The football team defeated LIU, 34-27, last Saturday to stack up back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
After LIU produced the only score of the first quarter on a Luca Stanzani 1-yard touchdown run, Saint Francis (4-6, 2-4 NEC) answered in the second quarter with a 6-play, 80-yard drive capped off by a Markell Holman 1-yard touchdown run. The drive included a Nick Whitfield deep ball to Jayden Ivory for 52 yards.
That tie lasted all of 14 seconds. LIU’s Michael Love returned the subsequent kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown to give the Sharks back the lead.
The two teams then exchanged field goals before the Red Flash covered 57 yards in 52 seconds for a touchdown. The drive was capped off by a 1-yard James Tharpe touchdown reception from Whitfield. The scoring pass tied the game at 17.
The game marked the third time this season that Saint Francis has scored 17 points or more in the first half – they won all three games.
LIU outscored Saint Francis, 10-7, in the third quarter which meant that SFU had to do something they have only done in one other game this season (Delaware State) – mount a fourth quarter comeback.
Saint Francis opened the final quarter with a Mac Plummer 46-yard field goal. SFU’s defense then came out and did its job, forcing a three-and-out from the Sharks.
The Flash offense then marched 77 yards on eight plays, scoring a touchdown on a DeMarcus McElroy 19-yard run. The redshirt sophomore from Youngstown, Ohio, ran through a massive gap created by the SFU offensive line.
The game came down to a final LIU drive. On a third and 10 from SFU’s 15-yard line, LIU quarterback Ethan Greenwood completed a 14-yard pass to Love for a first down at the Flash 1-yard line. With 11 seconds left, it looked like the two teams would be headed for overtime.
But the very next play, a botched LIU snap resulted in an 18-yard loss and time ran out on the Sharks.
Whitfield finished the game 17 of 29 for 268 yards and two touchdowns.
SFU’s defense recorded eight sacks, tying the school record for QB takedowns in a game. Senior defensive lineman Eddie Bierals recorded 2 ½ sacks.
The Flash will travel to Mercyhurst on Saturday for the final game of the season. The game marks the first match-up between the two teams since 1997. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. and the game will be streamed on NEC FrontRow.
