INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- For the second year in a row, NAIA No. 5-ranked Marian University (Ind.) pulled away late to turn a tight contest into a sizeable margin of victory against the University of St. Francis football team, producing a 31-7 victory on Saturday night at St. Vincent Field.

One year ago, the Saints (0-2) trailed Marian 23-17 heading into the fourth quarter before the Knights reeled off 17 unanswered points in a 40-17 contest.  On Saturday, St. Francis made it a 17-7 contest with 9:10 to play before the hosts closed the night with the final 14 points.

Head coach Joe Curry's team had the opportunity to set Marian (2-0) back on its heels at the start of Saturday's contest, but missed on back-to-back chances to scores.  The first time, the Saints went 54 yards in ten plays on the opening possession of the contest, but had a 43-yard field goal attempt sail wide left.

One series later, USF looked to be back in business at the Marian five-yard line.  But facing a fourth-and-one there, the Saints were dropped for a one-yard loss to end the eight-play, 61-yard drive.

Marian responded with a 12-play, 94-yard march that ended in the end zone on a Zach Bundalo-to-Jacob Pressler 11-yard pass play on third-and-five. 

USF would not get back into Marian territory again until midway through the fourth quarter.  In between that time, the Knights put 10 more points on the board with an eight-play, 65-yard touchdown drive just 33 seconds before halftime and a 24-yard field goal with under one minute to play in the third quarter.

The Saints looked to get back in the contest in the fourth quarter when they answered Marian's second touchdown with their lone score.  Conversions on three third-down plays and one more on fourth down kept the drive alive that ended with Daniel Goetsch's 16-yard touchdown reception from Sam Tumilty (12-of-20, 120 yards, 1 TD, 2 int.).

Marian was quick to respond with its own 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that took up nearly five minutes of the clock.  The Knights added another score right after the first of back-to-back interceptions when Christian Hunter sprang for a 47-yard touchdown.

Marian stymied USF's ground game, limiting the Saints to just 101 yards on 40 carries (2.5 yards per rush) with Tumilty being held to a career-low 33 yards on 22 carries.  Daniel McLaurin led the team with 39 yards on ten carries.

The Knights were also not as productive as their season opener when they rushed for over 400 yards and produced nearly 600 yards of total offense and 84 points.  On Saturday, Marian totaled 359 yards, but only 164 on the ground.  William Gibson, MU's top rusher in the opener, was held to minus-two yards on three carries.  Baron Huebler (26 carries, 87 yards) picked up the slack as did Hunter (7-86).

Marian quarterback Zach Bundalo, however, was on the mark in the passing game, completing 19 of his 25 attempts for 195 yards and two touchdowns.  Tumilty countered with 12 completions in 20 attempts for 120 yards.

Jason Hartsfield was the primary target for Tumilty, hauling in half of the completions for 70 yards.  Marian's Ben Stevens led all receivers with eight catches for 104 yards

Notes: Hartsfield's six receptions and 70 yards were both career highs … For the second week in a row, T.J. Neal set a new personal mark with his 11 tackles, which led the team.  He also produced his second sack in as many weeks … Scott Tumilty also authored double-figure tackle totals for the second straight week.  On Saturday night, he was credited with ten stops, giving him a team-high 25 on the season … Nick Mabutas recorded his first collegiate interception in the setback.  It came on Marian's initial possession of the game and set up a potential scoring opportunity for USF … Both teams converted better than half of their third-down attempts with Marian going 7-for-12 and the Saints 8-for-15.  That led to limited possessions for both teams with each side having just two drives in each of the first two quarters.  For the game, Marian had ten possessions and USF nine … For the second week in a row, the opposition was a perfect 4-for-4 on red-zone chances (3 touchdowns, 1 field goal) … After throwing only six interceptions one year ago, Sam Tumilty has had back-to-back two-interception games to start 2022 … The Saints celebrate Homecoming next Saturday when they face Siena Heights University for a 1 pm kickoff.  Siena Heights dropped a 24-21 decision to Saint Xavier on Saturday.    

Links to live coverage can be found at gofightingsaints.com/coverage. You can also keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on Twitter @USFSaints.