JOLIET, Ill. --- Some of the University of St. Francis football program's worst defeats have come at the hands of its Indiana counterpart, University of Saint Francis.  In fact, coming into Saturday's seventh all-time meeting between the two schools, the NAIA No. 24-ranked Fighting Saints had been outscored by an average margin of 32.3 points per contest (50.6-18.3) with Saint Francis (Ind.) never having tallied less than 37 points.

That changed Saturday afternoon on the turf of Busey Bank Field at Joliet Memorial Stadium, where, one year after being throttled by the Cougars 52-14, the Saints landed a 17-0 counterpunch for their first-ever victory against their longtime nemesis.

USF (2-0) took advantage of everything Saint Francis (Ind.) gave it, while denying the Cougars on multiple occasions.  Saint Francis (Ind.) got as close as the USF 21-, 19- and 27-yard lines over the first three quarters only to have the scoring window close on it each time on downs when either tied or trailing by just a 3-0 margin.

The Saints countered the first threat with their longest drive of the afternoon (8 plays, 66 yards) producing the first points of the game.  Brian Maday's 30-yard field goal at the 10:27 mark of the second quarter broke the scoreless tie.

The score would stay that way until the first of two Sam Tumilty touchdown runs with just 49 seconds remaining in the third quarter.  Prior to that, Saint Francis (Ind.) had a golden opportunity to take the lead back from the Saints after they fumbled at their own 29-yard line to begin the second half.  Instead, Saint Francis (Ind.) gave the ball back to the Saints just four plays later, one of which was a combined sack from Logan Johnson and Cameron Holman. 

One series later, Saint Francis (Ind.) twice converted third-down plays after penalties set them back to get as close as the 19-yard line, but the third time it did not and eventually gave the ball back to the Saints at their own 32-yard line.

To make matters worse, Saint Francis (Ind.) was called for an illegal formation on its punt return team on USF's next offensive series, which the Saints used to gain some distance from its opposition.  Tumilty took care of those responsibilities with his five-yard scoring run one play after he connected with Dezzion Jordan from 38 yards.

Jordan also had a 45-yard reception to set up Maday's earlier field goal and finished with four receptions for 98 yards.

USF's defense then sealed the deal midway through the fourth quarter when Holman recovered a fumble and returned it 12 yards to the Saint Francis (Ind.) six-yard line.  That set up Tumilty's second touchdown run (two yards) with 6:06 to play.

Holman was one of many Saints on the defensive side of the ball to key the historic win.  Among the others were newcomer Matthew Perry, who authored a pair of interceptions, and Karsen Hansen, who registered a team-high seven tackles in his first collegiate start.  The Saints also gained five tackles and one sack from Michael R. Johnson.

Of Saint Francis' (Ind.) 13 drives on the afternoon, only three went more than four plays with the Cougars managing just 173 yards of total offense on 61 plays.

St. Francis countered with 259 yards of total offense with Tumilty rushing 22 times for 84 yards and completing 14 of his 22 pass attempts for 160 yards.  The Saints also converted on all three of their red-zone opportunities (two TDs, one field goal), while Saint Francis (Ind.) was 0-for-1. 

The Cougars were also just 4-of-16 on third-down plays and 1-of-5 on fourth down.  They managed 89 yards on 27 rushing attempts and 84 yards through the air with only 14 completions in 34 attempts.

Notes: The Saint defense has yielded just seven points through its first two games … The two teams combined for only 21 first downs in the defensive battle … Maday remained perfect on the season with his 11 PAT kicks and one field goal over the two games, while the Saints were the same in the red zone (11-for-11) … After recording four sacks in the season opener, USF produced another three on Saturday ... Perry's two interceptions extended St. Francis' string of at least one pick to 11 games … Besides the interceptions, Perry also had two pass breakups … Scott Tumilty averaged 20.3 yards on his four punt returns … The Saints hit the road the next two weekends beginning next Saturday at Lawrence Technological University.  

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