JOLIET, Ill. --- Scoring had not been a problem for the University of St. Francis football team in 2025 … until Saturday. Averaging 37.6 points per game and scoring in 17 of its 20 quarters on the season, the Saints drew blanks in the Mid-States Football Association Midwest League opener against Saint Xavier University as the Cougars came away with a 10-0 victory at Joliet Memorial Stadium.
Both teams wound up struggling on the day offensively with only three points coming on that side of the ball. Those points did not come until the final five minutes of the game on a 19-yard field goal by Christian Casillas.
The only points that mattered in the end came on USF's first offensive play of the afternoon when
Cam Manney returned an interception 24 yards for a touchdown midway through the first quarter.
That was because St. Francis (2-4, 0-1 MSFA) could never put together any sustained drives on the day. Other than the final series, which resulted in 57 yards and three first downs against a prevent defense, the Saints never managed more than 37 yards on any of their other ten drives. Among those ten series, only once did they have as many as two first downs. USF also had 12 penalties for 79 yards, eight of which came on offense to stop rallies.
The Saints finished with season-low numbers in first downs (12), total yards (229) and rushing yards (29). The latter came on 17 carries after entering the contest as the nation's 19th-best rushing offense with 191.0 yards per game. Through the air, the Saints collected 203 yards on 19-of-40 accuracy.
For the second week in a row,
Ryan Little served as the biggest offensive threat with his seven catches going for 70 yards.
Gavin Day provided another 57 yards of total offense (52 receiving, 5 rushing).
Mason Hackman and
Jake Friddle also caught four passes each for 45 and 31 yards, respectively.
USF did manage to get into Saint Xavier territory three times, all of which came in the second half, including the final drive, which ended at the SXU 17-yard line before time expired. The other two times came on the first two drives of the second half, which only got the Saints as close as the 38-yard line before opting to put Saint Xavier in poor field position with punts.
Adrian Guerrero was one of the few positives on the day, dropping three punts inside the 20-yard line.
The other positive was USF's defense, which bent, but did not break. Despite allowing 363 yards of total offense, the Saints stopped three Saint Xavier scoring drives with one pick at the one-yard line (
Xavier Gary), another one in the end zone (
Michael Hackman) and the third one inside the red zone (
Karsen Hansen).
Hansen and
Nathan Choute led the defensive effort with 15 and 12 tackles, respectively, with Hansen also having 1.5 tackles for loss.
The win was the fifth straight for Saint Xavier after an 0-2 start. The Cougars are now 5-2 overall and 1-0 in the league.
Notes: Saint Xavier also served as the opponent the last time the Saints were shutout. That came in the last game of 2020 COVID season in a 7-0 setback on April 10, 2021 … Saturday's game was the third-lowest scoring affair in school history … With his interception, Hackman now has at least one in four of six contests this year … The two teams combined to go just 7-for-28 on third down with the Saints converting only 3-o-15 times.
Up Next
The Saints start a two-game road trip next Saturday at Millenium Field in Streamwood, where USF goes up against Judson University. Kickoff is set for 1 pm.
You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.
