ST. LOUIS, Mo. --- Overcoming a three-plus-hour weather delay, the loss of its starting quarterback, five turnovers and two overtimes, the University of St. Francis football team waited until deep into the night before finally putting an exclamation point on its 34-31 Mid-States Football Association Midwest League road victory over Missouri Baptist University on Saturday.
 

Perre' Barbarin (SR/New Orleans, La.) sealed the Saints' second win in a row with his four-yard spin move into the end zone. That countered Missouri Baptist's 41-yard field goal in the second overtime and ended the five-hour, 54-minute affair just before 11 pm at Spartan Field. Barbarin finished the contest with a game-high 70 yards rushing on 23 carries.
 

USF backup quarterback Eric Maffie (SO/Coal Valley, Ill.) engineered the two touchdown drives in overtime and nearly won it for the Saints (2-4, 2-2 MSFA) at the end of regulation. Coming on for starter Joey Passo (FR/Plainfield, Ill.), Maffie drove the Saints 59 yards in seven plays after Missouri Baptist had tied the contest at 21-all just over six minutes earlier. But, after converting field goals from 19, 48 and 31 yards earlier in the night, Brian Maday (FR/Orland Park, Ill.) pushed his fourth attempt from 38 yards wide right to end regulation and force overtime.
 

The Spartans (1-5, 1-4) also had a chance to win it in regulation after Joseph King intercepted his fourth Passo pass of the night and the third time in the second half, putting the ball at the St. Francis 40-yard line. Just moments before, his third interception set up the game-tying score. 
 

Fortunately for St. Francis, its defense forced a three-and-out series, leading to the overtime session following the missed field goal at the end of regulation.
 

In the first overtime, both teams matched each other with five-yard scores on third-and-goal plays. Missouri Baptist actually converted twice on third down after St. Francis opened the overtime with Ravon Johnson's (GR/Bolingbrook, Ill.) second touchdown reception of the game. Johnson ended his night with game highs in both receptions (eight) and receiving yards (130).
 

In the second overtime, Missouri Baptist had to settle for a 41-yard field goal after not being able to pick up a first down. The Saints got one first down on an 11-yard pass by Maffie before Barbarin's back-to-back seven- and four-yard runs.
 

Maffie finished his brief, but highly-productive night completing seven of his nine attempts for 70 yards after hitting just 36.8 percent of his targets through the first five games of the season. He went 4-for-5 for 42 yards at the end of regulation and was 3-for-4 for 28 yards in the two overtimes.
 

Passo (6-of-21, 176 yards, 2 TD, 4 int.) struggled to find his touch in a contest that started sunny, but was played in a heavy rainfall for the majority of the night after the initial stoppage of play. He did, however, come up big on two of his six completions. 
 

The first time came midway through the second quarter after both teams struggled to move the ball in the driving rainstorm. Facing a third-and-22 situation at his own eight-yard line, Passo found a streaking Liam Eldridge (JR/ San Clemente, Calif.) (3 recp., 102 yards) in the middle of the field, who turned it into one of the longest scoring plays in USF history (92 yards) for a 9-0 St. Francis lead.
 

It appeared as though that score would remain intact heading into the break until the Saints turned the ball over on a punt return allowing the Spartans to score for the first of two times off USF turnovers and make it a 9-7 contest.

Passo's other big pass play – a 67-yard strike to Johnson – to open the fourth quarter provided the Saints with their biggest lead of the night at 18-7. Missouri Baptist, however, was quick to counter with its own 56-yard passing touchdown by Josh Munn (14-of-26, 169 yards, 3 TD, 1 int.).
 

Troubled by penalties all night - the Spartans totaled 114 yards on 12 penalties leading to seven of USF's 21 first downs – Missouri Baptist actually set up Maday's third field goal of the night (31 yards) with back-to-back 15-yard penalties to put the Saints up 21-14 with 9:53 remaining.
 

The bizarre night, however, wasn't done just yet. One play after King's third interception, USF had the chance to match the pick only to have it go through the hands of one if its defenders and into the hands of a diving Kameron Sloan in the end zone with 6:24 remaining in regulation. Collin Laws added the PAT to knot the score at 21 and extend both the night and the game even longer.
 

The three-point margin of victory kept USF's record intact of having all six of its contests this year decided by no more than one score.
 

Defensively, the Saints were led by linebacker Chris Johnson's (JR/Hillside, Ill.) 11 tackles, including one sack and a half tackle-for-loss. Scott Tumilty (FR/Villa Park, Ill.) recorded his team-leading fourth interception of the season.
 

St. Francis takes its two-game winning streak into its rematch against St. Ambrose University next Saturday afternoon (April 3) for USF's home finale at ATI Field at Joliet Memorial Stadium. In the first meeting – a non-league contest – the Bees came away with a 14-6 decision on Feb. 21 in Davenport. Kickoff is slated for 1 pm for the MSFA Midwest League affair.