St. Francis announces 2020 football schedule

LORETTO — The Saint Francis football program will play its first game against an FBS opponent in school history when it travels to Buffalo on Sept. 12, one of 11 games released on Friday as part of the 2020 schedule.

“We are very excited about our 2020 schedule,” said head coach Chris Villarrial. “We will open in a great college football environment at Richmond on a Thursday night and then play our first FBS game in program history against Buffalo the following week. This is a highly-competitive schedule that will provide us a great opportunity to take another step forward as a program.”

University President Fr. Malachi Van Tassell, T.O.R., Ph.D. added, "This is certainly an exciting time for Red Flash football. Playing an FBS opponent is indicative of a new era for our football program. I am excited for our football players as they engage in a higher-level of competitive play. I know that under the leadership of Coach Villarrial and his staff, our students will be well-prepared for the fall schedule. League play in the Northeast Conference is always exhilarating. Playing an FBS opponent will raise the program to a new level."

Here is a glimpse of SFU’s 11 opponents:

Game One: September 3 at Richmond

Saint Francis will open the season at Richmond in search of its first win over a CAA member. The Spiders went 5-7 in 2019, but three of their wins came over nationally-ranked opponents (No. 18 Maine, No. 19 Delaware and No. 20 Stony Brook).

Richmond’s defense is set to return the CAA Defensive Rookie of the Year in linebacker Tristan Wheeler and fellow linebacker and All-CAA First Team recipient Tyler Dressler. Dual-threat redshirt senior Joe Mancuso will lead the Spiders under center after leading all CAA quarterbacks in rushing. He accounted for 23 total touchdowns via his arm and legs.

Game Two: September 12 at Buffalo

The much-anticipated matchup with Buffalo is set for Saturday, Sept. 12. SFU’s first-ever FBS game will be pitted against a quality opponent as Buffalo went 8-5 last season and defeated Charlotte in the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl.

Buffalo is set to return MAC First Team All-Conference running back Jaret Patterson who rushed for a single-season school record 1,799 yards to go with 19 touchdowns last fall. Senior Taylor Riggins is a difference maker on the defensive front. The First Team All-MAC selection ranked second in the league with 8.5 sacks. The Bulls scored 30 or more points in five of their final six games and held opponents under 20 in four contests.

"This is a historic season for our football program," said Interim Athletic Director Erika Renwick. "We are very excited for the opportunity to play a FBS opponent and enhance our football program. It is a recognition of the upward trajectory of our football program under the guidance of Coach Villarrial and our football staff."

Game Three: September 19 at Sacred Heart

The Pioneers salvaged its 2019 season with four wins in its last five contests to finish with a 7-5 overall record and 4-3 record in league play. Senior quarterback Logan Marchi has graduated, but two of the top play-makers in the league return in running back Julius Chestnut and wide receiver Tyrese Chambers. Chestnut led all NEC rushers at 124.6 yards per game and 11 touchdowns. Chambers ranked fourth in the league at 73.7 receiving yards per game and hauled in eight touchdowns. The Pioneers defeated the Red Flash in overtime in Loretto, 36-33.

Game Four: September 26 vs. Merrimack

Saint Francis will have to wait until week four to play at DeGol Field when it hosts Merrimack. In a transitional year to Division I, Merrimack finished 6-5 in 2019, winning four of its last five games.

Quarterback Christian Carter returns after eclipsing over 2,000 total yards in 2019. Merrimack also returns four of its five leading receivers from last season. On defense, the Warriors will be led by redshirt senior Michael Mercuri, who was named to the New England Football Writer’s All New-England Team, finishing the season with a team-high 91 tackles, three sacks and an interception.

Saint Francis defeated Merrimack 42-14 in Loretto last season behind three touchdown passes from Jason Brown.

Game Five: October 3 at Robert Morris

The Red Flash will look to avenge a double overtime loss to the Colonials last season when it heads to Moon Township on Oct. 3. Robert Morris contended for the NEC title last season, winning six of its last seven contests to finish the season 7-5 and 6-1 in league play.

Robert Morris will be led in 2020 by QB George Martin, who threw for over 1,000 yards with 11 TDs and seven INTs a season ago. Martin loses his top two receivers, but will have Garrett Houser, who grabbed five touchdowns and accounted for 334 receiving yards. On defense, Aniello Buzzacco will lead the way after making a team-high 131 tackles in 2019 as a redshirt freshman. He also added a sack and two picks.

Game Six: October 10 vs. Bryant

The Red Flash have won four straight over the Bulldogs after holding the Bryant offense at bay in a 16-6 win last season in Smithfield. Bryant returns Kory Curtis and Chris Hindle at quarterback after the duo split time a season ago. Leading rusher Daniel Adeboboye also returns after leading the team with 605 rushing yards. Bryant went 4-8 and 3-4 in NEC contests in 2019.

Game Seven: October 17 vs. Central Connecticut State

The Red Flash gave the 17th-ranked Blue Devils all it could handle and more in 2019 before CCSU pulled out a 38-31 victory in overtime. It was SFU’s third overtime defeat in conference play. The Blue Devils went on to clinch a perfect 7-0 record in NEC play and represented the conference in the FCS Playoffs where it was ousted by Albany in the opening round.

Quarterback Aaron Winchester, the reigning NEC Player of the Year, is gone to graduation. Last season, he threw for over 2,500 yards and ran for 843 more. The Blue Devils return wide receiver Tyshaun James, who made the NEC First-Team after catching 48 passes for 978 yards and nine TDs. CCSU also returns a strong defensive core, with NEC First Team linebacker Tre Jones, Second Team linebacker Foday Jalloh, and Second Team defensive backs Dexter Lawson and DJ Exilhomme back in the fold.

Game Eight: October 24 vs. Lehigh

Saint Francis will host Lehigh in 2020 after picking up a 14-13 win in Bethlehem in 2019. Saint Francis trailed the game 13-0 in the second half before erasing the deficit with second half touchdown receptions from E.J. Jenkins and Terell Johnson. Lehigh went on to finish the season 4-7.

The Mountain Hawks lose their Third Team All-American linebacker Keith Woetzel, who led the team in tackles, sacks and interceptions. Looking to fill the shoes will be linebacker Pete Haffner, who finished second on the team in tackles and sacks and tied Woetzel for the team-lead with two interceptions. Lehigh will also be replacing senior quarterback Tyler Monaco, who threw for nearly 2,000 yards.

Game Nine: October 31 at Wagner

SFU defeated a 1-11 Seahawks team 42-8 last season on its senior day.

Wagner will enter the 2020 season under new head coach Tom Masella and lose NEC Defensive Player of the Year Cam Gill to graduation. Gill landed on the STATS FCS All-American First Team after leading the team with 9.5 sacks and 20 TFLs. Wagner will also have to replace quarterback Christian Alexander-Stevens, a 1,900+ yard passer. The Seahawks will likely look to sophomore Ryan Yost to take the reins of the offense after seeing action in three games, going 19-34 with a touchdown and 4 interceptions.

Game 10: November 14 at Long Island

LIU went 0-10 in its first season in Division I, including a 30-0 defeat to Saint Francis.

The Sharks return their leading rusher and four of their top five receivers.

On defense, LIU will look to play-making sophomore Liam McIntyre to set the tone. McIntyre was named to the Hero Sports Freshman All-American Team after recording 66 tackles and six tackles for a loss.

Game 11: November 21 vs. Duquesne

The final matchup of the season could have a lot at stake when Saint Francis hosts Duquesne in late November. The Dukes defeated Saint Francis 30-21 last season in a game the Red Flash held a second half lead. The win improved Duquesne to 6-2, but the Dukes ended the season on a three-game losing streak.

All nine Duquesne players who received All-Conference accolades last season have departed, including all-everything running back A.J. Hines, the all-time leading rusher in NEC history.

Defensive back Spencer DeMedal will command the Dukes secondary. As a junior, he finished with 62 tackles, one sack, one interception and a forced fumble.

Season Outlook

Entering his 11th season as head coach, Chris Villarrial has as talented and deep of a roster at his disposal as he’s had at any point of his career.

The Red Flash return 18 of 22 starters on both sides of the ball. Saint Francis was close to competing for an NEC title in 2019, but was derailed by three overtime defeats, turning a potential nine-win season into a 6-6 campaign. The Red Flash held a second half lead in all four of its NEC losses, and will turn to its core of veterans to lead the talented group over the hump in 2020.

Villarrial, who passed Art Martynuska as the program’s all-time wins leader with a win over Delaware State in the 2019 finale, returns five All-NEC performers from last season, headlined by redshirt junior quarterback Jason Brown.

A Second Team All-NEC selection, Brown became the first Saint Francis quarterback to eclipse 3,000 yards in a season in 2019, while also setting the single-season school record with 28 touchdown passes.

His first year as a starter ended in a flourish as he threw for three or more touchdowns in each of his last six contests and tied the school-mark with five TD passes in the win at Delaware State to close out the season.

Brown’s high school teammate and favorite target, E.J. Jenkins, also returns after setting the single season-school record with 13 TD grabs last season. The Second Team All-Conference selection caught touchdown passes in 10 of 12 contests.

While the offense showed its fire-power late in the season, averaging 33.3 ppg over the last five contests to finish third in the league scoring offense, the defense continued to perform at a consistently high-level.

Saint Francis ranked third in the NEC in scoring defense (21.8 ppg) and third in total defense (318.4 ypg) and had the ninth best pass defense efficiency in all of FCS.

The secondary should be a strength again with the return of NEC First Team All-League defensive back Dorian Jackson. He set the single-season school record with 16 break-ups in 2019. Also returning is the NEC Defensive Rookie of the Year, Terrell Smith and redshirt junior Gio Vonne Sanders who led SFU with four interceptions.

Redshirt junior and Second Team All-NEC behemoth James Watkins is also back to anchor a stout SFU front seven.

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