachary Betts added a career-high eight tackles and 1.5 sacks.
• Saint Francis held Louisiana-Monroe to 10 points in the first half, tying for the fewest points allowed in the first half against an FBS school for the Loretto program. The Red Flash also allowed 10 points in the opening half of the game against Akron on September 1, 2022. It was the third fewest allowed in any half after only allowing three points to Kent State in the second half on September 7, 2023, and seven points in the second half against Eastern Michigan on September 3, 2022.
• The game was delayed for an hour and 43 minutes due to the weather passing through the area.
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NEC HONORS
• Sophomore Geno Calgaro was named the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Week after his 12 tackle performance against Louisiana-Monroe. It was the second time in his career that he has earned NEC Defensive Player of the Week honors, and the fourth time he has earned an NEC weekly award after twice being named NEC Rookie of the Week last season,
• Calgaro becomes the seventh player since 1997 to earn multiple NEC Defensive Player of the Week honors and the fifth under head coach Chris Villarrial. The sophomore joins Carter Glassmeyer, Lorenzo Jerome, DaQuan Minter, Matthew Parker, and Jalen Wells as two-time honorees, while Da'Jon Lee earned the NEC Defensive Player of the Week award two times in three seasons to hold the record with six weekly awards for top defender.Â
• It marks the 33rd time since 1997 a Red Flash player has been named the NEC Defensive Player of the Week, and Calgaro is the 23rd different player to earn the distinction. It is the 27th time a player has been named NEC Defensive Player of the Week, and Calgaro is the 18th different recipient under Villarrial.
THE WORD ON THE BULLS
• Buffalo comes into the contest 0-1 after falling 23-10 at Minnesota on August 28.Â
• Just like the Red Flash's Geno Calgaro, Bulls graduate student Red Murdock was named the MAC Player of the Week after registering 16 tackles and a sack against the Gophers.Â
• Quarterback Ta'quan Robertson threw for 107 yards (12-for-20) with a touchdown pass, while wide receiver Victor Snow was the recipient of that 40-yard TD pass and finished with five catches for 67 yards.
• It will be the first meeting for the Bulls against a Northeast Conference opponent since defeating Wagner 69-7 on September 2, 2021.
TWO-DEEP QUICK HITS
• #1 Brenden Hodge also had his first Saint Francis catch in the season opener with an 11-yard reception. 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. He registered a career-high seven catches for 139 yards, including a 74-yard touchdown reception against UT Permian Basin on October 28, 2023.
• #3 Raphael Ekechi transferred to Saint Francis from Ole Miss. Ekechi saw his first NCAA action with 37 yards on 10 carries against Louisiana Monroe. He played his first two seasons in the NJCAA.
• #7 Zachary Betts had a career night in the season opener with eight tackles and 1.5 sacks. He has recorded 22 tackles (10 solo, 12 assisted), 5.5 tackles for a loss, and 2.5 sacks in his two seasons in Loretto.
• #8 Kendric Council, who had five tackles against the Warhawks, has 35 tackles (14 solo, 21 assisted) with five tackles for loss and one sack in his career. He recorded a career-high seven tackles at Robert Morris on October 26, 2024, and notched his first career sack against Delaware State on October 5, 2024.
• #9 Zach Dantzlerward registered three tackles (one solo, two assisted) against the Warhawks. The redshirt sophomore appeared in six games last season with two assisted tackles after transferring from Old Dominion.Â
• #10 Kahmari Cook posted a career-high three assisted tackles against Louisiana-Monroe. He has four tackles (one solo, three assisted) in five career games.
• #12 Bobby Cameron registered his first collegiate catch against Louisiana-Monroe. In his third season with Saint Francis, he played at Fairmont High School in New York.
• #14 Aidan Cirulli has attempted 118 punts in four years and 23 games. He has posted 4,812 yards with 13 touchbacks and a 40.8 punting average. He boomed a career-high 69-yard punt at Eastern Michigan on September 21, 2024 and had a 61 yard punt against Louisana-Monroe. He will also be the holder on field goal attempts.
