GAME INFORMATION
Saturday, Sept. 19 • 12 pm CT
Blue Devils Stadium
Southfield, Michigan

Series History
Overall: St. Francis leads 4-0.
First: St. Francis 48, at Lawrence Tech 28 (9/28/19)
Last: at St. Francis 42, Lawrence Tech 28 (9/20/25)
Streak: St. Francis has won all four games played in the series.

The Two Coaches
USF: Joe Curry
Alma Mater: USF 2001
Career: 74-73 (15th year)
at USF: 74-73 (15th year)

LTU: Oscar Olejniczak
Alma Mater: Central Michigan
Career: 3-9 (2nd year)
At Lawrence Tech: 3-9 (2nd year)


TOP STORYLINES
• USF has won all four games in the series and has scored at least 42 points in three of the four contests.

• Of its 22 starters on offense and defense, 15 are underclassmen for Lawrence Tech.
 
• USF's 16 points through its first three games of the season is its lowest total since the 2006 campaign when the Saints managed just 13 points in the same time span.
 
• Opponents have averaged 93.7 yards in penalties when they have faced the Saints this year.

• Saint quarterbacks have combined to hit on just 41.7 percent of their pass attempts this season.
 
• USF quarterback Jalen Webb-Starkey has thrown for over 100 yards in each of his past two contests.


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 (.503, 74-73).  Program founder Gordie Gillespie maintains the top spot in winning percentage at .593.

Oscar Olejniczak (Lawrence Tech) is currently in his second season as Lawrence Tech's head coach.  He joined the program two years ago as the Blue Devils' offensive coordinator before being elevated to the head coaching ranks after former head coach Scott Merchant resigned.  Olejniczak also served as Merchant's coordinator at University of Detroit-Jesuit High School.  His collegiate coaching experience has included stints at Michigan State University, Wayne State University (Mich.) and Campbell University (NC).

ABOUT LAWRENCE TECH
Unlike Illinois State and Indiana Wesleyan – USF's first two veteran-led opponents – Lawrence Tech is a young bunch, especially on both the offensive and defensive line.  On the offensive side, senior left tackle Seth Fulton is the only upperclassmen with the other four in the trenches made up of three sophomores and one freshman.  That might be the reason for LTU permitting eight sacks over its first two contests.  On the defensive front, all four starters are sophomores.  As a whole, the offensive unit has seven starters designated as underclassmen and the defense counts eight.  Also, on the latter side of the ball, both cornerbacks are redshirt freshmen, which the opposition looks to have taken advantage of, gaining 17.8 yards per catch.  Lawrence Tech's youth movement has not affected the Blue Devils scoring as they have put up an average of 25.5 points over their first two games.  On the other side of the ball, however, LTU has yielded no less than 28 points to each of its first two opponents and 43.5 per game.  Quarterback Ryan Schuster heads up the offense.  The junior has thrown for 421 yards with four touchdowns and has completed 54 percent of his passes.  He also has a QB rating of 147.1.  Owen Pittenger has been his main target.  The redshirt freshman has made quite the first impression, averaging 88.0 yards per game and 22.0 yards per catch via his eight receptions for 176 yards.  On the ground, the Blue Devils rely on the 1-2 punch of juniors Jaylen Flowers and Jon Jasionowski.  Flowers has totaled 109 yards on 17 carries with Jasionowski close behind at 22 rushes for 89 yards.  As a team, LTU is averaging 347.5 yards per contest with 215.5 coming through the air.  On defense, Lawrence Tech is allowing 6.8 yards per play and 372.5 yards per outing with 248.5 passing.  Junior linebacker Jake DiFalco leads the defensive unit with his 16 tackles.  Sophomore defensive end Tray'Vion Hunter has also performed well courtesy of his 12 tackles, 3.5 of which have been for loss, including 2.5 sacks.  He has also caused two fumbles.  LTU's punting game has been a struggle.  The Blue Devils are averaging only 26.4 yards per punt with a net average of just 12.6 yards due to two of their 11 attempts having been blocked.  Freshman Juliano Haddad has averaged 32.3 yards per boot.  Franco Bella handles the kicking duties and has made one of his two field goal attempts.  LTU has been outscored by a 2-to-1 margin in the first quarter, but has held its own in the middle two frames.  The Blue Devils have not yet scored in the final quarter, while giving up 21 points.

ABOUT THE SERIES
The Saints are a perfect 4-0 against Lawrence Tech with each of the last two wins coming at Joliet Memorial Stadium.  The series started just recently in 2019 with the other three contests being played each of the last three years.  USF has delivered 40-plus points in three of the four games, including last year's 42-28 win at home.

LOOKING BACK AT LAST WEEK
Despite pitching a shutout in three of four quarters in its Homecoming contest against Taylor, USF could not overcome a 28-point second quarter by the Trojans as the Fighting Saints fell 28-10 at Joliet Memorial Stadium.  In all, Taylor's 28 points came in a span of just over 13 minutes.  The Saints had their chances to get back in the game in the second half, picking off Taylor on three of its six possessions after the break.  The Saints, however, cashed in just once and missed on field goal attempts of 32 and 28 yards.

OFF TO A SLOW START
USF's 16 points through its first three games of the season is its lowest total since the 2006 campaign when the Saints managed just 13 points in the same time span.

THE FIRST OF HOPEFULLY MANY LEADS
For the first time this season, St. Francis held a lead after the first quarter against Taylor.  On USF's second series, the Saints had their longest drive of the year, totaling 13 plays for 50 yards.  The net result was a 44-yard field goal from Adrian Guerrero.

PICK CITY
USF extended its streak of delivering at least one three-interception game in a season to eight straight years thanks to the work of Gavin Day, Sabion Wilder and Wynton White.  It also marked the first three picks of the season for the Saints.  The last time St. Francis did not have at least three interceptions in a single game throughout a whole season came in 2018.

ALMOST PERFECT
Taylor quarterbacks were almost perfect in finding a receiver for every passing attempt they made last week.  Of their 22 attempts, the Trojans completed 18 with another three landing in the hands of the Saints.  That left just one ball falling to the ground untouched.

MISSING THE MARK
Of USF's three field goal attempts last week, it was able to convert just one time with Guerrero's 44-yarder.  USF kickers missed from 32 and 28 yards with the latter attempt being blocked. 

NEEDING TO GET BETTER CONTROL
The Saints had the ball for just 23 minutes against Taylor with the Trojans controlling it for 37 minutes.

SLOWING DOWN THE HORSES
USF's defense kept the NAIA's No. 9-rated rushing offense 119 yards below its 271.0-yard average at 152 yards last Saturday.  The Saints also limited Taylor running back Jedidiah Galvin to just 3.8 yards per carry with his 60 yards on 16 attempts.  He came into the affair as the nation's top runner, averaging 191.5 yards per game and 12.4 yards per carry.

CENTURY MARK TIMES TWO
Making his first start of the season, USF quarterback Jalen Webb-Starkey threw for better than 100 yards for the second week in a row.  He totaled 126 yards on ten completions in 29 attempts.  Mason Hackman was the main target for the third straight week, putting up 58 yards on four grabs.  For the season, he has 11 catches for 188 yards.

NO DAYLIGHT HERE
Day, USF's free safety, led the Saints in tackles against Taylor.  Of his 10 total stops, 2.5 went for loss.  He also had the one interception.

MIXING IT UP
Jonny Sorensen, USF's starting quarterback in each of the team's first two games, saw time as a slot back versus Taylor.  He caught one pass for nine yards.

JOINING THE FIRST-TIMERS CLUB
One week after Jaden Boe caught his first touchdown pass at the collegiate level, David Maddox joined the club with his 34-yard score off a Starkey-Webb pass.

ON THE UP-AND-UP
After going just 4-for-29 on third down in its first two games combined, the Saints were 8-for-15 last week.

LESS THAN HALF
USF has yet to complete at least 50 percent of its passes through its first three games of the campaign.  For the season, Saint quarterbacks have hit on just 41.7 percent of their attempts (35-of-84).

FRUSTRATING THE OPPOSITION
Opponents have averaged nearly ten penalties and an average of 93.7 yards when they have gone up against the Saints.

SEE YA
After back-to-back home games, the Saints do not return to Joliet Memorial Stadium for exactly one month.  After Saturday, USF is off next week before heading to Indiana to face University of Saint Francis (Ind.).  USF returns to Joliet Memorial Stadium on Oct. 10 to host Defiance College (Ohio).

FOR THE RECORD
The Saints are 182-241 all time, 153-181 in day games and 87-132 on the road.