GAME INFORMATION
Saturday, Sept. 7 • 1 pm CT
Bolstorff Field
Forest City, Iowa

Series History
Overall: St. Francis leads 5-0.
First: St. Francis 19, at Waldorf 0 (10/31/09)
Last: St. Francis 63, at Waldorf 7 (9/2/23)
Streak: St. Francis has won each of the five games in the all-time series.

The Two Coaches
USF: Joe Curry
Alma Mater: USF 2001
Career: 64-60 (13th year)
at USF: 64-60 (13th year)

WU: Tyler Chapa
Alma Mater: Doane College
Career: 4-7 (2nd year)
At Waldorf: 4-7 (2nd year)


TOP STORYLINES
• USF opens its 39th season of intercollegiate football on Saturday and for the second year in a row Waldorf will provide the opposition.  The Warriors are the only non-MSFA team on the schedule this fall.

• One year ago, it took the Tumilty brothers (Joey, Sam and Scott) just 13 minutes into the season for each of them to author touchdowns.  It netted the Saints their first season-opening win since 2014.
 
• St. Francis leads the all-time series 5-0 and has outscored Waldorf 249-23 with each of the past four meetings resulting in USF hitting the 50-point mark.   

• Sam Tumilty's next scoring touchdown will make him the all-time St. Francis leader in total touchdowns (39) and tie him for the most total points (234) with John Larsen, who played from 1987-89.      


GAME NOTES

THE HEAD COACH: Joe Curry enters his 13th 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 64 victories and second in winning percentage (.516).  Gillespie maintains the top spot in winning percentage at .593.

ABOUT WALDORF: The Warriors come into their home opener looking to snap a four-game losing streak dating back to last fall.  Waldorf, the newest member of the Great Plains Athletic Conference, dropped its league opener last week when Concordia University (Neb.) scored all 45 of its points in the opening half of a 45-7 victory.  Louis Williams has taken over at the quarterback spot, where he ran for nearly 100 yards (97) and threw for another 69 last week.  The junior accounted for all but 35 of the team's 201 yards of total offense.  On the opposite side of the field, Concordia amassed 565 yards with 322 yards coming through the air.  The Bulldogs split up their six touchdowns evenly between the two modes of operation.  Williams finished the day with 17 rushes, six less than runningback Rocky Ketchum, who totaled 23 for 33 yards.  Williams' favorite target through the air was Kadin Abele, who authored five of the team's nine catches for 52 yards and the Warriors' only score.  On special teams, Isaac Burgett had a great first week, averaging 40.8 yards per punt (10 attempts), including a long of 60 yards.  Defensively, Waldorf collected 14 tackles from linebacker Luke Beyer and 11 from defensive back Kasen Handal last week.  One year ago, the Warriors went 4-7.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Saints have won all five games in the series, which started back in 2009.  The two teams competed for four straight seasons before renewing the series one year ago.  In each of the last four head-to-head meetings, USF has managed no less than 50 points and has outscored the Warriors 249-23 (or an average of 49.8-4.6) all-time.  One year ago, St. Francis scored a 63-7 win with Scott Tumilty, Sam Tumilty and Joey Tumilty each scoring a touchdown in the opening 13 minutes of the contest.  The Saints went on to score on each of their first seven possessions of the game, including all six in the opening half.  Sam Tumilty rushed for four touchdowns for the third time in his career and passed for another four.  USF amassed 507 yards to Waldorf's 193.  

A NEW LOOK TO THE SCHEDULE … AND THE LEAGUE: The Fighting Saints' schedule features four teams it did not play one year ago, all members of the Mid-States Football Association Mideast League last year in Marian University (Ind.), Concordia University (Mich.), Indiana Wesleyan University and Siena Heights University (Mich.).  The latter three remain crossover contests, while Marian joins University of Saint Francis (Ind.) on the Midwest side this year following the departures of both Roosevelt University (NCAA II) and St. Ambrose University (Heart of America Conference).

BATTLING THE BEST: Unlike one year ago when the Saints only had one ranked foe on the schedule, they will have three such teams in 2024, all of which land among the top ten in NAIA football.  Indiana Wesleyan highlights the group at No. 6, followed by Marian at No. 7 and Saint Xavier at No. 9 in the preseason coaches' poll.

THEY'RE BACK: A total of 14 starters are back from last year's 7-3 squad, split evenly between the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.  Seven of those individuals were all-conference selections in wide receivers Joey Tumilty (first team) and Dezzion Jordan (1st), strong safety Scott Tumilty (1st), offensive lineman Ashtin Sorgea (2nd), defensive lineman Pat Strocchia (2nd), cornerback Matthew Perry (2nd) and tight end Jake Friddle (honorable mention).  The defensive unit is also led by league assistant coach of the year Thomas Miller.  The rest of the returnees are quarterback Sam Tumilty, runningback Gavin Day and lineman Rylan Heersink on the offensive side of the ball.  On defense, USF has lineman Curtis Reeves, linebackers Nick Franciskovich and Karsen Hansen and free safety Nick Mabutas back.      

MISSING THE PERFECTIONIST: One Saint not back in 2024 is second-leading scorer Brian Maday, who was a perfect 40-for-40 on PATs one year ago and rang up 43 straight makes, including the end of the 2022 campaign.  Maday, an honorable all-league selection, also connected on five field goals for 55 total points.

OTHER MISSING LINKS: The biggest loss for the Saints comes on the defensive side of the ball in MSFA Midwest League Defensive Player of the Year and NAIA AFCA Third Team All-American Kemon Reese, who led the Saints in tackles with 82 one year ago, 25 more than his next closest teammate.  Other all-conference selections that graduated include Michael R. Johnson and Jalen Cooper on the defensive side of the ball and Peyton Boji and Daniel Goetsch on offense.  

HEALTHY TO A T: All three of the Tumilty brothers (Joey, Sam and Scott) are back after the latter two missed significant time for the first time in their career one year ago.  Sam Tumilty was lost for half of the season (five games), while Scott Tumilty missed four contests.  Nonetheless, Sam still finished as the leading passer with his 82 completions in 135 attempts (60.74 pct.) going for 1,159 yards and nine touchdowns.  He finished second behind Carl Bew, who replaced him, as the leading rusher with 358 yards and eight scores.  Bew led the way with 501 yards and five touchdowns on 88 attempts (5.7 ypc).  Scott finished with 28 tackles on the season and averaged 24.6 yards per kickoff return.  Freshman Joey Tumilty headlined the trio with his 44 catches going for 799 yards.  He also led the team with 14 touchdowns, including three on the ground.

SHOOTING FOR THREE LUCKY SEVENS: In each of the past two seasons, the Saints have posted seven-win campaigns, their most since 2015.

REMEMBERING OTHER 2023 NUMBERS: Fast starts were a key to USF's success one year ago, outscoring opponents 93-24 in the opening quarter and 179-69 in the first half.  Defensively, St. Francis limited the opposition to just 14 points in the third quarter.

USF's offense also ranked fifth in the nation in passing yards per completion at 16.3 yards per clip.

On defense, the Saints tied or established new program marks in three categories with their three shutouts, 143 points yielded and 2,516 yards allowed.  The old marks in the latter two categories were 171 points and 2,673 yards. 

FOR THE RECORD: The Saints are 172-228 all time, 143-169 in day games and 83-126 on the road.

CHART WATCHING: The Tumilty brothers have both put together some impressive single-season and career numbers wearing the Brown & Gold. Listed below is where they rank among some of the top Saints all-time:

SAM TUMILTY
Rushing Touchdowns – Season
1. 16 - Sam Tumilty (2022)

Rushing Touchdowns – Career
1. 38 – Sam Tumilty (2021-23)

Total Touchdowns – Season
1. 17 – John Larsen (1989)
2. 16 – Sam Tumilty (2022)

Total Touchdowns – Career
1. 38 – Brandon Ruffin (2016-19)
    38 – Sam Tumilty (2021-23)

Total Points – Season
1. 106 – John Larsen (1989)
2. 96 – Sam Tumilty (2022)
3. 90 – Sam Tumilty (2021)

Total Points – Career
1. 234 – John Larsen (1987-89)
2. 229 – Brandon Ruffin (2016-19)
3. 228 – Sam Tumilty (2021-23)


SCOTT TUMILTY
Punt Return Yards – Career
1. 678 – Scott Tumilty (2020-23)

Kick Return Yards – Season
1. 673 – Elliot Allen (2010)
2. 613 – Keyon Kemp (1998)
3. 604 – Lexus Jackson (2017)
4. 601 – Tyrell Mitchell (2016)
5. 566 – Gannon Novak (2007)
6. 557 – Scott Tumilty (2022)

Kick Return Yards – Career
1. 1,754 – Elliot Allen (2010-13)
2. 1,602 – Scott Tumilty (2020-23)