Saint Francis Drops Fifth Straight in a Close Call, 24-17
Loretto, Pa. (October 13, 2007) – Saint Francis University (0-5, 0-2) nearly pulled out their first victory on a day in which the defense held Duquesne (4-2) to 28 rushing yards on 29 carries, as well as tallying six sacks en route to a 24-17 dropped decision at DeGol Field. Adam Sciulli (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) broke the all-time school record on a 28-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and freshman linebacker Scott Lewis (South Fork, Pa./Bishop McCort), ranking third in the country in total tackles, added 15 more to his repertoire in Saint Francis’ non-conference tilt against the Dukes. Fehi Sevelo (Kaneohe, Hawaii/Damion Memorial), team leader in career tackles, was up to his old tricks by making seven tackles, two of which were sacks for a total loss of 12 yards. First-time starter, freshman cornerback Robert Horne (Baltimore, Md./Loyola Blakefield) who played for the injured Joshua Bentley (Pittsburgh, Pa./Schenely), came two pass breaks up short of the NCAA record by earning four in the game.
Saint Francis opened the first frame of play on the offensive side running three plays before giving way to a Bobby Fuller (Mount Savage, Md./Beall) 41-yard punt. Duquesne reciprocated a punt after the swarming Red Flash defense stuffed two rush attempts from the Dukes. Saint Francis took over at 10:44 of the first quarter and put forth a healthy dose of Anthony Richards (Parlin, N.J./Cardinal McCarrick) and Calvin Williams (Cleveland, Ohio/South), as well as a George Little (Duquesne, Pa./Duquesne) – Antoine Rivera (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) 12-yard connection, but the drive stalled and Fuller hung a 46-yard blast, pinning the Dukes on their own five-yard line. Duquesne gave themselves some breathing room after DU quarterback Kevin Rombach hit receiver Michael Rasky on a 9-yard dart to their own 14-yard line, but Siafa Lavala (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) and Russel Fisher (Kailua, Hawaii/ Mid Pac Institute) registered a combined sack on the next attempt, the first of five in the first half for Saint Francis. The Red Flash would earn another sack in the second half, marking the most sacks in a single-game for the Red Flash this season. The Saint Francis record for sacks in a game is seven.
Saint Francis capitalized on the field position when Rivera returned a 44-yard punt from Dave Kovalcik all the way down to Duquesne’s 35-yard line. Following the return, Richards ran three subsequent running plays, pushing the Flash down to DU’s 27-yard marker. A 4th and 2 situation was no match for another Little-Rivera reunion, as Little beautifully deked the Dukes’ defense on a 4-yard playaction pass down to Duquesne’s 23-yard line. Williams was the recipient of a successful 22-yard pass from Little on the very next play, rumbling just inches from the goal line. Little capped off the six play, 35-yard drive on his second 1-yard touchdown scuttle of his career. Saint Francis jumped out to the early 7-0 lead at 2:13 of the first quarter, the first lead they’ve possessed in the first half this season. Little’s keeper also marked the first points Saint Francis put on the board during the first quarter in 2007.
Duquesne started their next offensive campaign at their own 33-yard line after Willie Millhouse ran back the kickoff for 24 yards. Duquesne was baffled once again by SFU’s stingy defense after freshman Ryan Shepard (Kittanning, Pa./Kittanning) ran Rombach out of the pocket on 3rd and 10, followed by another Red Flash quarterback sack from Antoine Jones (Thorndale, Pa./Coatesville) and Matt Shine (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper Saint Clair). Saint Francis’ next offensive tenure gave way to the second quarter, as well as a 32-yard punt from Fuller. Duquesne resumed their offensive duties at 11:47 of the second period, but couldn’t muster any production after two running plays and a Sevelo sack for a loss of 9 yards on 3rd and 4. Rivera received a 53-yard bash from Kovalcik, yet could not break away from the defense after he dropped the ball at his own 30, but made up for his faux pas by scooping up the fumble at his own 32-yard mark.
Fuller assumed his punting duties after Saint Francis ran three attempts for negative three yards. Duquesne resumed custody of the rock at 8:55 of the second quarter on their 44-yard line. Rombach found junior flanker Alex Roberson for 17 yards down to the SFU 39-yard line. Two plays later, Rombach struck Rasky on a 31-yard rope, pressing DU’s offense down to the Red Flash six-yard line. Lewis and Louis Beninato (Colts Neck, N.J./Colts Neck) stuffed the Dukes on first and goal, trailed by an incomplete pass to wide receiver Bruce Hocker. Sevelo chimed in for his second sack of the game, forcing DU’s field goal unit to come on for the trifecta. Mark Troyan split the yellow pipes from 25 yards to cut into Saint Francis’ lead with 6:05 left to play in the first half.
Richards did not appreciate the fact that Duquesne was trying to steal the spotlight, because on the ensuing offensive drive, he broke off a 41-yard run up the middle for the longest play from scrimmage during the first half. Unfortunately, that was all Saint Francis could marshal after the nice play. The Flash’s defensive presence forced another Dukes three-and-out, but Richards coughed up the ball after DU linebacker John Simmons stripped it at the SFU 37. Nathan Totino burrowed into the scrum and came away with it at the 38-yard stripe. On 3rd and 10 for Duquesne, Christian Shannon Pittsburgh, Pa./Schenely) flew off the right side of the line to tally his first sack of the season for a 12-yard loss, closing out the first half of play after Saint Francis took a knee with only 00:24 left to play. Saint Francis headed into the locker room with their first advantage of the year after the first half in the low scoring affair, 7-3.
The Dukes assumed possession at their own 17-yard line to commence the second half of play. Rombach jump started things with a 28-yard pass to Sean Bunevich on the initial play, followed by two more significant completions to Hocker and Rasky. Yet, Duquesne ended up dealing with a 4th and 9 situation on SFU’s 25. Horne, getting his first start of the season, broke up the play to get Saint Francis’ offense back on the field at 10:17 of the third quarter. Saint Francis took over, amounting to Fuller closing out the drive on 4th and 3, punting the pill down to Duquesne’s 29-yard line. On the proceeding play, Duquesne claimed the lead on one pass attempt; a Bunevich 63-yard touchdown reception from Rombach at 8:31 of the third. Troyan’s tack pushed it to 10-7, Dukes.
Saint Francis did not respond accordingly to the DU touchdown. Little fired a bullet to sophomore free safety, Randall Norton after a SFU false start call. Regrettably, Norton was donning Dukes’ attire. The turnover was not costly, as both teams exchanged possessions after the interception. Duquesne started their next offensive charge at Saint Francis’ 40-yard line with 4:48 remaining in the third period. Three plays later, Duquesne appended seven more points to their score after Rombach connected with Hocker on an 18-yard scoring pass with 3:28 lingering in the third quarter. Saint Francis came to a standstill directly after the Dukes score, concluding the third quarter.
The ending period began with punts from each side. Saint Francis took over with 12:55 left in the game on their own 20. On 3rd and 14, Little composed himself in the pocket and hit Winston in the slant, who then dashed up the field for 29 yards, making that his longest career reception. Saint Francis could not penetrate the Dukes defense, especially after Little was dropped behind the line on 3rd and 10 for nine yards. Duquesne started the next drive on their own 27-yard line with 9:41 left over. On the third play of the drive, Matthew Parker (Darlington, Pa./Blackhawk) picked off back-up quarterback Scott Knapp at Duquesne’s 43-yard line and ran it back all the way to the 16 for 27 yards. Parker added to his fine list of credentials thus far, earning his first career interception on the play. Saint Francis could not find touchdown territory, but Sciulli lasered the 28-yard field goal through the uprights at 8:15 of the fourth. The field goal earned Adam Sciulli the lone spot in field goals made in Saint Francis history, breaking Matt Shontoski’s record of 21 field goals. Duquesne answered quickly three plays later on a 49-yard touchdown pass to Conrad Carter from Knapp at 6:37, extending the lead 24-10.
Saint Francis freshman returnman Gawain Bragg (Williamsport, Pa./Winslow Township) brought the ball back 40 yards from SFU’s endzone, giving the Flash decent field position. Little completed four successful passes to his spread offense, and on his fifth strike, he observed a wide open Winston for the 2-yard score. The scoring attack marked Winston’s second career touchdown at 3:34, slicing DU’s lead in half, 24-17. The touchdown was the last of the scoring in Saturday’s contest after Little found opposing defenseman Aaron Strader for his second thrown interception at 2:29 left in the match. The Red Flash got the ball back with 1:06 remaining, but could not find the endzone in the final minute, concluding an exciting game at 24-17 in favor Duquesne.
“I was very pleased with our team’s attitude today. They stayed together the entire game, basically dropping the game on a two blown plays. We will start to win games if we give ourselves a shot in the 4th quarter, and today we did that. We came just a bit short, but overall, our defense played great and our young offense showed no signs of giving up,” 6th year head coach Dave Opfar added.
The Red Flash are now 0-5 on the season. They will continue the 2007 docket against Albany, their third conference game, for their third straight home game at DeGol Field at 1pm on October 20. Saint Francis will continue to utilize the efforts of their young linebacking corps, as well as their budding sophomore quarterback, George Little, in an attempt to win their first contest of the season next Saturday.