SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The University of St. Francis football team dropped its opener to Sacramento State, an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision opponent, 55-7.
In the third quarter, Aaron Ellis (Valparaiso, Ind./Boone Grove) connected with Brandon Ruffin (Peoria, Ill./Peoria) for the Saints' (0-1) lone points of the evening. The six-yard strike capped a nine-play, 85-yard drive that included Ellis hitting Ruffin, Matt Brachmann (Elmhurst, Ill./Montini Catholic), and Ray Vallot (Crete, Ill./Crete-Monee) as well as 27 rushing yards from Dwayne Milton (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem).
Ellis completed 19 of his 32 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. He spread the ball around to six different receivers with Ruffin (seven catches, 66 yards), Vallot (6, 47), Brachmann (4, 35) and Isaiah Williams (Brentwood, Calif./Freedom) (3, 32) leading the way. Milton ran the ball 14 times for 93 yards, averaging 6.6 yards per carry.
On the defensive side, Rio Strama (Shorewood, Ill./Joliet Catholic) paced the Saints with nine tackles, while Tariq Thurman (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest) and Mike Gruben (Joliet, Ill./Joliet Catholic) both had a sack.
After USF was forced to punt on its first drive, the Hornets' (1-0) Elijah Dotson opened the scoring by scampering for a 73-yard touchdown.
On the ensuing Saints possession, USF drove down the field. Ellis found Ruffin for 10 yards and then Milton ran for 28 on the next play. St. Francis converted a fourth-and-1 with another Ellis-Ruffin connection, but the drive eventually ended with a missed field goal.
USF limited the Hornets to a field goal on its next drive thanks to a Strama tackle for loss and Thurman's sack. But Sacramento State used multiple big plays to charge ahead and led 31-0 at halftime.
After scoring its third-quarter touchdown, USF put together another long offensive drive early in the fourth. The Saints marched down the field in 12 plays, including a 21-yard Ellis-to-Williams connection, but their field goal attempt was blocked.
Trailing 55-7 with just over five minutes remaining, the Saints continued to move the ball, this time with Don Butkus (Dyer, Ind./Mount Carmel) under center. Butkus combined with Milton for 44 rushing yards, while also connecting with Brachmann, Ruffin and Jusiah Gable (Cottonwood, Calif./West Valley) for 28 more via the air. However, on second-and-goal from the Hornets' five-yard line, the game clock ran out before the Saints could snap the ball.
Neither team turned the ball over in the contest and there were only four total penalties. Sacramento State finished with 630 yards to USF's 304, but both teams had an identical 13 first downs in the second half. The Saints held the ball for almost 35 minutes, including over 10 in the fourth quarter.
Big plays were the key for Sacramento State. Dotson's 73-yard touchdown run was one of the Hornets' eight plays of 20-or-more yards. Kevin Thomson completed 11 of his 12 throws for 224 yards and a pair of scores in the opening half. Both Dotson and Ja'Narrick James had a pair of rushing scores.
The Saints host the defending NAIA National Champions, University of Saint Francis (Ind.), next Saturday, September 8 at 3 p.m.
