SOUTHFIELD, Mich. --- Carl Bew rushed for 115 yards and one touchdown in his collegiate debut at quarterback and linebacker Kemon Reese keyed a defense that bent, but did not break as the NAIA No. 14-ranked University of St. Francis football team survived a scare from Lawrence Tech University (Mich.) to come away with a 14-12 road victory Saturday afternoon.  The contest was a Mid-States Football Association crossover game.

Bew's touchdown of 65 yards came on just the second carry of his collegiate career and answered Lawrence Tech's 38-yard field goal on its opening drive.  The Blue Devils' first field goal of the season was set up by a blocked punt and a 24-yard return that put the ball in St. Francis territory.

USF dodged a second bullet when an interception and a 76-yard run by CJ Davidson one play later got the hosts deep into St. Francis territory before having to settle for a 25-yard field goal.

From there, it was a case of missed opportunities for the most part for both teams, especially Lawrence Tech, which was looking to pull off the upset.

St. Francis did get one other score in the second quarter before being shutout in the second half for the first time this year.  Bew found Dezzion Jordan for 35 yards two plays after a short 17-yard punt by Lawrence Tech to put the ball at the LTU five-yard line.  Bew rushed for another four yards before letting Scott Tumilty finish the five-play, 50-yard drive with his one-yard dash into the end zone.

Lawrence Tech (1-2) looked to answer right back before the end of the half, getting as close as the St. Francis two-yard line before a sack by Reese set the Blue Devils back to the 12-yard line.  With time running out and no time outs left, LTU was rushed on its final play, which netted only four yards and ended the quarter.

The third quarter saw each team get inside the opposition's 35-yard line on one occasion only to have both clubs lose the ball on downs.  One series later, the Saints allowed Lawrence Tech to get back in the game when it fumbled at the LTU 42-yard line.

Blue Devils quarterback Alex Osman converted on all five of his pass attempts for 64 yards on the drive, with the last one, a completion to Jaden Rembert, capping off an eight-play, 58-yard march.  That made it a 14-12 game with 8:44 still to play in the contest.

Enter Reese again for USF's defense.  The graduate transfer from Trinity International University blitzed from the left side on the ensuing point-after touchdown to sack Osman and preserve USF's two-point lead.

The Saints took better than six minutes off the clock on their next drive, but could not extinguish Lawrence Tech's upset thoughts.  Head coach Joe Curry's club got down to the LTU 10-yard line before turning the ball over on downs for the second time in the half.

Lawrence Tech took over at its own 10-yard line with 2:19 remaining before Jalen Cooper finally sealed the Saints' season-opening 3-0 start with an interception on Osman's fourth pass attempt of the drive.

Both teams struggled to get their offenses going, stymied by a combined 6-for-29 conversion rate on third down.  Each team converted just three times on said drives.  The Saints were also 1-of-3 on fourth down, while LTU was 2-for-4.

Bew, a true freshman, finished his debut with the 115 yards on just 14 carries, while completing four of his 11 pass attempts for 102 yards.  Keenan Hailey had another 77 yards on 21 carries.

Bew's four pass completions went to four different targets with long receptions to Joey Tumilty (33 yards) and Gavin Day (26) besides Jordan.  Bew averaged 25.5 yards per pass completion.

Lawrence Tech had its own 100-yard rusher in Davidson, who turned nine carries into 108 yards.  Alex Osman completed 20 of his 33 pass attempts for 223 yards with the one interception.  Nine of his completions went to Jalen Wallace (92 yards) with another six pulled in by Rembert (79 yards).

Lawrence Tech edged out the Saints in total yardage 349-317.       

Besides his two big plays off the edge rush, Reese led the Saints in total tackles with eight.  Michael R. Johnson also had a sack as part of a six-tackle afternoon for him.

Notes: USF's 3-0 start is its first since the 2014 campaign … The Saints' two scoring drives lasted just three and five plays, which is par for the course this season.  Ten of USF's 13 scoring drives have taken no more than five plays … Brian Maday's blocked field goal was his first miss in 13 PAT/FG attempts this season.  He rebounded to make his two PATs, keeping him perfect there (13-for-13) … St. Francis' last drive of the afternoon ended its perfect 12-for-12 string of scoring inside the red zone … Despite Sam Tumilty missing his first game as a Saint, Scott Tumilty extended the family's streak of scoring at least one touchdown to 22 straight St. Francis games with his score in the second quarter … The Saints waited until the very end before extending its interception streak to 12 straight games with Cooper's late pick … Both teams had seven drives in the first half, but just four each in the closing 30 minutes … USF is back on the road next Saturday at Taylor University (Ind.) looking to complete a season sweep of its three Mid-States Football Association crossover opponents.  Kickoff is set for noon.   

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