ADRIAN, Mich. – Five different Saints scored touchdowns in the Siena Heights football 34-16 victory over Mid-States Football Association crossover opponent Saint Francis (Ill.), on Saturday.
The Fighting Saints started the game with a promising look for a touchdown before defensive back Zachary Flack dove and knocked the ball out of Lexus Jackson's hands after a 42-yard completion. The ball was recovered by Darius Price on the five-yard line.
Siena Heights worked their way down the field until quarterback Lucas Barner Jr. connected with Deontae' Rush for a 64-yd touchdown with 8:50 remaining in the first quarter. With the Brady Tanguay successful extra point, the Saints went up 7-0. In the next possession, Michael Johnson made a one-yard run for USF for their first touchdown of the day. Grayson Barnette missed the PAT to keep the Fighting Saints down 7-6 to end the first quarter.
Opening the second quarter, Malik Edwards blocked a USF field goal which was returned by Price for a Siena Heights touchdown to go up 14-6 with 11:14 remaining in the second quarter. Barnette sent one through the uprights to close the gap, 14-9, with 6:43 on the clock.
The Saints weren't done, scoring twice in the last five minutes as Barner connected with Jerrold King and a leaping Adam Glanders to put the Saints up 28-9 with 2:12 left in the second half. For the Fighting Saints, Barnette missed a 35-yard field goal attempt with less than a minute to go, holding the score at 28-9 through halftime.
For the Fighting Saints, Don Butkus caught a pass from Jackson to cut the SHU lead down, 28-16. With 10 seconds left in the third quarter, Barner ran one home 21 yards to put the Saints up 34-16 after a missed Tanguay PAT.
The fourth quarter was quiet as neither team notched any last chance points.
Siena Heights quarterback Barner went 18-for-23 to earn a total of 228 yards, which included three touchdowns with a long toss of 64 yards. Rush had four grabs for the Saints for a total of 92 yards while Glanders made six catches for 64 yards, each adding a touchdown. Don Butkus was 20-for-33 for USF, throwing for 235 yards and one touchdown. Jackson earned seven catches for a total of 100 yards and the lone receiving touchdown.
On the ground, D'aries Davis led SHU with 91 yards in 16 carries, followed closely by quarterback Barner with 41 yards in four carries and Dahvon Washington with 40 yards in nine carries. Jordon Smith had 14 carries for a total of 104 yards for the Fighting Saints.
The Siena Heights defense had a standout day with four tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, five pass breakups and a block. Leading the Saints in tackles was Nick Stalworth, totaling 19 that included 12 assisted and seven unassisted. Raymond Williams Jr. had 10 total tackles, including a sack and a fumble recovery. Another SHU defensive standout was Darius Price, earning six total tackles with a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a 90-yard blocked field goal return.
For the Saint Francis defense, Steve Smock had nine tackles while Mason DeLong had eight tackles. The lone sack came from Alex Zombie, making six total tackles with two for a loss.
Aaron Wagner had six punts for the Saints that totaled 245 yards, including three that stayed inside the 20-yard line.
Saint Francis earned 425 yards to the Saints 388 yards, also earning 25 first downs to SHU's 19.
Siena Heights will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 30, for a 1 p.m. contest against Mid-States Football Association Mideast League opponent Missouri Baptist.
