It was a special night last Thursday when the football team hosted Wagner. It marked the first-ever nationally televised game on CBS for the Red Flash (and the Northeast Conference). The “blackout game” drew a record-setting 2,878 fans to DeGol Field.
And it was a dominating second half that propelled the Flash to a 31-7 victory over the Seahawks. The win was the second straight for SFU, which improved to 2-1 in the NEC.
Saint Francis opened the scoring midway through the first quarter with a 76-yard touchdown drive – 56 of those yards came on two pass plays from quarterback Cole Doyle to junior receiver Dawson Snyder. The drive was capped by a Doyle 4-yard pass to running back Deondre Scott for the first points of the game.
The two teams traded missed field goals before Doyle hit Snyder again for another big play, this one for a 21-yard touchdown to give SFU a 14-0 lead.
Wagner responded just before the half with its only points of the game, a 7-yard TD pass from Steven Krajewski to Trevor Shorter.
Wagner failed to score on all six of its second half drives, as SFU’s defense stiffened over the final 30 minutes. Linebacker Carter Glassmyer, who was named the NEC’s Defensive Player-of-the-Week on Monday, finished the game with 11 tackles and a sack.
Over the last two games, the Flash have allowed just 17 points.
While the defense continued to shine, the offense turned in its best effort of the season against the Seahawks. SFU scored two fourth quarter touchdowns, including Doyle’s third touchdown pass of the game on a four-yard rollout to Aaron Tutino on a fourth-and-goal that all but assured the win.
Doyle finished the game 13-of-24 for 161 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. He also ran for 71 yards, including a career-long 48-yard burst.
Running back Jordan Jackson led all rushers with 128 yards on 19 carries (6.7 yards-per-carry). Scott totaled 108 total yards on the night (74 rushing/34 receiving).
“He was amazing,” said Doyle about Scott’s performance. “He’ll get those extra yards when you need him to. He is just a great playmaker.”
With the win, the Red Flash extended its winning streak over Wagner to four games.
This weekend the Flash (2-4, 2-1) will travel to Pittsburgh to take on Duquesne. The Dukes (3-3, 2-0 NEC) are the lone remaining unbeaten team in the league.
Saint Francis has only won once at Duquesne in school history, posting a 17-10 victory over the Dukes at Art Rooney Field two years ago
