BOURBONNAIS, Ill. - The University of Saint Francis (Ind.) football team traveled to Olivet Nazarene University in the regular season finale on Saturday, November 16. 

The Tigers won Saturday's MSFA Midwest matchup by a final score of 39-31. 

ONU got on the scoreboard first with a touchdown at the 12:01 mark of the first quarter. A failed PAT from the Tigers made the score 6-0. With 8:25 left to play in the first, Adjaye Dandridge caught a six-yard pass from Joshua Kulka to put the Cougars up 7-6. Freshman kicker Austin Deleon extended USF's lead to four points after making a 29-yard field goal with 10:21 on the clock in the second quarter. The Tigers would score a touchdown with just under five minutes to play in the second quarter to take a 12-10 lead at halftime.

ONU scored twice in the third quarter for a 25-10 lead going into the fourth quarter of Saturday's game. A three-yard touchdown run from David Smith cut the Tigers' lead to 25-17 with 13:37 to play in the final quarter. Olivet Nazarene put seven more points on the board at the 7:27 mark and 4:54 mark to make the score 39-17. The Cougars answered, with Crosley MacEachen catching a 24-yard pass from Kulka to make the score 39-23 with 3:40 left to play in the game. After a defensive stop by the Cougars, McCall Ray caught a 13-yard pass for a touchdown less than two minutes later to cut the Tigers' lead to 39-31. Saint Francis would be unable to get the ball back, as ONU hung on for the 39-31 win on Saturday. 

The Cougars finished the afternoon with 461 total yards of offense. Kulka completed 22 of 43 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns. Ryan Walsh led Saint Francis with 52 rushing yards on five carries, followed by Smith with 40 rushing yards and a touchdown. O'Vauntay Vickers and Adam Smith both had 60 receiving yards on the afternoon. Deleon was perfect on point-after attempts and had one successful field goal attempt. Deleon also had 264 kickoff yards with two touchbacks. 

Defensively, USF was led by Jaydin Evans with 10 tackles, including six solo tackles. Samuel Ampeliotis added eight tackles, while AJ Moore, Emmanuel Davis and Shayne Spear added six tackles each on Saturday. Connor Price, Tra'shaun Jones, Isaiah Higgins, Trey Morrell, Drew Wheat, Moore, Davis, and Ampeliotis all combined for 10 tackles for a loss of 35 yards. Price also had two sacks, while Morrell added a sack and forced fumble.

USF football concludes the regular season with an overall record of 8-3 and a conference record of 4-1. In their first season as a member of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Midwest league, the Cougars have claimed a share of the league title and will return to the NAIA Football Championship Series for the first time since the 2019 season. The NAIA Selection Show will air on Sunday, November 17 starting at 7:00 p.m. 

Cougar fans can stay updated on all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting saintfranciscougars.com.