GAME INFORMATION
Saturday, October 18 • 1 pm CT
Busey Bank Field at Joliet Memorial Stadium
Joliet, Illinois

Series History
Overall: Saint Xavier leads 25-2.
First: Saint Xavier 20, at St. Francis 13 (9/30/2000)
Last: St. Francis 36, at Saint Xavier 29 --- OT (10/19/24)
Streak: St. Francis won the last game in the series.

The Two Coaches
USF: Joe Curry
Alma Mater: USF 2001
Career: 73-66 (14th year)
at USF: 73-66 (14th year)

SXU: Mike Feminis
Alma Mater: St. Francis 1990
Career: 223-90 (27th year)
At Saint Xavier: 223-90 (27th year)

TOP STORYLINES
• The Saints and Saint Xavier meet up for the 28th time with each of the previous seven games having been decided by seven points or less and three of the last four going to overtime. 

• USF has never beaten the Cougars in 13 previous meetings at Joliet Memorial Stadium.
 
• The contest will feature two of the nation's top pick artists in USF's Michael Hackman and SXU's Taj McClellan.  Both have four interceptions on the year, which ranks them fourth in the NAIA.
 
• The Saints also have the ninth-best punt returner in the NAIA in Connor Engstrom (12.1 avg.), while Saint Xavier has the fourth-best kick returner in Marcus Price (30.7 avg.).
 
• USF has scored in each of its last eight quarters and 13 of its last 14.
 
• Keep an eye on the third quarter Saturday.  The Saints have outscored their opponents 52-26 in the frame, while Saint Xavier has been outscored 40-21.


GAME NOTES

THE HEAD COACHES
Joe Curry (St. Francis) is in his 14th season as the Saints' head coach, which makes him the longest-serving coach in school history.  He is also the winningest coach in the history of the program with 73 victories and second in winning percentage (.525, 73-66).  Program founder Gordie Gillespie maintains the top spot in winning percentage at .593.

Mike Feminis (Saint Xavier) is currently in his 27th season as the Cougars' head coach, where he has amassed a 223-90 overall record.  That places him second among active NAIA coaches in wins and fourth among active coaches at all levels.  He is also the seventh-winningest coach all-time in NAIA history.  Feminis, who has won 13 MSFA titles, is a 1990 graduate of St. Francis.  He is the Saints' all-time leading tackler (469 stops) and was the 1989 NAIA USA Today Defensive Player of the Year.  He also served as current USF head coach Joe Curry's defensive coordinator when Curry played for the Saints in 1998. 

ABOUT SAINT XAVIER
The Cougars come in on a roll, having won each of their last four games after starting out the campaign 0-2.  Both a resurgent offense and defense has led to the turnaround.  After managing just a field goal in its first two games combined, Saint Xavier has scored no less than 21 points and is averaging 30.0 points over its last four contests.  The same holds true on defense, where SXU allowed 34.0 points per game in Weeks 1 and 2, but have held the last four opponents to an average of 13.5 points per contest.  Included in that grouping was a 26-20 victory over Siena Heights University to close out non-league play last week.  Known for its high-powered offenses over the years, the Cougars have managed just 264.7 yards per game this fall with only 163.2 coming through the air.  SXU has used four different quarterbacks during the season with Dominic D'Ambrosio having taken over the reins.  He has completed 53 percent of his attempts (53-for-100) for 740 yards, but has matched his six touchdowns with six interceptions.  For the season, Saint Xavier has been intercepted nine times.  D'Ambrosio likes to spread things around through the air with four different receivers having between 11 and 18 catches, but no one averaging more than 35.5 yards per game.  Redshirt freshman Stephon Gist leads the pack with 18 receptions, while graduate student Ronnie Foster has the most yardage (213).  On the ground, senior Tyreese Lee is the workhorse, having carried the ball nearly half the time (94 of 190 attempts) for 429 yards, or an average of 71.5 yards per game.  He also has five of the team's eight rushing touchdowns.  SXU's offense is a veteran one with 8 of 11 starters being upperclassmen.  The story is nearly the exact opposite on the defensive side of the ball with six underclassmen, including three on the line.  The unit has allowed 330.0 yards per game, including 247.8 through the air.  SXU has recovered seven fumbles (fifth-best in the NAIA) to match its seven interceptions, leading to a plus-three in the takeaway department.  The Cougars have allowed the opposition to convert at a better-than 40 percent clip on third downs and 66.7 percent on fourth downs.  Senior inside linebacker Terry Elias leads the group with both his 67 total tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss.  Senior middle linebacker Chris Swyane is right behind with 61 stops, including a club-best four sacks.  Junior cornerback Taj McClellan is the disruptor in the group with his four interceptions (tied for fourth in the nation), nine pass breakups and one forced fumble.  Besides serving as a wide receiver, Gist handles most kickoff (15.2) and punt returns (4.8).  Marco Price is an even more serious threat with his seven returns going for an average of 30.7 yards, which ranks him fourth in the nation.  As for the kicking game, sophomore Ayden Sheppard averages just under 40 yards per punt, while Christian Casillas is the second-leading scorer with his 23 points.  He is perfect on his PATs (14-for-14) and has three field goals in six attempts, including a pair of 42-yarders.  SXU has outscored its opponents in three of four quarters with the third quarter being the outlier.  The Cougars have been outscored 40-21 coming out of the break.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
Saturday will be the 28th meeting between the two schools, which is third-most amongst St. Francis all-time opponents, sitting only behind Olivet Nazarene (32) and St. Ambrose (30).  The Cougars hold a sizable 25-2 advantage in the all-time series, but had their 17-game winning streak against the Saints snapped last year.  USF's 36 points in the 36-29 overtime contest were its most in the series.  The series has been decided in overtime in three of the last four matchups with each of the last seven affairs being decided by seven points or less.  Fourteen of the 27 games in the series have also been decided by one touchdown or less, including 10 of the last 12 outings.  Each of USF's two wins in the series both came on the road.  The Saints are 0-13 against SXU at Joliet Memorial Stadium.

GAINING THE SPOTLIGHT
The closeness in proximity of the two school as well as the contests over the span of the series makes the matchup one of six regional featured games on the NAIA Urban Edge Network on Saturday.

BROTHERLY LOVE
Saturday's contest is not only one of neighborly rivals, but one of brothers, too.  Senior Anthony Niecikowski is the starting center for the Saints, while his twin brother Nick is the backup left guard for Saint Xavier.    

AND AWAY WE GO
Saturday marks the beginning of Mid-States Football Association Midwest League play.  Over the course of the next five weeks, the Saints will face the other five teams in the six-team conference.  Ranked foes Marian University, Ind. (#11) and University of Saint Francis, Ind. (#24) come in as the teams to beat.

RED OCTOBER
Saturday represents the only time that the Saints will play a game at Joliet Memorial Stadium in October this year.  USF played three home games in September and will have one on the turf of Busey Bank Field in November.

NOT FOURTH OF JULY FIREWORKS
USF's last contest – the 65-31 loss to NAIA No. 16 Indiana Wesleyan University - was the second-highest scoring game in USF history.  It was only eclipsed by the Saints' 61-55 triple-overtime setback to Allegheny College (Pa.) back on Nov. 13, 1999 to close out that season.

QUARTERLY REPORT
Speaking of scoring a lot of points, the Saints have done that by putting points on the board in each of their last eight quarters and 13 of their last 14.  They have also scored no less than 21 points in each of their five previous contests.

BEST FOOT FORWARD
USF's top scorer on the season is placekicker Adrian Guerrero, who has totaled 34 points.  The sophomore booted his fourth field goal in a row last week with the 46-yarder in the second quarter being his career best.  Guerrero has been perfect on PATs (24-for-24) and is 4-for-5 on field goals this season.

FOUR-FOR-FIVE #1     
With Mason Hackman's 28-yard touchdown grab to start the scoring against Indiana Wesleyan, the Saints have now scored the first points in four of their five contests, all of which have been touchdowns.  For Hackman, it was his first score as a member of the Brown & Gold.

FOUR-FOR-FIVE #2
USF has put up better than 400 yards of total offense in four of its first five contests, including its 402 versus Indiana Wesleyan two weeks ago.
 
LITTLE BIG MAN
That is what junior wide receiver Ryan Little was against Indiana Wesleyan, posting career-high numbers for both receptions (nine) and yards receiving (148) in a game.  For the season, he leads the club in both categories (25-468), averaging 18.7 yards per catch and 93.6 yards per contest.

MAKING ANOTHER IMPACT
Little is also a big reason for the Saints averaging 15.5 yards per completion, which ranks tenth in the nation.

A COMBINED EFFORT
The Saints rank No. 19 in the NAIA in rushing yards per game, as well, with their 191.0 average.  Ten different Saints have carried the ball this season with seven having done so at least 11 times.  Junior Gavin Day tops the group with his 43 carries and 193 yards.

JOINING THE GROUP
Adding to the list of rushers last week was Guerrero, who authored his first career carry, taking a fake punt 14 yards for a first down.  

HACK ATTACK
Freshman Michael Hackman continues to rank as one of the elite defenders in the league with his four picks on the season.  That ranks him tied for fourth in the NAIA.  He also registered a career-high 12 stops against Indiana Wesleyan.   

RETURNABLE
Connor Engstrom ranks ninth in the nation in punt returns.  He is averaging 12.1 yards off his eight returns this season, including a long of 37 yards.

MOVE THOSE CHAINS
The Saints have put up solid conversion rates on third and fourth down this year highlighted by their 73 percent clip on fourth down (8-of-11), which ranks 11th in the NAIA.  Conversely, Saint Xavier's defense has allowed opponents to convert at a similar rate of 66.7 percent (14-of-21).  On third down, USF is an even 40 percent (28-of-70).

TOUCHDOWNS OVER FIELD GOALS
When St. Francis has gotten in the red zone this fall, it has made sure to get into the end zone more times than not.  Of the Saints' 19 times in the zone, 17 have resulted in scores with 15 of those being touchdowns.  The 79 percent conversion rate of getting into the end zone ranks ninth in the nation.

FOCUSING ON THE THIRD QUARTER
The third quarter could wind up being the key factor in Saturday's contest.  USF is outscoring its opponents by a 2-to-1 margin (52-26) coming out of the break, while Saint Xavier is being outscored 40-21.

BAD SAINTS #1
USF has been penalized no less than ten times in each of its previous two games for 100-plus yards.

BAD SAINTS #2
The 434 passing yards allowed by the St. Francis defense were its most allowed in school history and the second-highest total by Indiana Wesleyan in its history.  For the season, the Saints have allowed an average of 282. 2 yards through the air. 

ROAD WARRIORS
After Saturday, the Saints will play three of their remaining four games on the road beginning next week at Judson University.  USF is still seeking its first win away from Joliet Memorial Stadium this fall after dropping each of its first two road affairs.

FOUR SCORE AND 40 YEARS AGO
This is the 40th season of football at St. Francis with the inaugural campaign coming in 1986.  The Saints went 6-4 that first year.  

LUCKY SEVENS
USF has gone 7-3 in each of its last three seasons.

FOR THE RECORD
The Saints are 181-234 all time, 152-175 in day games and 94-106 at home.