St. Francis beats Bryant for first time

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September 8, 2012

St. Francis beats Bryant for first time

By Jake Oswalt sports@tribdem.com The Tribune-Democrat Sat Sep 08, 2012, 11:55 PM EDT

LORETTO — St. Francis racked up 475 yards of total offense to beat Bryant (R.I.) for the first time in Northeast Conference play.

The 39-28 win at DeGol Field was specially important for the Red Flash after losing to nationally ranked James Madison on the road last week, 55-7.

“It feels very good,” said St. Francis head coach Chris Villarrial, who is 3-0 in home openers. “It was the first time in the history of the NEC that St. Francis beat Bryant (who joined in 2008). We needed this morale booster. Hopefully, we can keep it going.”

St. Francis inflicted much of its offensive damage on the ground.

Freshman running back Khairi Dickson (148 yards) and senior quarterback John Kelly (138 yards) combined for 286 of the team’s 339 rushing yards. They also possessed the ball for over 36 minutes. Senior wide receiver A.J. Alexander proved to be an all-around threat – rushing for 20 yards, passing for 30 yards, catching three passes for 62 yards and accounting for two touchdowns.

“A.J.’s a very talented player,” said Villarrial. “Anytime he has the ball in his hands, he’s a threat. Anytime he touches the ball, he can take it to the end zone.”

Alexander started the scoring with a 23-yard touchdown run out of the wildcat formation. He took the direct snap and tiptoed the left sideline on his way to finish a six-play, 80-yard drive to start the game. Josh Thiel added the point-after attempt for a quick 7-0 lead.

Bryant fumbled on their second play of the game, but St. Francis could not capitalize.

Keion Wade took a handoff from Kelly and then was stripped by a Bryant defender. Cornerback Jeremy Woodson picked up the ball and raced 95 yards for the score to tie the game at 7. On Bryant’s next possession, they marched 10 plays for 84 yards. Quarterback Mike Westerhaus found Jordan Harris on a corner route for a 32-yard touchdown to go up, 14-7.

St. Francis scored 32 of the next 39 points to gain control of a game played in soggy conditions. Kelly found tight end Valshawn Wallace for a 5-yard touchdown. Linebacker Bishop Neal got a safety after tackling Jordan Brown in the end zone on a swing screen to take a 15-14 lead. Bryant answered back with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Westerhaus to Matt Roncaioli to take a 21-15 halftime lead.

Thiel kicked a 46-yard field goal to open the second-half scoring. Dickson (21 rushes for 148 yards) scored from two yards out to give the Red Flash a 25-21 lead. St. Francis recovered a surprise onsides kick, but could not score.

On their first play in the fourth quarter, Kelly found Alexander open across the field for a 42-yard touchdown to go up, 32-21. Cornerback Mike Dennis returned an interception 58 yards for a touchdown. Bryant scored on a Brown 3-yard touchdown run to finish the scoring.

“They played their butts off today,” Dickson said about his offensive line. “Linemen lead the way, and I commend them the most.”

The Red Flash (1-1) hit the road for three consecutive games before coming home for a October 6 game against rival Robert Morris.

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