Football Wins Three Straight with 70-7 Victory Against Madonna
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Madonna (0-4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) (2-1) | 13 | 22 | 28 | 7 | 70 |
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The University of Saint Francis (Ind.) football team downed Madonna by a final score of 70-7 for a Homecoming Weekend victory at Bishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium on Saturday, September 28.
USF marched down the field to take an early 7-0 lead during the Cougars' opening drive, thanks to an 11-yard pass from Joshua Kulka to Bohde Dickerson. After piecing together a drive of their own, the Crusaders lined up for a 41-yard field goal attempt that was blocked and recovered by Madonna, forcing a turnover on downs to give Saint Francis the ball back. A 31-yard pass from Kulka to O'Vauntay Vickers would put the Cougars up 13-0 at the end of the first quarter. Garrett Yoon connected with Derek Overbay for a touchdown at the 6:14 mark of the second period, followed by a successful two-point conversion rush from Yoon, which gave Saint Francis the 21-0 lead. Crosley MacEachen pulled in a 92-yard pass to extend the Cougars' lead to 28-0. With just seven seconds left on the clock in the first half, the Cougars needed just two plays to tack on another seven points thanks to a one-yard rush from Ryan Walsh and a successful extra-point attempt from Austin Deleon.
The Cougars' offense stayed hot in the third quarter, with Grant Gremel throwing to McCall Ray for a 54-yard touchdown pass to make the score 43-0. Saint Francis would score three more times in the third quarter, including a rushing touchdown from Lenny Bennett and receiving touchdowns from MacEachen and Drew Wheat. The Crusaders scored with 14:51 on the clock in the fourth quarter to make the score 63-7. A 36-yard pass from Carson Clark to Aden Dennis gave Saint Francis another seven points as the Cougars secured their third win in a row on Saturday afternoon.
Kulka completed 12 of 13 passes for 294 yards and three touchdowns. Gremel threw for 134 yards, while Clark and Yoon added a combined 52 passing yards. Ja'Suan Lambert led the Cougars on the ground with 41 rushing yards on eight carries. Ray caught three passes for 107 yards, while Vickers and MacEachen each had 99 receiving yards on Saturday.
Defensively, Tra'shaun Jones had two interceptions returned for 33 yards total on Saturday. Joshua Nziza had two sacks for a loss of 12 total yards, while Benjamin Rectanus added a sack and a fumble recovery against Madonna. Connor Price, Jordan Dewalt, Elijah Jackson, Tracy Dowling, AJ Moore, Trey Morrell, and Wyatt Penney each were credited with a sack. Shayne Spear led the Cougars in total tackles with six.
Up next, USF football (3-1) will travel to Taylor University on Saturday, October 5 for a 1:00 kickoff.
Cougar fans can stay updated on all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting saintfranciscougars.com.
