JOLIET, Ill. --- Sam Tumilty's 56-yard touchdown run in the closing seconds of the second quarter popped the cork on the University of St. Francis offense and the Fighting Saints went on to score on each of their next five possessions to break free from Lawrence Technological University (Mich.) in a 46-7 victory Saturday afternoon at Joliet Memorial Stadium.  The contest was a Mid-States Football Association crossover affair.

In all, the Saints (2-0) put up 41 unanswered points and scored on seven straight possessions beginning with Adrian Guerrero's 32-yard field goal to put St. Francis up 5-0 with 3:39 remaining in the opening half.  Prior to that, neither offense could get on track with a USF safety accounting for the game's only points through the first 26 minutes of the contest.

The last four minutes before the break were a different story.  In fact, Lawrence Tech (0-2) thought it was going to head into halftime with a 7-5 edge when the Blue Devils answered Guerrero's field goal with their longest drive of the afternoon.  The 11-play, 79-yard march was capped by a six-yard pass from Ryan Schuster to Charlie Ward with less than a minute to play.

Twenty-nine seconds and two plays later, the Saints were in the end zone on Tumilty's chaotic run off a broken pass play to take a 12-7 lead into the intermission.  That would start a string of six touchdowns in just under 16 minutes to turn the 7-5 deficit into a decisive 46-7 advantage just 17 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Five different Saints would score on the day, including big pass plays from Tumilty to Dezzion Jordan (52 yards) and Latorius Holiday (63 yards).  Sprinkled in were Tumilty's second rushing touchdown of the game (9 yards) and a 5-yard score from Daniel McLaurin.

If that was not enough, Lawrence Tech also had to contend with Gavin Day, who had a career afternoon with his first 100-yard rushing game as well as his first receiving touchdown (15 yards).  The sophomore runningback finished the afternoon with 108 yards on just 12 carries and caught a pair of passes for 18 yards.

Tumilty, meanwhile, matched his game-high 146 rushing yards on 19 carries with 173 through the air, completing nine of his 19 passes with the three scoring strikes.

Tumilty, Day and four other ball carriers outgained Lawrence Tech, 325-79.  The Blue Devils were also held under 100 yards passing (90 yards) to finish with a 498-169 disadvantage in total offense. 

USF's defense was solid for the second week in a row, but especially in the second half.  After yielding 132 yards on 42 plays in the game's first 30 minutes, St. Francis limited the Blue Devils to just 37 yards on 26 plays in the second half.  The Saints also forced a pair of turnovers, including one early in the contest when Lawrence Tech got as close as the USF 32-yard line.

Trey Sayers forced that fumble - his second in as many weeks - with Karsen Hansen on the recovery.  Sayers also set up Tumilty's second score and the first Saint touchdown after the break with an interception on Lawrence Tech's first offensive series of the third quarter.  That was also his second pick in as many weeks.  He would total six tackles, as well.

Other standouts defensively included Ryan Banas, who posted a team- and career-high nine stops, and Pat Strocchia, who notched seven tackles to place second on the club.  Allan Richards added five tackles with half of those going for losses.  Hansen provided the only sack as part of a four-tackle game.

Notes: Coming into the day, Day's previous career-high rushing performance came last week when he totaled 42 yards on nine carries.  He hit that total on one play late in the first half  on Saturday to set up Guerrero's field goal … For the second week in a row, Tumilty threw for three scores … Holiday's touchdown was his first as a Saint … USF averaged 7.8 yards per play on the day, including 6.8 on the ground … USF's safety was set up by a 36-yard punt by Guerrero, which landed at the one-yard line … Besides Lawrence Tech's 79-yard series, no other drive covered more than 29 yards … The Saints had their string of 55 consecutive kicking PATs snapped in the third quarter.    

Up Next
The Saints are on the road to face Concordia University (Mich.) in another MSFA crossover next Saturday (Sept. 14).  Kickoff is noon Central time.      

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