CHICAGO – The Siena Heights football team fell short in the first road game of the season against St. Xavier. The Saints scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns but could not climb out of a 17-point deficit in a 24-21 loss to the Cougars.
Ryan Minor completed 22 of his 39 pass attempts for 223 yards and two touchdowns. Eric Williams II and Sam Cousino finished with three catches for 50 yards. Cousino added a scoring reception to his totals. Kaleb Jefferson was the leading rusher with 78 yards on 16 carries.
The Saints scored on their first drive of the game after SHU got the ball on the plus-side of the field. Minor tossed a 30-yard pass to Cousino on the first offensive play from scrimmage, and the navy and yellow were up 7-0 in the opening three minutes of the game.
A response by SXU on the next drive tied the game at seven before the Cougars hit a 29-yard field goal in the second quarter to flip the score to the home side. An interception returned for a touchdown at the end of the first half gave St. Xavier a 17-7 lead at the half.
The lead was extended in the third with a four-play, 32-year drive by the Cougars put the score at 24-7 with just over four minutes left in the third.
Minor scampered for a four-yard run in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 10 with a quarter to play. The Saints drove down to the SXU 19 on the ensuing drive but missed the field goal that would have brought SHU within a score of tying. Chris Coleman caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Minor with 27 seconds left to get Siena within three points of the lead, but the Cougars killed the clock and halted the SHU rally.
The Saints were 5-for-16 on third downs and finished with 289 total offensive yards. Kole Murlin led Siena with 15 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Zach Keyser had nine stops, while Andrew McGaughy had eight. Vincent Walker and Antonio Simley recovered a fumble.
UP NEXT
The SHU Football team returns to Illinois with a game against St. Francis (Ill.) in Joliet next Saturday, September 24. The kickoff for that game is scheduled for 2:00 PM EDT.
