ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights football team fell 20-13 at the hands of St. Xavier in the Saints (0-2) home opener on Saturday afternoon. The Cougars (1-1) scored their only offensive touchdown in the opening minute of the fourth quarter and were able to milk the rest of the clock to secure the victory.
Hayden Lehmann got the start under center and threw 16-30 for 165 yards and rushed for the only Saint touchdown on the day. Jared Jordan was effective running the ball as he averaged 5.2 yards per carry and totaled 73 yards. Kashon Prather made two catches for 84 yards. Both of his receptions were on 3rd and long situations, the first was a 37-yard snag on a 3rd and 22 that extended a SHU drive in the second quarter; the second was a 47-yard catch on a 3rd and 23 in the fourth. Jalen Vanderbosch caught six targets for 37 yards and Eric Williams II made four catches for 41.
Kole Murlin led the defense in tackles with 16. He also tallied a half-sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. Nick Stalworth made nine stops while Daneille Lowe Jr. and Trenton Morrow had six. Morrow also recovered a fumble and broke up a pass. Joseph Wharton finished with four tackles and a sack in the game. Gabe Callery forced a fumble while making four stops in the afternoon.
Penalties plague Siena throughout the day. Back-to-back false start penalties stalled the Saints' first drive of the game and forced a punt. A roughing the kicker penalty on a St. Xavier punt extended the drive and allowed the Cougars to take a 3-0 lead with a successful 26-yard field goal with 5:11 remaining in the first quarter.
SHU took the lead in the second quarter when Jalen Williams blocked a punt by SXU's Joe Polselli that set up a Siena Heights drive deep in Cougar territory at the 14-yard line. Two plays later, Lehmann walked in on a read option play around the left side for a five-yard scamper and a 7-3 lead.
The lead was short-lived, however, as Brandt Hixon returned the ensuing kickoff back 96 yards for a touchdown and suddenly, St. Xavier was back on top with a 10-7 advantage with 8:46 remaining in the first half. Anthony Secchi knotted things up on the next SHU drive with a 36-yard field goal with just under four minutes left in the second quarter.
The Saints hurt themselves again on the final drive of the first half when an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty gave the Cougars a free first down on 4th-and-8 that would result in a 25-yard field goal for SXU and a 13-10 lead as the teams entered the locker rooms for halftime.
Gabe Callery set up a scoring drive for the Saints when he forced a fumble by running back Matthew Chavers that was scooped up by Trenton Morrow to give the SHU offense the ball near the 50-yard line with over nine minutes left in the third quarter. Ten plays later, Secchi hit his second field goal of the game and the score was tied for the second time, 13-13.
The final score came with 14:02 left on the clock in the fourth quarter. Kyle Quinn pitched a 38-yard touchdown pass to Mason Gray to give the Cougars a 20-13 lead.
The Saints had two drives to try and tie things up a third time. The first was a 10-play drive that stalled on the SXU 27-yard line. Lehmann tossed a pass to Vanderbosch in the endzone on 4th-and-7 but Kevin Countryman broke up the play to force the turnover on downs. The final drive for SHU ended on a 4th-and-6 when Lehmann was sacked for a 15-yard loss and the Cougars were able to kill the remaining 3:31 off the clock and end the game.
Up Next
The Saints remain at home for a game against Saint Francis (Ill.) next Saturday, September 25. The kickoff for that game is scheduled for noon, EST.
