GAME INFORMATION
Saturday, Oct. 22 • 1 pm CT
Busey Bank Field at Joliet Memorial Stadium
Joliet, Ill.

Series History
Overall: St. Ambrose leads 17-11
First: St. Ambrose 21, at St. Francis 3 (11/21/87)
Last: St. Francis 35, at St. Ambrose 14 (10/23/22)
Streak: St. Francis has a one-game winning streak.

The Two Coaches
USF: Joe Curry
Alma Mater: USF 2001
Career: 54-56 (11th year)
at USF: 54-56 (11th year)

SAU: Vince Fillipp
Alma Mater: St. Ambrose University 2009
Career: 2-4 (1st year)
At SAU: 2-4 (1st year)

TOP STORYLINES
• The Saints are seeking to remain as one of only two unbeatens in the MSFA Midwest League, while extending their season-high winning streak to five games.

• This is the 29th meeting between the two schools, which is the second-oldest rivalry for St. Francis.  The first-ever meeting came in the second year of the USF program in the first round of the NAIA playoffs.

• Both the St. Francis and St. Ambrose offenses have been money when they get in the red zone this year.  St. Ambrose is 17-of-20 with 15 touchdowns, while the Saints are 18-of-21 with 16 touchdowns.  Both teams place among the top six in the nation in turning their red-zone chances into touchdowns.
 
• Both USF's and SAU's offenses have been hitting on all cylinders as of late.  St. Francis has netted 460-plus years in each of its last two games, while St. Ambrose has surpassed the 400-yard mark three straight times.

• Angel Mata has intercepted passes in each of his last four games, giving the Saints 11 on the season to rank 14th in the NAIA.


GAME NOTES
THE HEAD COACH: Joe Curry is in his 11th season as the Saints' head coach, which ties him as the longest serving coach in school history.  He has surpassed program founder Gordie Gillespie, who served as the head coach for eight seasons, and is now tied with Mike Slovick.  Slovick served the program from 1994 through 2004 and mentored Curry at one time.  Curry is also the winningest coach in the program with 54 victories and second in winning percentage (.491).  Gillespie maintains the top spot in winning percentage at .593.

ABOUT ST. AMBROSE: The Fighting Bees' offense has scored no less than 24 points in each of its last five games and ranks No. 20 in the nation, producing at a 33.7 points-per-game clip.  SAU has also averaged over 400 yards of offense in its last three games, where the Bees have won twice.  Junior quarterback Tom Casey has had a solid campaign, completing nearly 60 percent of his passes (85-for-142) against only two interceptions.  He has thrown for 1,185 yards with 19 touchdown passes, which ranks him sixth in the nation.  His main receiving threat is Yemi Ward, who has caught nine touchdown passes (tied for third in the nation) among his 25 overall receptions for 493 yards.  Justin Wright and Ben Gilbert have supplied 16 catches each.  The Bees also pose a problem on the ground, where they average 178.2 yards per game (17th in the NAIA) with Kaden King (111 carries, 589 yards) and Ray Bouye III (35-177) both averaging better than five yards per carry.  Also in the mix is T'Nahleg Hall with 69 carries for 282 yards.  When SAU gets in the red zone, it scores, having produced points in 17 of 20 attempts (85 pct., 16th in the NAIA), 15 of which have been touchdowns (75 pct., No. 6).  The Bees have also converted 60 percent of their fourth-down plays (12-of-20) to rank 13th in the country.  Defensively, St. Ambrose is averaging nearly two takeaways per game (7 fumble recoveries, 4 interceptions).  Free safety Zak Alberts leads the Bees in tackles with 46, while Max Gourley leads in tackles for loss (4.5) and sacks (three).  In terms of special teams play, SAU's highest ranking is its punt return team, which averages 13.2 yards per attempt (21st in the nation).  Nolan Bielskis averages 18.0 ypr on his four punt returns and 24.4 yards on kick returns.  Jeremiah Crawford is the other serious threat with his 26.8 return average on kicks.  Jackson Hunsicker handles punting duties (34.5 avg.), while Joe Namio has contributed 34 points to the Bees' offense with his 25 PAT kicks in 27 attempts and three field goals in four attempts. 

TWICE IS NICE: The Saints claimed two of the three MSFA Midwest League Player of the Week awards this past week when Michael R. Johnson was named the Defensive Player of the Week and Brian Maday the Special Teams Player of the Week.  Johnson keyed two of USF's first three touchdowns with a pair of caused fumbles, one of which he recovered.  He finished the day with four stops, three of which went for losses in limiting Judson University to just 89 yards on 29 carries.  Maday, meanwhile, was perfect on his PATs (6-for-6) and made his lone field goal attempt (25 yards), while all three of his punts went inside the 20-yard line.  He also converted an onside kick to open the second half, which led to another score.  The award was Maday's second of his career and the third special teams honor for the Saints this season.

REMAINING PERFECT: With his six PATs last Saturday, Maday maintained his perfection in that category having now been successful in all 19 of his attempts to go along with his three field goals in four attempts.

SPEAKING OF PERFECT: The Saints scored on each of their seven red-zone chances last week, putting up six touchdowns and one field goal.  USF has scored 18 times among its 21 red-zone chances this season with that 86 percent mark ranking 15th in the nation.  St. Francis' 76 percent conversion rate of 16 touchdowns in 21 opportunities ranks fourth best in the nation.

TAKEAWAY TOWN: With three interceptions and two fumble recoveries in the Judson game, the Saints are now a plus-six in the takeaway category this year with 11 interceptions (14th in the nation) and four fumble recoveries.

FOUR IN A ROW: Angel Mata tied his collegiate high set one season ago with his fourth interception on Saturday.  The senior cornerback has registered one pick in each of his last four games.

OTHER DEFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS: USF's 17 sacks on the season rank 25th in the nation.  Johnson has netted at least one-half sack in each of his last four contests and has four on the season among his six tackles for loss … Opponents are averaging under 100 yards per game on the ground (98.8) against the St. Francis defense … Judson was 0-for-12 on third-down plays last week and the Saints have allowed just two conversions in 12 attempts on fourth-down plays for the year.

ON THE UP AND UP: The Saints have registered season-high point totals over each of the past four weeks.  In Week 2, they produced one touchdown and that was followed by 19-, 28-, 39- and 45-point outbursts.  In the last two games, USF's offense has also averaged better than 460 yards.

MIDDLE MEN: The middle two quarters have netted the Saints their most points, scoring 58 points in both the second and third quarters.  They have outscored their opponents 116-60 in those two frames.

THAT'S A LOT OF SCORERS: Eleven different Saints have scored touchdowns this season, including De'Whon Gavin, Daniel McLaurin and Alessio Battaglia, who each recorded their first collegiate touchdowns last week.

THAT DID NOT TAKE LONG: Five of USF's seven touchdowns last week were less than 44-yard drives.

STILL AMONG THE BEST: USF's kick return team, led by Scott Tumilty, ranks tenth in the nation with its 24.5-yard return average.  Tumilty himself has returned 15 kickoffs for 393 yards (25.2 avg.) with one touchdown.

FOR THE RECORD: The Saints are 162-224 all time, 133-166 in day games and 84-100 at home.