JOLIET, Ill. --- The logjam in the record books for consecutive victories is no more after the 2022 University of St. Francis football team became the first squad in program history to register seven straight wins following its 19-3 Mid-States Football Association Midwest League upset of NAIA No. 16-ranked Roosevelt University on the turf of Busey Bank Field at Joliet Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon.  The previous record of six wins was set seven different times.

Sam Tumilty also set a new school record with his 15th rushing touchdown of the season, the No. 25-ranked Saints scored ten points into gale-force winds and the USF defense did the rest in making it happen, while also setting the stage for next weekend's MSFA Midwest League title game against Saint Xavier University.  Both teams are a perfect 6-0 in conference play with Saint Xavier ranked No. 11 with its 8-2 record.

The third quarter proved to be the difference yet again on Saturday as the Saints (7-2) outscored the Lakers 10-0 as part of an overall string of 19 unanswered points.  Roosevelt's four series in the 15-minute stretch resulted in three fumbles (two lost) and a sack on a failed fourth-down play.  Two of the fumbles with the wind to RU's advantage resulted in the two scores for St. Francis.

For the game, Roosevelt (8-2, 4-2) fumbled five times with all three lost resulting in St. Francis points.

The first miscue in the third quarter came on a botched long snap from center on a punt.  That resulted in a 23-yard loss and set up Brian Maday's second field goal of the afternoon – a 20-yarder – to put the Saints up 6-3. 

The second fumble on the next possession eventually produced Tumilty's record-setting touchdown (seven yards) on USF's longest drive of the afternoon in terms of both plays (eight) and yards (43).  Michael R. Johnson recovered that fumble as well as the next one following the first of 1.5 sacks by Pat Strocchia. 

The second of two sacks by Cameron Holman late in the fourth quarter jarred another ball loose that Ryan King pounced on to eventually set up Daniel McLaurin's 15-yard touchdown.

Of Roosevelt's seven second-half possessions, four resulted in turnovers (three fumbles, one interception) with Michael Whitney's pick closing out the nightmarish final 30 minutes for the Lakers.  The other three series resulted in the fumble, the sack and a series turned over on downs.

The end numbers were yet again convincing for the St. Francis defense in completely shutting down another highly-touted offense.  Roosevelt came in ranked second in the nation in rushing touchdowns (26), seventh in yards per carry (5.1), tenth in rushing yards per game (208.3), 12th in scoring (37.6) and 22nd in total offense (401.0 ypg).  The Lakers left with just 152 yards of total offense, only 82 of which came on the ground (2.0 avg. per carry) and one field goal to boot.

St. Francis, meanwhile, managed a season-low 125 yards of total offense, all of which came on the ground.  USF, however, took advantage of Roosevelt's costly mistakes in a game that saw both teams attempt to overcome a sustained southwest wind of 25 miles per hour that gusted to 50 miles per hour on multiple occasions.

Whitney and Johnson led the defense with eight tackles each to go along with their combined three takeaways.  Scott Tumilty and Karsen Hansen provided seven stops each.

On offense, no Saint ballcarrier rushed for more than 51 yards (Tumilty on 26 carries), while Ke'von Johnson totaled 97 yards on his 20 carries for Roosevelt.  Tyler Tenner, the nation's seventh-best runner and No. 3 scorer, was held to just 19 yards on nine carries, while adding another 14 yards on three receptions for the Lakers.

The only scoring in the opening half saw Roosevelt's Andrew Bucaro kick a 22-yard field late in the first quarter and Maday boot one from 25 yards out late in the second with both players kicking with the wind.

NOTES: Prior to the game, the Saints recognized 12 senior members of the program: T.J. Neal, Michael Whitney, Logan Johnson, Ryan King, Terrance Nicholson, Angel Mata, Eric Maffie, Jermaine Ross, Jalen Cooper, Kemond Cohran, Matt Knudtson and student assistant William Mastin … The Saints have now shutout five opponents in the third quarter and have outscored them 89-15 during the winning streak … Tumilty broke the record that was first established by John Larsen in 1989, re-established by Garen Demery in 2011 and he tied last year … Tumilty also moved into second place in points for a season with his 90 … The longest drive for both teams on the day was eight plays for 43 yards.  The difference was that USF's produced seven points … The Saints are now a plus-13 in the takeaway department following their four on Friday … Whitney's late interception enabled USF to extend its string of at least one pick in a game to eight contests … By game's end, only eight seconds separated the two teams in terms of time of possession … Third- and fourth-down plays did not fare well for either team on Saturday.  Roosevelt was a combined 3-for-22 (2-of-15 3rd downs / 1-of-7 4th downs), while the Saints were 5-of-19 (5-of-16 / 0-for-3) … USF also did not complete a pass among its limited eight attempts … St. Francis became the first team this year to stop Roosevelt in the red zone.  The Lakers had gone a perfect 32-for-32 after their first field goal attempt in the opening quarter before that string was snapped later on in the quarter by a missed field goal.  RU also had scored touchdowns on 30 of its 31 red-zone series before 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 … Punts were an adventure into the wind on Saturday.  USF's three boots in that direction went a total of just two yards, while Roosevelt's three punts averaged 16.3 yards … The matchup against Saint Xavier will be the second in a row with the MSFA Midwest League title on the line.  The two teams shared the crown one year ago after the Cougars won 26-20 in overtime at Joliet Memorial Stadium.  Kickoff will be at noon on Saturday.

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