LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis Football team battled for all 60 minutes with CAA member Towson, but fell 16-14 as the Tigers hit a game-winning field goal. The Red Flash fell to 2-1 on the season, while the Tigers improved to 2-1.
The Red Flash drove 67 yards in just three plays to take a 14-13 lead with 2:24 to go in the game. With First and Goal at the Towson 6, junior quarterback Bear Fenimore (Austin, Texas/Westwood) threw a fade pass to the end zone for junior receiver Kamron Lewis (Fresno, Calif./Edison), who reached up to make an incredible catch for his second touchdown of the game. On the opening play of the drive, Fenimore hit junior Cyrus Holder (Uniondale, N.Y./Milford Academy) over the middle for a 56-yard gain. A holding penalty on Towson gave SFU another first down at the Tigers 6.
However, the Tigers executed a methodical drive down the field to setup the game-winning 42-yard kick by sophomore Aidan O’Neill. After returning the kickoff to their 16, on fourth and two from their own 24, quarterback Ryan Stover hit John Tsimis for a five-yard gain and a first down. The next play, Jabari Greenwood picked up 12 yards to the Towson 41. After an incompletion, Greenwood earned another first down on a 10-yard catch to the SFU 49. A holding penalty pushed the Tigers back to their 41, but then a penalty on SFU gave Towson a first down at the SFU 44. After finding Nick Gray for an eight-yard gain, Stover hit Greenwood for a 15-yard gain. Towson then moved to setup a kick from the middle of the field, which O’Neill made to give Towson the victory.
The Red Flash had 290 total yards of offense, including 191 through the air and 99 on the ground.
Fenimore completed 13-of-22 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns, but threw his first interception of the season. Lewis caught six passes for 63 yards and his two scores. In addition to Holder’s 56-yard catch, freshman Terell Johnson (Burlington, N.C./Cummings) had a 44-yard grab. Junior running back Jymere Jordan-Toney (Philadelphia, Pa./Franklin) ran for 87 yards on 17 carries.
The Red Flash defense allowed 454 total yards, including 247 passing and 207 rushing, but forced four fumbles and recovered three of those. Saint Francis did a great job of keeping Towson out of the end zone early, stopping them on two goal-to-go situations.
Junior safety Hakeem Kinard (York, Pa./York Catholic) led SFU with 11 tackles, nine solo and one for loss. Junior linebacker Sean Orsini (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) added 10 tackles, with six solo and half a tackle for loss and Ben Bruni (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) had nine tackles and two pass breakups. Senior corner Malik Duncan (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) contributed eight tackles and a fumble recovery.
Senior safety Delondo Boyd (Indian Head, Md./Henry E. Lackey) tallied seven tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Nick Rinella (Wyndmoor, Pa./La Salle College) and Luke Weiss (Verona, N.J./Verona) each had a tackle for loss, with Weiss forcing a fumble, and Zane Stewart (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg) forced a fumble.
Towson quarterback Stover completed 25-of-44 throws for 247 yards and added 14 rushes for 75 yards. Greenwood caught 13 passes for 151 yards. Running back Adrian Platt gained 59 yards and a score, while Shane Simpson had 58 yards on nine carries. O’Neill hit all three of his field goal attempts on the day.
Linebacker Diondre Wallace led the Tigers with 11 tackles, 10 solo, and a forced fumble. Cornerback Justice Pettus-Dixon had seven stops, a pass breakup and an interception. Defensive end Malik Tyne added 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
After a fumble by the Red Flash, Towson started their opening drive at the SFU 47. A 16-yard run by Stover and a 12-yard catch by Greenwood helped the Tigers get down to the SFU 6. On third-and-goal from the five, Ellis Knudson was stopped for a three-yard gain. On fourth-and-goal, Platt was stuffed at the line by Bruni.
On Towson’s next drive, a 24-yard reception by Greenwood, a tip-toe catch at the SFU 1 again setup a scoring situation for the Tigers. On first down, Jordan Waite was stopped for a one-yard loss by Gartner and Orsini. On the next play, Stover was hit by Weiss to knock the ball loose and Duncan recovered to give the ball back to the Red Flash and again hold the Tigers out of the end zone.
That play sparked a seven-play, 95-yard drive by the Red Flash, ending in Lewis’ first touchdown grab of the day. Fenimore connected with Lewis on the second play of the drive for a 34-yard gain. Two plays later, Jordan-Toney burst through the line for a 40-yard gain to the Towson 24. Jordan-Toney added a 20-yard run a couple plays later to setup First and Goal at the four. Two plays later, Fenimore threw a fade pass to Lewis, who came down with the grab to give SFU a 7-0 lead with 13:29 left in the second quarter.
The Red Flash had another opportunity in Towson territory in the second quarter. Fenimore hit Johnson for a 40-yard gain on the opening play of the drive to get SFU down to the Towson 16. However, a penalty pushed SFU back to the 26. Two plays later, Towson’s Pettus-Dixon intercepted a ball near the sideline to stop the drive.
Towson got on the board with a 33-yard field goal by O’Neill with 7:51 left in the third quarter. After starting the drive on the SFU 45, an 11-yard run by Platt and an 11-yard catch by Greenwood helped to setup the field goal.
Towson took the lead with 13:24 to go in the game on a six-yard touchdown run by Platt. A 31-yard run by Stover setup the Tigers at the SFU 11. Three plays later, Platt found his way into the end zone to put the Tigers up 10-7.
The Tigers added a 38-yard field goal by O’Neill with 3:49 to go to extend their lead to 13-7. A 26-yard catch by Brent Richardson and a 14-yard grab by Greenwood helped to setup the field goal.
The Red Flash will take a week off before resuming its non-conference schedule on Saturday, September 30 at Liberty. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Arthur L. Williams Stadium. The Flames are 3-0 this season.