St. Ambrose surrendered 254 yards on the ground and four rushing touchdowns in a 34-10 loss at St. Francis (Ill.) Saturday afternoon.
SAU (2-5, 2-2 MSFA) was gouged for more than five yards per carry, giving up the 254 yards on 49 attempts in dropping a second straight contest after starting 2-0 in MSFA Midwest League play.
USF quarterback Sam Tumilty did most of the damage, picking up 197 rushing yards to go with 135 yards through the air and accounting for all five St. Francis touchdowns. Tumilty staked the Saints to a 13-0 lead with touchdown runs of 22 yards and one yard in the opening half.
Joe Namio connected on a 48-yard field goal with 1:34 left in the second quarter. But any momentum the Bees hoped to carry into the second half was washed away as Tumilty engineered a five-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in an 8-yard touchdown pass with eight seconds remaining to put St. Ambrose in a 20-3 hole at the half.
The Saints (5-2, 4-0 MSFA) tacked on two touchdowns just seven seconds apart late in the third quarter, following a Bee fumble on a kickoff, to extend their lead to 34-3.
Tom Casey found Sharod Danage on a 2-yard touchdown pass in the final seconds of the fourth quarter to end the scoring.
While St. Francis finished with 389 yards of offense, St. Ambrose accumulated just 291 total yards while running just three fewer plays (73-70).
Casey completed 23-of-40 passes for 201 yards and the one touchdown. He was intercepted twice as part of a three-turnover game for the Bees.
Justin Wright had a big day for SAU, hauling in nine catches for 120 yards. Israel Taylor had four catches for 27 yards and Yemi Ward had five receptions for 20 yards.
Kaden King totaled 63 rushing yards on 21 carries.
Zak Alberts led the Bee defense with 15 total tackles, including 10 solo stops. Rolando Sepulveda was credited with seven tackles, DJ Oshin had six and Vince Shaw five. Drew Ackman, Tyreece Morgan, Major Haas and Jonathan Thurman were each in on four tackles.
Things won't get any easier for St. Ambrose as they are scheduled to face back-to-back nationally-ranked opponents, beginning with a home game next Saturday against No. 18 Roosevelt. That will be followed by a game at No. 15 Saint Xavier before the Bees close the campaign on Nov. 12 at home against Missouri Baptist.
Original source can be found here.
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