JOLIET, Ill. --- It took the Tumilty brothers, including newest addition, freshman Joey Tumilty, less than 13 minutes into the 2023 season to make their mark in the scoring column as the trio combined for seven of the University of St. Francis' football team's nine touchdowns on Saturday in routing Waldorf University 63-7 on Busey Bank Field at Joliet Memorial Stadium.

Each of the first three Fighting Saints' scores came from a different Tumilty beginning with Scott Tumilty's 10-yard pass from Sam Tumilty just 2:27 into the contest.  Scott Tumilty actually set up his own score with a 34-yard punt return.   

On USF's second possession, Sam Tumilty did the honors with his 78-yard scamper down the right sideline on the fourth play of the drive.

Joey Tumilty then completed the trifecta with his first collegiate reception netting a 10-yard touchdown.

In all, the NAIA No. 24-ranked Saints scored on each of their first seven possessions – including all six in the opening half – with one of the Tumilty brothers involved in eight of the nine end-zone series.  Keenan Hailey broke the string of seven Tumilty touchdowns in a row with his five-yard scoring reception to open the second half.  Gavin Day capped off the scoring on the day with his two-yard run five minutes into the fourth quarter.

For the afternoon, the Saints totaled 507 yards of offense – 316 on the ground, 191 through the air – with Sam Tumilty registering four touchdown runs and Joey Tumilty authoring the other multi-TD game (two).  Waldorf (1-1) was limited to 193 yards of total offense, including just 92 on the ground in 33 attempts.

Matthew Perry and Tavion Wells led USF's defense with seven tackles each.  Cameron Holman, Pat Strocchia and Nick Franciskovich each provided one sack with Michael R. Johnson and Karsen Hansen combining on the fourth one for St. Francis.

Kwaku Appiah set up Sam Tumilty's final rushing touchdown of the day with his 48-yard interception return early in the fourth quarter.

Sam Tumilty accounted for 330 of USF's offense with his team-high 139 yards on 15 carries.  He was also a solid 16-for-20 passing for 191 yards with a career-best four scoring strikes.

Hailey just missed the 100-yard plateau with his 12 carries covering 93 yards.   

Joey Tumilty and Ryan Little each caught four passes for 54 and 42 yards, respectively.

Notes: The win was the first to open a season since 2014 when the Saints defeated Olivet Nazarene University 41-10 … Sam Tumilty became the career leader in rushing touchdowns with his four on Saturday.  He now has 34 for his career.  The old record of 31 was set by John Larsen between 1987-89.  Tumilty also moved into the No. 3 position in career total points with 204 … Tumilty's four rushing touchdowns marked the third time in his career that he has rushed for at least that many scores.  His top mark is five set against St. Ambrose in 2021 … Scott Tumilty became the career leader in punt return yards surpassing the 513-yard mark of Elliot Allen set between 2010-13.  Tumilty now has 599 … Scott Tumilty totaled 176 all-purpose yards on Saturday between his 95 punt return yards, 33 kickoff return yards, 38 rushing yards and 10 receiving yards … The Saints have now outscored Waldorf 249- 23 in the all-time series (five games) and have reached the 50-point mark in each of the past four contests … Day's touchdown was the first of his collegiate career … St. Francis was a perfect 8-for-8 inside the red zone on Saturday, while Brian Maday was the same on PATs … The Saints are right back at Joliet Memorial Stadium next Saturday when they take on University of Saint Francis (Ind.) at 1 pm.

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.