FOREST CITY, Iowa --- The University of St. Francis football team continued its dominance over Waldorf University on Saturday afternoon, scoring a school-record 70 points in a 70-14 victory to begin the 2024 campaign.  The Fighting Saints improved to 6-0 all-time against the Warriors, scoring no less than 50 points in each of their last five meetings.

One year after scoring on each of its first seven series against Waldorf, St. Francis one-upped that on Saturday by producing touchdowns on each of its first eight possessions.  Seven came in the first half when the Saints built a commanding 49-0 advantage.  They added to that count 17 seconds into the third quarter on a 72-yard scoring strike from Sam Tumilty to Dezzion Jordan.

Tumilty was near-perfect on the day, completing 15 of his 17 attempts for 310 yards with three touchdowns.  On the ground, he scored on two of his eight carries, which covered 40 yards.  The other two passing touchdowns went for 32 and six yards.  His rushing touchdowns were from two and six yards out.

Eight different Saints got in on the historic scoring act, including each of the three Tumilty brothers for the second year in a row against Waldorf.  Scott Tumilty was the only other player besides Sam Tumilty to score more than once, on a two-yard run and an 84-yard kickoff return.  The other touchdowns came from Joey Tumilty (32-yard reception), Gavin Day (5-yard run), Daniel McLaurin (3-yard run), Ryan Little (6-yard catch) and James Zilinger (8-yard run).

Joey Tumilty and Jordan were two key pieces to the Saints amassing 454 yards of total offense.  Joey Tumilty totaled 142 yards on his game-high seven catches, while Jordan netted 122 yards on his four receptions.

USF's defense and special teams were equally as impressive.  The Saints forced four turnovers on the afternoon, while the kick and punt return teams totaled 303 yards, including the return for a touchdown.  There were also punt returns of 56 and 48 yards.

On defense, Nick Franciskovich intercepted a pair of passes and had two sacks and newcomer Trey Sayers had an interception and a fumble recovery.  Sayers also finished second in tackles with nine, one behind team leader Matthew Perry with ten. 

Waldorf (0-2) finished the day with 210 yards, 108 of which came in the closing 24 minutes.  Eighteen of its 73 plays went for loss, including three sacks.

Notes: The previous scoring record was 69 points set twice during the 2011 campaign when the Saints defeated both Olivet Nazarene University 69-3 on Sept. 17 and Haskell Indian Nations University 69-6 on Oct. 22 ... With his two rushing touchdowns, Sam Tumilty became the St. Francis career leader in both total touchdowns with 40 and total points with 240 … McLaurin, Little and Zilinger all scored their first collegiate touchdowns on Saturday.  For the former two, it was extra special after coming back from serious leg injuries … Latorius Holiday had a solid USF debut, catching one pass for 28 yards and returning one of his two punts for 48 yards … The 100-plus-yard receiving games were the fourth of their careers for both Joey Tumilty and Jordan.  For the latter, his 122 yards were a career high … Scott Tumilty's 84-yard kickoff return was the longest of his career and marked his fourth career return for a score.  Two of the four have come on kickoffs … Following in the footsteps of Brian Maday, placekicker Adrian Guerrero was a perfect 10-for-10 on PATs on Saturday.  Maday was 40-for-40 in the same category one year ago …  The Saints were a perfect 7-for-7 inside the red zone with all seven scores being touchdowns.

Up Next
The Saints host Lawrence Technological University (Mich.) in a Mid-States Football Association crossover game next Saturday at Joliet Memorial Stadium.  Kickoff is slated for 1 pm.

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