GAME INFORMATION
Saturday, Sept. 16 • 11 am CT
Blue Devils Stadium
Southfield, Mich.

Series History
Overall: St. Francis leads 1-0
First: St. Francis 48, at Lawrence Tech 28 (9/28/19)
Last: St. Francis 48, at Lawrence Tech 28 (9/28/19)
Streak: St. Francis has won the only previous meeting.
 
The Two Coaches
USF: Joe Curry
Alma Mater: USF 2001
Career: 59-57 (12th year)
at USF: 59-57 (12th year)

LTU: Avante Mitchell
Alma Mater: Northwood University
Career: 11-14 (4th year)
At LTU: 11-14 (4th year)
 
 
TOP STORYLINES
• USF's defense has allowed just seven points through its first two games of the campaign making its 3.5 points allowed per game the lowest in the nation.

• Of the 11 times that St. Francis has scored this season, eight times have come on drives of five plays or less.  USF is also a perfect 11-for-11 in the red zone with ten touchdowns and one field goal.

• The Saints have authored at least one pick in 11 straight games dating back to last year.

• Lawrence Tech has big-play potential with three passing plays of no less than 59 yards leading to its 15.5 yards per catch average, which ranks the Blue Devils tenth in the nation.


GAME NOTES
THE HEAD COACH: Joe Curry is in his 12th season as the Saints' head coach, which makes him the longest serving coach in school history.  He has surpassed program founder Gordie Gillespie, who served as the head coach for eight seasons, and his own coach, Mike Slovick.  Slovick served the program from 1994 through 2004.  Curry is also the winningest coach in the program with 59 victories and second in winning percentage (.504).  Gillespie maintains the top spot in winning percentage at .593.

ABOUT LAWRENCE TECH (Mich.): If nothing else, Lawrence Tech (1-1) has been consistent through its first two games having scored one touchdown in each quarter.  The Blue Devils' top threat comes from their receiving corps, which has the potential to produce big plays.  Three different receivers have turned in receptions of at least 59 yards leading to one of the Top 10 ranked programs in the nation in terms of yards per catch (15.5).  Jalen Wallace is the No. 1 receiver with his nine receptions going for 153 yards, including one for 80 yards.  Jaden Rembert is next in line with seven catches for 65 yards.  The touchdown man is D'Vaun Bentley, whose two grabs have both resulted in scores (73, 19 yards).  Charlie Ward also has a catch for 59 yards.  Lawrence Tech has used three different quarterbacks through its first two contests with Alex Osman (15-of-23, 254 yards, 2 TDs, 1 int.) having seen the most time.  All three have thrown at least one touchdown.  On the ground, CJ Davidson has registered better than one-third of the carries with his 21 attempts producing 95 yards.  On defense, Devon Isaac creates the most trouble with his two forced fumbles, 2.5 sacks and another tackle for loss.  He ranks second on the team in total tackles (12).  Andrew Perkins III tops the chart with 19 tackles.  Christan Broaden is one of three kick return men with his five returns averaging 13.6 yards.  The Blue Devils have yet to return a punt.  Carter Dixon handles both kickoff (66.3 avg.) and punting (36.4) responsibilities.  Lawrence Tech has only converted four of its 26 third-down plays, while the opposition has made good on half of its attempts (14-of-28).  The Blue Devils are also a heavily-penalized squad with 26 penalties for 189 yards over their first two games.  Lawrence Tech has averaged 2.5 turnovers per game (five total), while producing two interceptions and recovering two fumbles.      

THE RISING SAINT: The Fighting Saints produced the third-highest jump in the first NAIA Coaches' Poll.  After earning a No. 24 ranking in the preseason, USF moved up to No. 17 on Monday.  The only higher jumps were made by Georgetown College (Ky.) from No. 21 to No. 12 and Texas Wesleyan University from No. 21 to No. 13.

TWO-FOR-TWO: The last time the Saints started a season 2-0 came in 2014 when they won their first three games of the campaign, but only finished 4-7.

THE DIFFERENCE ONE YEAR MAKES: One year after dropping a 52-14 decision to Saint Francis (Ind.), the Saints posted their first-ever win over their Indiana counterpart.  Coming into the seventh game of the all-time series, USF 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.

SCORING QUICKLY: Of the 11 times that St. Francis has scored (10 TDs, 1 FG) this season, eight times have come on scoring drives of five plays or less with the longest drive being ten drives.  On Saturday, USF's three scoring drives were seven, two and two plays.  The breakdown Is as follows:

One Play: Once
Two Plays: 3 times
Four Plays: Once
Five Plays: 3 times
Seven Plays: 2 times
Ten Plays: Once

The Saints' two quick scores on Saturday were set up by a Saint Francis (Ind.) penalty on fourth down and a Cameron Holman fumble recovery and 12-yard return.

NOT SCORING AT ALL: USF's defense posted its first shutout of the campaign and the first one at home since 2018 when the Saints defeated Lindenwood University Belleville 55-0 on Oct. 13.  St. Francis' last shutout was tossed two years ago on Nov. 6 at Roosevelt (14-0).  Combining Saturday's shutout with its seven points allowed in the season opener, USF's defense ranks No. 1 in the NAIA in scoring defense, allowing just 3.5 points per contest.

PICK ARTIST: Newcomer Matthew Perry helped the Saints extend their streak of recording interceptions to 11 straight games with his two picks on Saturday.  Perry, who also had two pass breakups in the contest, is one of three transfers on the team from Trinity International University, which closed its doors this past May.

SACK ATTACK: After recording a four-sack game in the season opener against Waldorf University (Iowa), USF's defense added another three sacks to that count on Saturday giving it seven total for the year.

DEZZ's DAY: After notching just one catch in the first game of the year, Dezzion Jordan was USF's top receiver on Saturday with his 98 yards on four catches.  Two of those grabs set up the first two scores for the Saints. 

AND A FRESHMAN WILL LEAD THEM: For the second game in a row, Joey Tumilty gained at least a share of the team lead in receptions with his club-high five for 43 yards on Saturday.  He tied for the team lead in Week 1 with Ryan Little with four.  Tumilty's nine catches have produced 97 yards of offense.

ON HIS MARK: Sam Tumilty has completed 30 of his first 42 pass attempts for the season for 351 yards.  That completion ratio of 71.4 percent ranks him fourth in the nation in that category and seventh in pass efficiency rating (168.3).  His six rushing touchdowns tie him for the third most in the NAIA.

NOT TO BE OUTDONE: Scott Tumilty joins his brother in finding his name among the nation's best.  The senior all-purpose back has averaged 149.0 all-purpose yards per game, which is the 15th-best average in the NAIA.  He is also seventh in punt return yards per game (19.6 avg.) with two of his returns going for 30-plus yards.

RED ZONE PERFECTION: The Saints are a perfect 11-for-11 inside the red zone through their first two games with ten touchdowns and one field goal to rank first in the nation.

MORE PERFECTION: Placekicker Brian Maday has begun his third season in perfect fashion having made all 11 of his point-after touchdowns to go along with Saturday's 30-yard field goal.

OTHER NUMBERS: The Saints rank third in the nation in total punt return yards (196) and sixth in kick return average (28.0), while placing tenth in yards per rush (5.4) and 11th in rushing touchdowns (seven).  

TUMILTY CAREER CHART TOPPERS: The all-time leader in rushing touchdowns with 36, Sam Tumilty inched closer to the No. 2 slot in total career touchdowns with his two on Saturday.  That leaves him one behind John Larsen, who totaled 37 between 1987 and 1989.  Other numbers to follow include:

Total Touchdowns – Career
1. 38 – Brandon Ruffin (2016-19)
2. 37 – John Larsen (1987-89)
3. 36 – Sam Tumilty (2021-23)

Total Points – Career
1. 234 – John Larsen (1987-89)
2. 229 – Brandon Ruffin (2016-19)
3. 216 – Sam Tumilty (2021-23)

Kick Return Yards – Career
1. 1,754 – Elliot Allen (2010-13)
2. 1,544 – Gannon Novak (2005-08)
3. 1,436 – Scott Tumilty (2020-23)

FOR THE RECORD: The Saints are 167-225 all time, 138-167 in day games and 80-125 on the road.