GAME INFORMATION
Saturday, Nov. 12 • 1 pm CT
Bruce R. Deaton Memorial Field
Chicago, Ill.

Series History
Overall: Saint Xavier leads 23-1
First: Saint Xavier 20, at USF 13 (9/30/00)
Last: Saint Xavier 26, at St. Francis 20 (11/13/21)
Streak: Saint Xavier has a 15-game winning streak.

The Two Coaches
USF: Joe Curry
Alma Mater: St. Francis 2001
Career: 57-56 (11th year)
at USF: 57-56 (11th year)

SXU: Mike Feminis
Alma Mater: St. Francis 1990
Career: 205-77 (24th year)
At SXU: 205-77 (24th year)

TOP STORYLINES
• The Saints and Saint Xavier are not only playing for the outright title of the MSFA Midwest League, but also a spot in the NAIA postseason.  The two teams have shared the conference crown twice before, including last year.  Saint Xavier has won or shared the league title 11 times and has been to the postseason 14 times.  USF has shared the title three times and been to the postseason twice.
 
• Seven of the last nine meetings between the two schools have been decided by seven points or less.
 
• St. Francis is a plus-13 in the takeaway department, while Saint Xavier is a minus-five.
 
• The contest will feature two of the best return men in the game and two of the best defenders.  SXU's Justin Pringle ranks fifth in the nation in kickoff returns, while USF's Scott Tumilty is 13th.  The Saints' Angel Mata is tied for the fourth-most interceptions with six, while SXU's Kevin Countryman is one behind to rank tied for eighth.
 
• USF has dominated the third quarter this year, outscoring its opponents 89-15 during the current seven-game winning streak and 96-25 overall.

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 57 victories and second in winning percentage (.504).  Gillespie maintains the top spot in winning percentage at .593.

ABOUT SAINT XAVIER: Unlike the past four weeks, where the Saints have had to stop the opposing team's high-powered running game, it is all about the air for Saint Xavier, which ranks tenth in the nation in completions with 213.  The key pieces to the Cougars' aerial attack are quarterback Stuart Ross and receiver Justin Pringle.  Stuart leads the league with his 206.2 yards per game passing, while ranking third in touchdown passes with 15.  He has completed an impressive 64.9 percent of his attempts on the campaign and has been above 60 percent in eight of the team's ten games this year.  For the season, he has completed 209 of his 322 attempts for 2,062 yards with ten interceptions.  Pringle also ranks among the top three in the MSFA with his nine touchdown receptions (T-3rd) and 70.9 receiving yards per game (third).  He has caught 60 passes for 709 yards.  A total of 12 Cougars have caught passes this year.  On the ground, SXU has had 19 different players carry the ball with Mario Price the above-and-beyond team leader with his 658 yards on 128 carries.  Interestingly, he does not have a rushing touchdown.  Among their 30 red-zone opportunities, the Cougars have scored touchdowns in only half of those chances.  They have netted field goals six other times to go 21-for-30 overall inside the 20-yard line.  SXU has been clicking as of late offensively with its two highest yardage outputs coming in the last two weeks (483 yards vs. Judson, 474 yards vs. St. Ambrose despite the wind factor).  That includes rushing games of 273 and 202 yards after averaging less than 100 yards over its first eight contests.  Defensively, junior Joey Markasovic leads a unit that allows 284.1 yards per game.  He boasts 79 tackles with nine going for loss.  He also has a pair of interceptions.  Two other Cougars in the 70-tackle club are Ron Carroll (75) and Peyton Nigro (72).  Carroll and Kevin Countryman have both returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns with Countryman securing five picks in total.  As a whole, Saint Xavier has had five defensive touchdowns, which is fifth best in the NAIA.  The Cougars also have 12 interceptions on the year.  SXU's 21.0 yard return average on picks is eighth best in the nation.  On special teams, Pringle is the main reason for the Cougars averaging 21.9 yards per kickoff return (22nd in the nation) and 12.7 yards per punt return (20th in the NAIA).  He has returned 12 kicks – one for a touchdown – for 378 yards, which averages out to 31.5 yards per return, or the fifth-best average in the nation.  On punts, he has returned 14 for 155 yards (11.1 avg.).  Joe Polselli handles punting responsibilities for SXU and averages 40.8 yards per boot.  Peyton Benes mans the kicking department.  He has the six field goals in nine attempts with a long of 33 yards.  He also has 29 PATs in 31 chances.  Two areas that SXU has overcome this season is its negative takeaway ratio and its penalty yardage.  The Cougars are a minus-five on takeaways with 10 interceptions and 14 fumbles lost.  Overall, they have fumbled the ball 25 times.  SXU also ranks among the top 25 most-penalized teams with 692 yards walked off against it.         

HOW CLOSE HAS IT BEEN: Of the 24 previous games in the series between the Saints and Saint Xavier, 11 games have been decided by one touchdown or less, including seven of the past nine contests and last year's first overtime game, where the Cougars prevailed 26-20 at Joliet Memorial Stadium.  USF's only victory in the all-time series was a 24-21 win back on Sept. 11, 2008.

HAVEN'T WE MET BEFORE: The two teams met for the MSFA Midwest League title one year ago, as well.  St. Francis had a one-game lead in the conference standings heading into the season finale last year before Saint Xavier won in overtime to force the two teams to share the crown.   

TIRED OF SHARING: Since joining the MSFA in 2000, the Saints have shared the Midwest League title three times, but have never won it outright.  The first time came in 2011 when they went 6-1 in the league with Grand View College (Iowa).  In both 2015 and 2021, USF tied Saint Xavier for the title with identical 4-1 marks in '15 and 6-1 records last year.  SXU has claimed 11 crowns.

ONLY ONE TEAM LEFT STANDING BY SATURDAY'S END: While the Saints and Saint Xavier represent the only two remaining unbeatens in Mid-States Football Association Midwest League play at 6-0, that will end for one team on Saturday.  In the 28-year history of the league, the championship team has gone unbeaten 17 times.

ONLY ONE BID FOR TWO TEAMS: Saturday's winner will earn the league's automatic bid to the NAIA playoffs, while the other team's season will come to an end.  St. Francis has been to the postseason twice before (1987, 2011), while Saint Xavier has gained 11 invites.  

ONE STREAK WILL BE BROKEN, AS WELL: Saint Xavier has won eight straight games, while the Saints broke the school record of six set seven separate times in the 37-year history of the program last week when they secured their seventh win in a row against Roosevelt University.

MOVIN' ON UP: The Saints made the biggest jump out of any team in the NAIA Coaches' Poll for Poll 9, climbing from No. 25 to No. 19 after upsetting No. 16-ranked Roosevelt 19-3 on Saturday.  USF jumped ahead of No. 20 Ottawa University (Ariz.), No. 21 Carroll College (Mont.), No. 22 Arizona Christian University, No. 23 Midland University (Neb.), No. 24 Roosevelt and Montana Tech, which dropped out of the poll.  Saint Xavier slipped one spot to No. 12 in the latest poll.

DÉJÀ VU: For the second time in four weeks, Michael R. Johnson and Brian Maday gained MSFA Midwest League weekly honors when they were announced on Monday.  Johnson was named the top defensive player after helping keep Roosevelt's high-powered offense out of the end zone and limiting it to 152 yards.  The junior lineman tied for the team lead in tackles with eight, including one for a loss.  He also recovered two fumbles, one of which led to the first touchdown of the game that put the Saints up 13-3.  Maday claimed the special teams award, providing seven of USF's 19 points in the upset victory, including six on a pair of field goals.  Four of the points – a field goal and PAT – came against a wind that was gusting up to 50 miles per hour out of the southwest, which made all kicks in that direction an adventure.  The junior also provided punts of 53 and 48 yards, the latter of which went out of bounds at the two-yard line and eventually put the Saints in excellent field position to score the game-tying field goal on their next offensive series in the second quarter.

THIRD-QUARTER DOMINANCE: One of the biggest keys to USF's success this season, especially during the seven-game winning streak, has been its total domination in the third quarter.  The Saints posted their fifth shutout in the quarter this season on Saturday when they outscored Roosevelt 10-0 and even more impressively did it going against the wind.  They have now outscored the opposition 89-15 in the quarter during the winning streak and 96-25 for the season.  Add in USF's 89-52 scoring advantage in the second quarter and St. Francis has outscored its opponents 185-77 in the middle two quarters.  

STATS DO LIE: Registering a season-low 125 yards of total offense and not completing a pass in eight attempts against Roosevelt did not deter the Saints from still gaining the 16-point win on Saturday.

WHITNEY SAVES THE DAY: With passing attempts limited on Saturday due to the extreme wind conditions, the Saints nearly had their streak of consecutive games with at least one interception snapped.  Michael Whitney, however, saved the day with his first pick of the season with under one minute to play in the contest to keep USF's streak alive at eight games.  As a team, USF boasts 17 interceptions, which is the sixth most in the NAIA.

STOPPED AT SIX: Angel Mata was not as fortunate as his six-game pick streak ended on Saturday.  Nonetheless, he still ranks tied for fourth in the NAIA with his six interceptions.  Also stopped on Saturday was Johnson's string of six straight games with at least one-half sack.

TAKEAWAY TOWN: With its three fumble recoveries and one interception on Saturday, USF is now a plus-13 in the takeaway department this year.

OFFENSE, OFFENSE: The Saints rank among the top 25 teams in the nation in no less than ten offensive categories topped by their 441 carries, which places them seventh in the NAIA.  They are also 19th in rushing touchdowns with 21 and 23rd in rushing first downs with 95.  In the conversion department, USF has the 20th-most third-down conversions (57), ranks 24th in third-down conversion rate (40 pct.) and has made good on 14 fourth-down plays, which places it 24th.  The Saints also have the 17th-best passing yards per catch average at 15.7.

RED ZONE NUMBERS: St. Francis has turned 81 percent of its red-zone chances into points this fall, going 29-for-36 for the 25th-best mark in the NAIA.  The Saints have the same ranking in red-zone touchdowns with 25, while placing as high as No. 15 in the percentage of red-zone chances being converted into touchdowns (69 pct.).

SACK ATTACK: USF's 27 sacks are the 18th most in the NAIA this year.  That has helped fuel the defensive unit holding opposing offenses to under 100 yards rushing per game (99.2) for the year.

KICK RETURN CREDENTIALS: The Saints rank among the nation's best on kick returns both individually and as a team.  Individually, Scott Tumilty is the 13th-best return man at 25.4 yards per return.  As a team, the Saints are 10th best with their 24.3 average.

HIGH FIVE: The Saints hold better than a five-minute advantage in time of possession on the year, averaging 32:43 to the opposition's 27:17.

A FIRST: St. Francis became the first team to stop Roosevelt in the red zone this year.  The Lakers had gone a perfect 32-for-32 after their first field goal attempt in the opening quarter on Saturday.  That string was snapped later on in the quarter by a missed field goal.  RU had also scored touchdowns on 30 of its 31 red-zone series before going 0-for-2 there on Saturday.  The Saints have kept Roosevelt out of the end zone for nine straight quarters now after allowing only three points Saturday, shutting out the Lakers last year (14-0) and holding them scoreless in the fourth quarter in 2020.  

IDENTICAL TWINS: Through nine games, both USF and its opponents are averaging exactly 4.5 yards per offensive play.

CHART TOPPER: Sam Tumilty became the program's all-time single-season leader with his 15th rushing touchdown of the campaign on Saturday.  That broke the record of 14 previously set by him last year, Garen Demery in 2011 and John Larsen in 1989.  Tumilty's 15 touchdowns are also the third most in the NAIA this year, while his 90 points tie him for seventh place in the nation.

FOR THE RECORD: The Saints are 165-224 all time, 136-166 in day games and 79-124 on the road.

CHART WATCHING: The Tumilty brothers and Mata have all put together some impressive single-season and career numbers wearing the Brown & Gold. Listed below is where they rank among some of the top Saints all-time:

SAM TUMILTY
Rushing Touchdowns – Season
1. 15 - Sam Tumilty (2022)

Rushing Touchdowns – Career
1. 31 – John Larsen (1987-89)
2. 29 – Sam Tumilty (2021-22)

Total Touchdowns – Season
1. 17 – John Larsen (1989)
2. 15 – Sam Tumilty (2022)

Total Touchdowns – Career
1. 38 – Brandon Ruffin (2016-19)
2. 37 – John Larsen (1987-89)
3. 29 – Sam Tumilty (2021-22)

Total Points – Season
1. 106 – John Larsen (1989)
T-2. 90 – Sam Tumilty (2021-22)

Total Points – Career
1. 234 – John Larsen (1987-89)
2. 229 – Brandon Ruffin (2016-19)
3. 196 – Lexus Jackson (2011, 2016-17)
4. 174 – Sam Tumilty (2021-22)


SCOTT TUMILTY
Punt Return Yards – Career
1. 513 – Elliot Allen (2010-13)
2. 504 – Scott Tumilty (2020-22)

Kick Return Yards – Season
1. 673 – Elliot Allen (2010)
2. 613 – Keyon Kemp (1998)
3. 604 – Lexus Jackson (2017)
4. 601 – Tyrell Mitchell (2016)
5. 566 – Gannon Novak (2007)
6. 544 – Brandon Ruffin (2019)
7. 535 – Elliot Allen (2011)
8. 513 – Mike Henderson (2001)
9. 512 – Scott Hejna (2004)
10. 508 – Scott Tumilty (2022)

Kick Return Yards – Career
1. 1,754 – Elliot Allen (2010-13)
2. 1,544 – Gannon Novak (2005-08)
3. 1,331 – Scott Tumilty (2020-22)


ANGEL MATA
Interceptions – Season
1. 8 – Brian Capodice (1987)
2. 7 – Wayne Johnson (2010)
T-3. 6 – Angel Mata (2022)

Interceptions – Career
1. 18 – Jim Seput (1986-89)
2. 16 – Brian Capodice (1986-88)
T-3. 13 – Jesse Hogan (2011-14)
T-3. 13 – Wayne Johnson (2007, 2009-11)
5. 12 – Angel Mata (2020-22)