Fort Wayne, Ind. —- The 12th-ranked Marian University football team turned 17th-ranked Saint Francis over four times and kept the Cougars to under 160 yards of total offense in the Knights' 30-6 win on the road to retain the Franciscan Bowl champion title.
TEAM STATISTICS
- Marian out-gained Saint Francis 328-155
- The Knights rushed for 158 yards and kept USF to 66 yards on the ground
- MU threw for 170 yards to the Cougars' 89
- Marian gained 19 first downs; USF picked up nine first downs
- The Knights dominated time of possession, leading 34:21 to 25:39
- MU converted 8 of 17 third downs, while holding USF to 3-for-13
- Both teams threw three interceptions in the game
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
-
Uriah Buchanan took 14 carries for 51 yards and a touchdown
-
RJ Griffin rushed for a score
-
Charles Vaden led the receivers with five catches for 69 yards
-
Matthias Pilkington caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from
Jake Dunn
-
Samirion Ford recorded an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery
-
Cade Houseman led the team with nine tackles
-
LJ Ward and
JT Downey also tallied interceptions
-
Ashton Vogel was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goal attempts, including a 48-yarder
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
- The game's first three drives ended in punts before USF's Azariah Wallace opened the scoring with a five-yard touchdown run
- Marian drove their ensuing drive to the edge of the Cougars' red zone, but USF took over after an interception at the goal line
- The next pass of the following Knights drive was also intercepted
SECOND QUARTER
- A 42-yard pass from
Ben Schoster to
Montasi Clay on 3rd & 7 on Marian's first offensive drive of the second quarter set up Buchanan's five-yard touchdown run to take a 7-6 lead
- Saint Francis drove the ball into the MU red zone, but Ward intercepted the Cougars quarterback just outside of the end zone and returned it 33 yards
- The Knights' drive stalled, but Vogel nailed a 48-yard field goal to extend the lead to 10-6
- Downey intercepted the deep pass from the USF quarterback to take over, but the Knights were forced to punt on the following drive
- Ford recorded Marian's third takeaway of the quarter near midfield
- Schoster's deep ball on third and long was intercepted, marking six first-half turnovers between the two teams
THIRD QUARTER
- With Griffin and Dunn sharing snaps at quarterback to start the second half, Dunn's 18-yard strike to Vaden helped set up Griffin's one-yard TD run to extend the lead to 17-6
- A 22-yard run from Dunn started the Knights' next drive, but settled in a 22-yard Vogel field goal to push the lead to two touchdowns
- The Marian defense came up with a big fourth down stop on the next drive, and the offense took advantage, as Dunn found Pilkington for the 36-yard touchdown to blow the game open, 27-6
FOURTH QUARTER
- On a fourth and short, Ford punched the ball free and recovered his own fumble for the MU defense's fourth takeaway of the night
- A coffin-corner
Dean Mason punt held the Cougars deep in their own territory before the Knights' defense forced them to punt
- Marian settled for Vogel's 34-yard field goal, his third of the night, to finalize the scoring at 30-6
UP NEXT
- Marian makes its long-awaited debut at home in 2026, hosting Madonna over Family Weekend; kickoff on Saturday is set for 1:05 p.m.
