GAME INFORMATION
Saturday, November 1 • 12 pm CT
Ascension St. Vincent Field
Indianapolis, Indiana

Series History
Overall: Marian leads 9-1.
First: Marian 27, at USF 24 (8/27/09)
Last: Marian 37, at USF 28
Streak: Marian has won the last six games in the series.

The Two Coaches
USF: Joe Curry
Alma Mater: USF 2001
Career: 74-67 (14th year)
at USF: 74-67 (14th year)
MU: Ted Karras
Alma Mater: Northwestern
Career: 96-77 (15th year)
At Marian: 72-28 (9th season)

TOP STORYLINES
• NAIA No. 7-ranked Marian will be the highest-ranked team that the Saints will face this year.   

• Keagan LaBelle, who recorded the second-highest rushing performance in Knight history one year ago with his 290 yards to go along with four touchdowns against the Saints, is back for his senior season.  He ranks third in the nation in rushing touchdowns (16) and fifth in rushing yards per game (111.9) this fall.    
 
• The contest features two of the nation's top interception teams with Marian at No. 2 with 14 picks and the Saints at No. 7 with 12.  MU's Logan Carrington is tied for the nation's lead with six interceptions, while USF's Michael Hackman is one back in picks (five), while sitting in the No. 3 position.  
 
• Marian quarterback Tristan Polk has thrown just one interception this season in 176 attempts. 
 
• MU is converting at a 50 percent rate on third down, while USF has held opponents to 31.5 percent.
 
• Adrian Guerrero is riding a streak of conversion on 36 straight PATs dating back to last year and six field goals in a row this year.
 

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 74 victories and second in winning percentage (.525, 74-67).  Program founder Gordie Gillespie maintains the top spot in winning percentage at .593.

Ted Karras (Marian) was the first head coach in Marian history and, within six seasons, took the Knights to their first NAIA national championship in 2012.  He then left the program to take over at Walsh University (Ohio) before returning to Marian three seasons ago.  Between the two stints combined, he has registered a 72-28 record in eight-plus campaigns.  Karras also served as the head coach at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology for three campaigns as well as an assistant coach at both St. Francis (1995) and Saint Xavier University (1999-2002).  His son, Teddy, is currently the starting center for the Cincinnati Bengals and also won two Super Bowls with the New England Patriots.    

ABOUT MARIAN
The Knights represent the highest-ranked team the Saints will face this season, manning the No. 7 spot in the latest polls.  The mark is well-deserved, led by a high-powered offense that finds its name among the top ten in multiple categories.  The Knights' top ranking (No. 1) finds them a perfect 9-for-9 on fourth-down attempts and turning 34 red-zone opportunities among their 40 total into touchdowns.  They are also an impressive 50 percent on third downs (fourth).  Marian averages 46.3 points per game to rate sixth-highest in the nation and has not scored less than 21 points all season and has put up no less than 35 points during its current seven-game winning streak.  The other high-octane offensive numbers have the Knights fifth in average yards receiving per attempt (9.7), ninth in both average yards per completion (15.4) and average yards rushing per contest (210.1), tenth in first downs (192) and 15th in total yards per game (429.0).  Senior quarterback Tristan Polk leads the charge, having completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 1,700 yards with 12 touchdowns against just one interception.  His 165.0 quarterback rating is 12th-best in the NAIA.  The nightmare of Keagan LaBelle (40 carries, 290 yards – the second-best rushing day in Marian history, 4 TDs last year vs. USF) returns with the senior runningback ranking third in the nation in both rushing touchdowns (16) and carries (157), while sitting fifth at 111.9 yards rushing per game.  Marian's unit upfront, which checks in at 297.0 pounds per man, opens holes for its running game to the tune of 5.1 yards per carry and 35 TDs (third in the NAIA).  Jake Reichard, another senior, is the go-to guy amongst the receivers.  He has nearly half of the Knights' 13 receiving scores (six) and has caught 39 passes for 558 yards for just under 70 yards per game.  The defense is no slouch, either, with the second-most interceptions (14) and the third-most sacks (26).  Nonetheless, the Knight defense has allowed 25.0 points and 352.8 yards per game.  Redshirt sophomore Cade Houseman has notched a team-high 65 tackles, but the even bigger menace is redshirt junior defensive lineman Isaiah Street, who boasts 42 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, 10 hurries and five breakups.  Senior defensive back Logan Carrington is the pick artist, tied for the nation's most at six, with another two coming from Yassine Falke, including a pick six.  Marian's special teams units are equally as strong with sophomore punter Dean Mason ranking second in the NAIA with his 44.6-yard average on 25 boots.  Kick returner Alijah Price's 28.9-yard average is No. 9 in the NAIA, including one return for a 95-yard touchdown.  Montasi Clay averages another 19.0 yards on seven punt returns.  The Knights like to come out of the chutes scoring, doing so to an 83-28 advantage in the opening 15 minutes of play.  They also average no less than 10.0 points per quarter.            

ABOUT THE SERIES
Marian has won all but one of the ten games in the series.  Coincidentally, that was the only game in which the Knights scored less than 22 points in the all-time series, a 20-6 setback in 2013.  Since then, MU has reeled off six wins in a row.
 
RANKED FOES
Saturday's game marks the second against a ranked foe for the Saints this season.  Marian comes in at No. 7 in the latest poll.  Indiana Wesleyan was ranked No. 16 when St. Francis fell to the Wildcats 65-31 on Oct. 4.

THAT WAS FAST
The Saints put up three touchdowns in just 93 seconds and had two more scores of at least 24 yards being just one-play drives last Saturday.  The 93-second flurry started with Larry Stringham capping a 95-yard drive with a seven-yard run, followed by Ryan Little's eight-yard reception after the recovery of an onside kick and Mason Hackman's 24-yard grab after a fumble recovery.  The latter play was one of the one-play drives.  The other was Jonny Sorensen's 54-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

I CAN MATCH THAT
USF matched its 21-point first quarter with a 21-point second quarter against Judson in building a 42-0 advantage at the break.

JUST FOR KICKS
Adrian Guerrero produced his second double-figure scoring effort of the season against Judson.  After totaling 16 points in a 66-13 victory over Madonna University (Mich.) back on Sept. 27, the sophomore totaled 13 points on Saturday, including a pair of field goals.  The two field goals give him six boots in a row, while remaining perfect on PATs at 28-for-28.  Guerrero, who has made 36 straight PATs dating back to last year, leads the team in scoring with his 46 points.  He also ranks tenth in the nation for field goal accuracy (.857, 6-of-7) and tied for first in the same category on PATs.

SHUTOUT SAINTS
Nick Franciskovich's second interception of the season midway through the fourth quarter in the Judson red zone preserved USF's first shutout of the season last week.  It was also the first blanking by the defense since the last game of the 2023 campaign, which, coincidentally, came against Judson, as well.  The Saints authored three shutouts that season.      

A JAMMED LEADER BOARD
Stringham and Little both moved into a tie for the team lead in their respective areas.  Stringham tied Gavin Day for the most rushing touchdowns with three, while Little's fourth receiving touchdown matched that of Connor Engstrom.

RAMBLING RUNS
The Saints recorded their second- and third-longest runs from scrimmage on the season Saturday with Jake Friddle's 55-yard scamper on USF's first play from scrimmage and Sorenson's 54-yard touchdown run.  St. Francis' longest run was Tyshaun Strong's 94-yarder vs. Madonna.

RANKING RYAN
Little jumped two spots to No. 18 in the NAIA in the yards-per-game receiving category with his five catches for 55 yards against Judson.  He currently sits at 84.7 yards per game.  Little has also helped the Saints to a No. 13 placement in passing yards per completion at 14.7.   

THE 400 CLUB
USF's 496 yards of total offense versus Judson marked the fifth time this season that the Saints put up 400-plus yards of offense.

SECOND-BEST
Both USF's offense and defense registered its second-best numbers of the season in multiple categories last week.  On offense, the Saints' 25 first downs, 220 rushing yards and 276 passing yards gained the runner-up distinction, while, on defense, St. Francis gave up its second-fewest total yards (247).  The defense also held the opposition under 100 yards rushing for the fourth time in 2025.

STINGY SAINTS
Also on the defensive front, the Saints have held the opposition to just six third-down conversions in 28 attempts (21.4 pct.) over the past two games.  For the year, opponents have converted at a 31.5 percent clip.

PICK PARTY
USF's 12 interceptions on the season rank it seventh in the nation with Michael Hackman's five picks placing him third in the NAIA.  The Saints registered their second pick six of the campaign last week when Nathen Choute returned an interception 37 yards for a score.  Allan Richards has the other one.

ROADIES
St. Francis' win over Judson was its first on the road this year after going 4-1 one year ago away from Joliet Memorial Stadium.  The Saints close out the season with two away games among their final three contests in 2025.

OTHER RANKINGS
The Saints have the 11th-best fourth-down conversion rate in the NAIA at 68.8 percent (11-of-16).

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.  

FOR THE RECORD
The Saints are 182-235 all time, 153-176 in day games and 94-106 at home.