GAME INFORMATION
Saturday, Sept. 12 • 1 pm CT
Busey Bank Field at Joliet Memorial Stadium
Joliet, Illinois

Series History
Overall: St. Francis leads 5-4.
First: at St. Francis 21, at Taylor 14 (11/1/86)
Last: Taylor 45, at St. Francis 28 (9/6/25)
Streak: Taylor won the last game in the series.

The Two Coaches
USF: Joe Curry
Alma Mater: USF 2001
Career: 74-72 (15th year)
at USF: 74-72 (15th year)

TU: Aaron Mingo
Alma Mater: Greenville University
Career: 25-27 (6th year)
At Taylor: 25-27 (6th year)

TOP STORYLINES
• Taylor boasts the No. 1 running back in the nation in Jedidiah Galvin.  Just a sophomore, he is averaging 191.5 yards per game on the ground with four touchdowns.

• As a team, the Trojans are the ninth-best rushing attack in the NAIA at 271.0 yards per game.  Last week, they rushed for 450, while needing just 15 yards through the air in a win over Saint Xavier.
 
• While Galvin is averaging 12.4 yards per carry, USF's Aaron Larkins has also put up strong rushing numbers.  He is averaging 7.1 yards per attempt.
 
• The Saints have struggled to convert on third down plays so far this season, going just 4-for-29.

• USF has been outscored 86-0 in the opening half.
 

GAME NOTES

THE HEAD COACHES
Joe Curry (St. Francis) is in his 15th 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 (.507, 74-72).  Program founder Gordie Gillespie maintains the top spot in winning percentage at .593.

Aaron Mingo (Taylor) is currently in his sixth season at Taylor and sports an overall mark of 27-29.  His best season came in 2024 when the Trojans went 9-2.  Prior to his arrival at Taylor, he served as the offensive coordinator at Dordt University (Iowa) for five seasons and at Bluefield University (Va.) for three years.  He got his start in coaching at Greenville University (Ill.), his alma mater.

ABOUT TAYLOR
The Trojans have been two different teams during their first two weeks of the season.  In Week 1, a 48-34 loss to Olivet Nazarene, they threw for 262 yards, while rushing for just 92 yards.  Then, this past Saturday, Taylor ran for 450 yards, while only passing for 15 in a 38-31 victory opposite Saint Xavier.  So, what will TU and its option attack bring to Joliet Memorial Stadium this week?  Based on the first two weeks, one thing the Trojans will bring is an offense that has averaged 34.0 points per game and rushed for 271.0 yards per contest (ninth-best in the NAIA).  They have been doing it with a pair of underclassmen in the backfield.  Quarterback Alex Amburgy and running back Jedidiah Galvin are both just sophomores.  The latter has already rushed for nearly 200 yards per game, sitting at 191.5, which ranks him first in the nation, and has scored four touchdowns.  Backup Ethan Albert averages another 57.5 yards per outing.  Amburgy, meanwhile, has thrown for 255 yards, but has only completed 44.7 percent of his pass attempts (17-of-38), including a pair of touchdowns.  He has targeted eight different receivers with JJ Payne topping the list at five receptions for 69 yards.  Defensively, senior safety Reid Messer has been a menace.  He leads the team with 14 tackles and has intercepted a pair of passes, while breaking up another three.  Linebacker Grady Stanley matches Messer's 14 stops and has one pick.  One thing Taylor has not done much of is force tackles behind the line of scrimmage.  It only has three tackles for loss, one of which is a sack.  Sophomore Cooper Sloan handles kicking duties with Wade Jones (38.9 avg.) on punt detail.  Five different Trojans have returned kickoffs with the dual-position Jones boasting the most (3-75).      

ABOUT THE SERIES
The Saints and Taylor have played each other nine times with USF holding a slight 5-4 edge.  The two teams first met during St. Francis' first two seasons of football back in 1986 and 1987 and then did not cross paths again until 2000.  USF claimed each of the first four matchups before yielding to the Trojans in the next three.  USF snapped the losing streak in 2023 with a 24-7 victory in Upland, Ind. before Taylor came back with a 45-28 victory in last year's home opener for St. Francis.

TWO DOWN, FIVE TO GO
The Saints may have one of the toughest schedules in the NAIA this season with no less than seven teams being ranked in respective Top 25 Preseason Polls or among others receiving votes.  Besides Illinois State checking in at No. 4 in the FCS and Indiana Wesleyan at No. 9 in the NAIA, there is also Marian (Ind.) at No. 12 and Saint Francis (Ind.) at No. 17 in the latter.  Olivet Nazarene, Saint Xavier and Taylor are among others receiving votes in the NAIA poll as is USF. 

LOOKING BACK AT LAST WEEK
For the second week in a row, a preseason Top 10 ranked team got off to a fast start against the Saints and never looked back as NAIA No. 9 Indiana Wesleyan scored on seven of its first nine possessions en route to a 58-6 Mid-States Football Association crossover victory.  In total, Indiana Wesleyan ran 91 plays for 694 yards with 36 of those plays resulting in first downs.  The Saints avoided being shutout for the second week in a row when Jalen Webb-Starkey found Jaden Boe on a 44-yard scoring strike with 3:20 left to play in the contest. 

NO LARK
Junior running back Aaron Larkins was one of the few bright spots last week, averaging 8.7 yards per carry with his nine attempts totaling 78 yards.  For the season, he is averaging 7.1 yards per attempt.

A TRIPLE OPTION
The Saints used three quarterbacks against Indiana Wesleyan with transfer Webb-Starkey coming away with the best numbers.  The senior threw for 106 yards on 7-of-12 passing with one touchdown.  He also carried the ball five times for 21 yards.  Nathan Maul was 4-for-11 passing for 76 yards, while starter Jonny Sorensen completed five of his 12 attempts for 27 yards and rushed for another 14 yards on seven carries.

HOOKING UP
Webb-Starkey and Boe hooked up for their first scores as Saints when Webb-Starkey hit Boe for a 44-yard touchdown strike late in the contest.

RACIN' MASON
For the second week in a row, Mason Hackman was one of the top Saint receivers last Saturday.  After totaling four catches for 83 yards in Week 1, Hackman added another three for 47 yards versus Indiana Wesleyan.  That gives him seven catches for 130 yards on the season, both of which are team highs.

WEARY PERRY
Senior linebacker Matthew Perry was all over the field last week, resulting in a career-high 14 stops.  Matched up with his eight from the first week, he has a team-best 22 tackles combined.

DANDY DANIEL
Perry was not the only Saint to register double figures in tackles against Indiana Wesleyan.  Newcomer Daniel Rouse also came up with ten tackles.

TACKLING TATUM
Moving from offense to defense in the early part of the season has resulted in freshman defensive back Tatum Doucette seeing more time on the field.  Last Saturday, he delivered to the tune of seven tackles, third most on the team.

A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR
Gavin Knight had a historic day against Indiana Wesleyan, recording his first collegiate fumble recovery late in the contest.

STARTING OVER
Adrian Guerrero, who averaged 42.2 yards per punt last week, had his string of 39 straight successes on PATs snapped in the fourth quarter.  

OTHER NUMBERS
The Saints have gone just 4-for-29 when trying to convert third downs into first downs … USF has been outscored 86-0 in the opening half with the opposition going a perfect 8-for-8 in the red zone with all eight being touchdowns.

FOR THE RECORD
The Saints are 182-240 all time, 153-180 in day games and 95-108 at home.