University of St. Francis (III.)

ELGIN, Ill. --- The University of St. Francis football team opened Mid-States Football Association Midwest League play by continuing its dominance over Judson University with a 54-6 road victory on Saturday afternoon.
Now 7-0 all-time versus the Eagles, USF (2-5, 1-0) has never scored less than 34 points against Judson (0-7, 0-1) and has averaged better than 47.0 points per game.

On Saturday, it took the Saints two series to get warmed up, but once they did, they never let their foot off the gas pedal, authoring the season-point total.  After the initial two possessions came without points, USF scored on each of its next six drives, totaling 41 points in just over 20 minutes.

Jalen Webb-Starkey and Larry Stringham each registered a pair of rushing touchdowns with Michael Fritz and Aaron Larkins also getting in on the act.  Larkins' touchdown took the shortest amount of time with his 65-yard catch and run coming on the first play of USF's fourth scoring drive and putting the Saints up 27-0.

Webb-Starkey, who had his biggest game as a Saint with 422 yards of offense against the team he once played for, provided the first two touchdowns on runs of 40 and eight yards.  Stringham sealed the run of six straight scores with dashes of 12 and two yards.  Fritz's touchdown was a 12-yard grab.

Three of the touchdowns were set up by USF's defense, which posted four takeaways on the day.  Gavin Day and Daniel Rouse each recovered a fumble, while John Wesolowski had one of the team's two interceptions.

St. Francis' other takeaway was a pick six by Wynton White, covering 48 yards early in the third quarter. 

USF's final touchdown came early in the fourth quarter when Connor Engstrom and Webb-Starkey hooked up for 38 yards.  Engstrom proved to be Webb-Starkey's main target on the day, connecting six times for both a career- and team-high 109 yards.

Nine Saints in all caught passes with four totaling 55 yards or more.  Besides Engstrom, Larkins had two catches for 71 yards, Mason Hackman four for 85 and Johnny Sorensen four for 55.

Webb-Starkey was on the mark all afternoon, completing 17 of his 22 attempts for a season-high 340 yards with the three touchdown.  He also led the Saints in rushing with his nine carries going for 82 yards.

Numbers like those led to the Saints finishing with a season-high 564 yards on just 51 offensive plays, an 11.1 yards-per-play average.  St. Francis was also efficient, producing the above-mentioned numbers in just 21 minutes, 12 seconds of possession time.

USF's defense, meanwhile, was just as impressive.  Besides the four takeaways, the Saints also registered three sacks and held Judson to 297 yards of total offense in 72 plays (4.1 avg.).  The Eagles managed only a combined four first downs between third- and fourth-down plays in 26 attempts.

Wesolowski led the unit with his 10 tackles, including 1.5 for loss and the one interception.  Day had eight stops (one for loss) as did Rouse to go along with their fumble recoveries.

Judson avoided the shutout in the closing minutes when Ty'lil Terrell got free down the home sideline for a 69-yard touchdown reception with 4:26 to play.    

Notes: USF's 160 yards rushing, four rushing touchdowns, 21 completions, 404 passing yards and three touchdown passes were all season highs … Webb-Starkey's previous high-water mark for yards passing was 218 before his 340 on Saturday.  His 82 yards rushing were also the most by a Saint this year … Webb-Starkey produced multiple touchdown runs for the second time this season.  He did so the first time versus Saint Francis (Ind.) … Larkins' 65-yard touchdown was the longest pass play of the year for USF … The Saints' two interceptions on Saturday marked the third time this season that they have had a multi-pick game and the second time in as many weeks … Wesolowski has now put together back-to-back ten-plus tackle games … Gavin Antons made his collegiate debut at quarterback, coming on late in the fourth quarter to complete one pass for 21 yards and rush one time.

Up Next
The Saints travel to the south side of Chicago to meet Saint Xavier University next Saturday for another MSFA Midwest League matchup.  Kickoff is set for noon at Deaton Field.