ADRIAN, Mich. -- The (21) Siena Heights football team will host Taylor (Ind.) this week in a Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast game. The Saints come into today's contest with a 4-1 overall record and a 0-1 MSFA MEL mark.
Siena lost a heartbreaker on the road last week against rival Concordia (Mich.) after the Cardinals scored a touchdown with nine seconds remaining in the game to take the lead, 10-7.
The Trojans enter this game with a 2-2 overall record and a 0-1 MSFA MEL record. Taylor rallied from a 14-0 halftime deficit but fell just short against Indiana Wesleyan, 14-13, in the Trojan's homecoming game last week.
This is the eighth time Siena Heights and Taylor (Ind.) will meet in football. The Saints lead the series 4-3 and have won the last two games by a combined score of 88-39. Siena is 3-1 against the Trojans in O'Laughlin Stadium. Last season's matchup was also the Siena Heights homecoming game. The Saints were victorious 40-13 in a game that saw a three-hour weather delay at halftime.
The Saints offense is led by a stacked backfield with four ball carriers over 100 yards this season. Kaleb Jefferson leads the running back unit with 440 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. He has also tallied one receiving touchdown. Ethan LoPresto has 186 rushing yards and two touchdowns while Jared Jordan also has two scores and 159 yards. Quarterback Tyler Knecht is 45-67 for 449 yards and four touchdowns through the air. Tim Brown, Austin Krider, Xavier Stallard, and Jefferson all have a receiving touchdown to their credit.
Kole Murlin leads the defense with 45 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 FR, 1 INT, and 2 BRUP. Nick Stalworth has 39 tackles, 1 TFL, and 1 FF on the year. Gabe Callery and Griffin Sobol each have 30 tackles on the year. Callery also has 2 TFL, 2 INT, and 2 BRUP. Sobol has tallied 1.5 sack, 2 TFL, 1 FR, and 3 BRUP. Trenton Morrow leads the Saints secondary with four INT along with 25 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 TFL, 1 FF, and 1 BRUP.
Current MSFA Mideast Special Teams Player of the Week, Caleb Meister continues to be a weapon in the field position battle as he has 31 punts for 1324 yards, 42.7 AVG, 67 Long, 19 IN20. Anthony Secchi is 12-14 in extra points.
The Trojans are led on offense by running back Spencer Crisp who has 79 carries for 359 yards and three touchdowns. Zac Saltzgaber has 209 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown to go along with his 45-96, 517 yards, and three touchdowns through the air. Evan Guckenberger leads the receivers with 230 yards and a touchdown. Trey Burdine is the biggest scoring threat in the passing game as he has scored three times this year.
Mark Baker leads the defense with 27 tackles and 1.5 TFL. TJ Swore and Jordan Jackson each have 25 tackles. Swore has five tackles for loss, two sacks, and a team-high two interceptions. Jackson Bronkema is fourth on the team in tackles with 24. He also has one TFL to his credit. Major Dailey rounds out the top-five tacklers for Taylor with 14 and an interception.
Garrett Russell is 4-7 in field goals. Mark Stroh has 19 punts for 742 yards (39.1 AVG), and a long of 61 yards. Grant Gerig has 161 yards on kick returns to lead that unit.
The game is scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m., EST. Fans can follow the game via live stats and the live stream. The game will also be broadcasted on WLEN online by tuning into 96.5 FM The Cave on Saturday afternoon.
