Joliet, Ill. - The University of St. Francis football team faced another tough challenge for the second week in a row to kickoff the 2019 season as the Saints took on the nation's third-ranked Saint Francis (Ind.) Cougars this Saturday (Sept. 7) and came out on the short end of a 56-6 home-opening setback at ATI Field in Joliet Memorial Stadium.
 

USF, which drops to 0-2 on the season, saw the Cougars spoil its home opener as Saint Francis (Ind.) scored 28 consecutive points in the first half of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Crossover matchup between the two Franciscan schools. The Cougars jumped out to a 14-0 lead after the opening quarter as quarterback Matt Crable, who passed for six touchdowns in the game, connected on a 26-yard passing score to Rocky James at 14:45 into the contest for the game's first points. Saint Francis (Ind.), which was making its 2019 season debut, would go up by two TD's with 5:20 left in the first frame as Casey Coll was on the receiving end of a five-yard Crable pass.
 

The Cougars accounted for all of the second-quarter scoring with a pair of Crable TD throws. The first occurred at 12:37 when Crable hooked up with Will Chrisman from 22 yards to cap off a nine-play, 81-yard scoring drive. The final points in the quarter would come about three minutes later as Crable completed a 13-yard pass to James and give Saint Francis (Ind.) a comfortable 28-0 halftime lead.
 

A 35-yard TD pass play from Crable to Duke Blackwell early in the third quarter allowed the Cougars to increase their advantage to 35-0 with 14:22 showing on the scoreboard clock. Saint Francis (Ind.) produced two more TD's before end of the third quarter as Crable hit wide receiver Matt Kominkiewicz on a 16-yard pass at 11:10.  Kominkiewicz would add another TD catch with 4:45 remaining in the third quarter on backup quarterback Heath Simmons' toss.
 

Saint Francis (Ind.) scored its final points with a little over nine minutes to be played as running back Eli Wallace went into the end zone from two yards out to extend the visitors' lead to 56-0. USF was able to get on the scoreboard in its ensuing possession following Wallace's TD as the Saints marched 65 yards on 12 plays culminating in a three-yard TD run by running back Dwayne Milton (SR/Machesney Park, Ill.) with just under five minutes remaining in the game. A key play in USF's scoring drive occurred when quarterback Jamal Salaam (JR/Hanford, Calif.) in relief of starting signal-caller Major Dedmond (FR/Freeport, Ill.), completed a 22-yard pass to wide receiver Re'John Williams (JR/Brooklyn, N.Y.) on a fourth-and-eight yard situation to give the Saints a fresh set of downs starting at the Cougars' seven-yard line. A four-yard Salaam rush put the ball at the three-yard line and Milton hit paydirt from there following a USF timeout.  
 

USF totaled 260 offensive yards for the game with 150 of those yards coming on the ground. Milton paced all rushers with 62 yards on 11 carries and running back Michael Johnson (SR/Plainfield, Ill.) contributed 51 yards on nine rush attempts. In passing, Dedmond went six-of-14 for 79 yards and Salaam was two-of-five for 31 yards. Tight end Mahlek Roberts (JR/Naperville, Ill.) paced the Saints' receiving corps with three grabs for 42 yards.
 

Defensive back Jonathan Pullen (FR/Joliet, Ill.) chalked up a game-high tying 10 tackles (four solos). Linebackers Mason DeLong (JR/Bourbonnais, Ill.) and Michael R. Johnson (FR/Hillside, Ill.) added seven and six stops, respectively. Nick Lucas paced Saint Francis (Ind.) with 10 tackles (six solos).  
 

Saint Francis (Ind.) amassed 469 yards in total offense as Crable finished the day with 251 yards through the air on 16-of-22 completions. Dan Ricksy caught five passes for 63 yards and James had 64 receiving yards on four catches to go with two TD's.    
 

The Saint Francis (Ind.) win was the fifth straight one in its all-time series with USF as the Cougars also remained undefeated on the Saints' home field. A year ago (9/8), Saint Francis (Ind.) claimed a 49-19 win over USF at ATI Field.
 

USF returns to the gridiron next Satuday, Sept. 14, on the road against the Trinity International Trojans in Deerfield, Ill. The MSFA Midwest League tilt is set for a 1 p.m. (CT) opening kickoff at TIU's Leslie Frazier Field.