Towson University Athletics

Scoreboard

Towson Athletics

Football 9.20.2012

Inside St. Francis (Pa.)

The #13 Towson Tigers (1-1) are set to take on St. Francis (Pa.) (2-1) for Homecoming on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Unitas Stadium.

Towson defeated the Red Flash twice in the series history, downing them 34-7 in Loretto, Pa., in 1995 and 54-14 at home in 1996 for Homecoming.

St. Francis (Pa.) is coached by Chris Villarrial, who is in his third season. While they finished 2-9 last season, the Red Flash return 16 starters and have already tied last year's win total.

St. Francis (Pa.) opened 2012 with a 55-7 loss to James Madison at Harrisonburg, Va. The Red Flash followed that with wins over Bryant at home, 39-28 and Moorehead State on the road, 57-23.

A major strength for the Red Flash is the running game. They average 302 yards per game, while passing for 97. Defensively, they've allowed 204.7 yards per game on the ground, while allowing 239 yards per game in the air.

Senior running back Keion Wade (5-10, 223) is a big back who has been having his way this year, rushing for 313 yards (5.4 ypc) with three touchdowns. He earned national honors last week after rushing for 246 yards, while the team set a school record for rushing with 457 yards.

Amazingly, St. Francis (Pa.) was down 17 points in the game against Moorehead State and ended up outscoring the Eagles 57-6 in the last three quarters.

Grad student John Kelly (6-1, 202) is the quarterback and hails from Frederick, Md. (Tuscarora HS). Kelly has 25 starts under his belt and started his career out as a preferred walk-on at Penn State in 2008. This year, he has completed 26-of-43 for 249 yards (60.5 percent) with five touchdowns and just two interceptions. He's also second in rushing with 245 yards with a long of 31. Last year, Kelly passed for 1,677 yards with 12 TDs, 11 INTs and rushed for 440 yards and seven TDs.

The top receiver is senior A.J. Alexander (5-11, 189), who has caught seven passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns this season.

The offensive line offers a lot of size and is led by junior RT Lloyd Hill (6-4, 401), which may explain the Red Flash's success on the ground.

Defensively, LB Bishop Neal (5-11, 191) leads the team in tackles with 23, adding one interception. Senior Ryan Revtai (6-1, 240) adds 23 tackles and 3 pass breakups.

The secondary is anchored by junior SS Jakob DeMedal (19 tackles and one INT). CB Mike Dennis (5-8, 148) leads the Red Flash with two interceptions.

Sophomore Terrace Bourne (6-0, 319) is a big body up front, while junior DE Asalemo Fruean (6-2, 250) adds 19 tackles, one sack and two tackles for loss.

On special teams, the Red Flash have a dangerous punt returner in Dane Domonkos, who averages 13.7 yards per punt return.

Print Friendly Version