JOLIET, Ill. --- Nine points in a span of just 16 seconds and an interception in the end zone on the final play of the game enabled the University of St. Francis football team to celebrate Homecoming with a 19-14 come-from-behind victory  over Siena Heights University (Mich.) in a Mid-States Football Association crossover game Saturday afternoon at Joliet Memorial Stadium.

Trailing 14-10 early in the third quarter, USF (1-2) gained a safety on a botched punt snap out of the end zone and Scott Tumilty followed with a 78-yard return for a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff to account for all of the scoring in the second half.  The kickoff return for the score with 12:24 remaining in the third quarter was the first of Tumilty's career as well as his longest.

Watch Tumilty's Touchdown: https://bit.ly/3StjY4X

Siena Heights (1-2) had a pair of opportunities to rally in the second half, once in each quarter, but were denied each time.  The guests got as far as the St. Francis 13-yard line right after Tumilty's touchdown before turning the ball over on downs. 

Then, with 1:49 left to play, Siena Heights started its final of five possessions inside St. Francis territory at the USF 48-yard line.  SHU would get as close as the 28-yard line before St. Francis' seventh sack of the day and an interception by Terrance Nicholson on the final two plays sealed USF's first win of the campaign.  The pickoff was the third of the afternoon for St. Francis with Angel Mata and Nick Mabutas grabbing the other two.

Watch Nicholson's Interception: https://bit.ly/3Sd9CX8
 
USF's defense was the story of the day.  Three punts of less than 20 yards and an average of 20.0 yards per punt on St. Francis' five total attempts tested coordinator Tom Miller's defense all afternoon long.  Siena Heights started four of six first-half drives in USF territory and five of 11 overall, yet scored just twice.

Siena Heights made good on its first (33 yards) and final drives (49 yards) of the opening half with a pair of touchdowns.  In between, the Saints kept pace with a 24-yard field goal from Brian Maday and a 28-yard pass play from Sam Tumilty to Kemond Cohran.  The latter put USF up 10-7 before Siena Heights regained the lead with its second score just before halftime.

Mata set up the field goal with his interception and 20-yard return.  Sam Tumilty was a perfect 3-for-3 passing on the first-half touchdown drive after starting out the game 1-for-5.  He completed each of his final six passes of the day for 74 yards as part of a 7-for-11, 83-yard performance.  On the ground, he led the Saints with 49 yards.

After allowing better than 425 yards of offense and 83 points in its first two games, USF's defense limited Siena Heights' offense to 168 yards, including only 49 in the second-half shutout.  That was due in large part to USF's seven sacks on the day, half of which were recorded by Ryan King.  Michael R. Johnson had another 1.5 sacks, while Scott Tumilty and Michael Whitney (1 sack) produced a team-high 10 tackles each.

The Saints also shut out Siena Heights in the second half one year ago, allowing just 29 yards on 24 plays after the break only to fall 13-8.

Both teams struggled to find their offensive games on Saturday with the Saints netting 189 yards to SHU's 168.  Siena Heights gained just 52 yards on 45 carries, while USF picked up 106 on 41 carries.  Through the air, SHU held a 116-83 advantage.

The contest was the sixth meeting between the two schools with four of the six now having been decided by five points or less.  The winning team has scored no more than 19 points in each of the four close contests.  The win snapped a four-game losing streak against Siena Heights.

Notes: Tumilty's return for a touchdown was the third special teams score of his career.  He also had two punt returns for touchdowns in the first two weeks of his rookie season (2020).  He returned the first one for 55 yards versus Saint Xavier University (Feb. 6, 2021) and the second for 71 yards against St. Ambrose University (Feb. 21, 2021) … Mabutas has delivered interceptions in back-to-back weeks now … USF's ten points in the second quarter accounted for the first points in the opening half for the Saints this season.  Through three games, they have yet to score in the first 15 minutes … The seven sacks were the most since the team's eight against Judson University last year … The Saints head to St. Louis next Saturday, where they will open the league season against Missouri Baptist University. 

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.