Joliet, Ill. —- The 6th-ranked Marian University football team scored 42 points in the first half on its way to its eighth straight win, defeating St. Francis (Ill.), 63-14, on the road on Saturday in MSFA Midwest League play.
TEAM STATISTICS
- Marian out-gained St. Francis 515-180
- The Knights totaled 310 rushing yards to the Fighting Saints' 85
- MU threw for 205 yards passing while holding USF to 95 yards through the air
- Marian gained 29 first downs; St. Francis picked up 11 first downs
- The Knights' defense had four of six takeaways in the game
- MU dominated time of possession, 36:21 to 23:39
- The Knights converted nine of 12 third downs, while holding USF to 1-of-11 on third downs and 0-for-1 on fourth down
- Marian tallied three of four sacks in the game
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Jake Dunn was 13-of-19 for 187 yards with a passing and rushing touchdown
- Uriah Buchanan rushed for a team-leading 138 yards on just nine carries
- Ryan Thembulembu took just five carries for 87 yards and a touchdown
- RJ Griffin rushed for 56 yards and three touchdowns
- CJ Harris and Marzeion Jones also found the end zone
- Charles Vaden hauled in three passes for 60 yards
- Cade Houseman racked up a team-best seven tackles with two TFLs
- Samirion Ford, JT Downey and Curtis Foust recorded interceptions; Solomon Parker forced a fumble
- Indy Wilhelm tallied 1.5 sacks
- Ashton Vogel and Noah Mays combined to go 9-for-9 on PATs
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
- Griffin rushed for first downs on two third downs on Marian's opening drive; the Knights capped an 11-play drive with Buchanan's four-yard touchdown plunge
- The Marian defense forced a St. Francis punt, but the Fighting Saints got the ball back on a fumble on the return; USF missed a 38-yard field goal on the ensuing drive
- A 23-yard rush from Buchanan and a 39-yard completion to Matthias Pilkington got the Knights into USF territory; Buchanan scored from eight yards out to lead 14-0
- Marian forced another USF punt, but the Fighting Saints forced another fumble on the return, as John Wesolowski returned the fumble 26 yards for a touchdown to cut the Marian lead in half
SECOND QUARTER
- Buchanan busted a 48-yard run on the opening play of the next Marian drive; Dunn rushed for a 16-yard touchdown to push the Knights' lead to 21-7
- Ford intercepted the Fighting Saints' pass to set up a short field for the Knights
- Griffin found the end zone from a yard out to extend the MU advantage
- USF threw another interception on its next drive and Downey returned it 50 yards inside the USF red zone
- Griffin found paydirt once again from a yard out; Marian led 35-7 with over six minutes left in the first half
- After Marian forced a punt, Dunn's 45-yard completion to Vaden set up Marian in scoring territory once again; Harris scored from 10 yards out to go ahead 42-7
- A 10-yard punt from USF and an unsportsmanlike penalty gave Marian another short field, but the Knights' 48-yard field goal attempt was blocked before the teams hit the locker room
THIRD QUARTER
- On USF's second drive of the half, Parker forced a fumble and Chase Carrington recovered
- Dunn and Marzeion Jones connected on a 28-yard touchdown catch to push the lead to 49-7
- Marian shut down another USF drive with an interception, this time via Foust
FOURTH QUARTER
- The Knights ate up nearly seven minutes of offense on its next drive, capped by Griffin's third rushing touchdown of the day with Marian in front, 56-7
- St. Francis got on the board once again on Aaron Larkins' four-yard touchdown run
- Thembulembu responded with a 67-yard touchdown run for the Knights' ninth touchdown of the day
- The Fighting Saints moved the ball to midfield on its next drive, but Wilhelm came up with a sack on fourth down to turn the ball back over to Marian, who ran out the rest of the game clock
UP NEXT
- Two teams at 3-0 in MSFA Midwest League play collide at Ascension St. Vincent Field next week, as Marian hosts Saint Xavier at 1:05 p.m.
- The game serves as the Military & First Responder Appreciation Game, Senior Day and the honoring of the 2012 Marian Football National Championship team being inducted into the Knights M-Club Wall of Fame
