FORT WAYNE – At the very moment Marian’s quarterback dipped his knee to the turf on the game’s final play – the only conceding gesture the visiting team provided in a 40-13 win – Saint Francis running back Andre Turner was walking with conviction behind his own bench, shouting to anyone listening, “Y’all better remember how this feels!”
The Cougars have felt this before.
For the first time since the 1999 season, only a year removed from the program’s beginning, Saint Francis lost back-to-back games at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium.
Two weeks ago it was a 42-31 loss to No. 1 Saint Xavier. Saturday, it was a lesson in smash-mouth football by No. 2 Marian.
Moreover, the 27-point margin was the worst home defeat ever taken by the Cougars – two points more than the 55-30 loss to Malone in the fourth game ever played by Saint Francis in 1998.
“We’re a little banged up,” Saint Francis coach Kevin Donley said. “The fact of the matter is they dominated the football game.”
Despite missing two of the team’s fastest offensive players in running back Frank Wolfe and wide receiver Austin Coleman because of injuries, there were no excuses Saturday; not like two weeks ago when Saint Francis had four interceptions and two fumbles in an 11-point loss to Saint Xavier.
The Cougars (4-2) committed three turnovers, but none was a game-changer Saturday.
Marian (8-0) had twice as many penalties as Saint Francis, eight to four. And the total number of offensive yards were comparable: 380 for Marian, 302 for Saint Francis.
Even the steady cross-field wind, which gusted up to an estimated 40 mph, wasn’t a factor.
“(The ball) danced a little bit, but it was still on target,” said Saint Francis quarterback Justin Boser, who completed 18 of 33 passes for 139 yards. “I don’t think you can blame the wind today.”
It was Boser’s 1-yard quarterback sneak late in the first quarter that got the Cougars to within 14-7, but Marian got two touchdown runs from freshman tailback Tevin Lake, who ran for 144 yards, and two field goals from Mike Josifovski to roll in front 33-7.
As Marian scored 19 straight points, Saint Francis couldn’t convert critical third- and fourth-down plays against a defense that came in with an NAIA-best 4.9 points per game average.
While it was their first win over Saint Francis in five years, the Knights had gotten progressively closer over the recent seasons, including a 28-25 loss last season.
“I believe our turning point was last year when they beat us, ’cause I knew we could play with them,” said Steve Seculoff, Marian’s offensive guard and a former Bishop Dwenger standout.
“Compared to last year and to this year, we’re just running the ball. We’re running it down people’s throats now, and they couldn’t stop us.”
Saint Francis linebacker Brody Kalbaugh searched for answers for dropped passes and missed assignments, but explained, “I just felt they wanted it more today.”
