Saturday, Sept. 16, 2006

Game stats

FORT WAYNE, Indiana – Shocked and surprised were two adjectives to describe University of Saint Francis coach Kevin Donley's reaction to the final score of his Cougars' 63-0 win at the expense of Pikeville College (KY) on Saturday afternoon.

"They are big and they are fast, very athletic," Donley said looking over the final stats. "We made a great deal of improvement from week 1 to week 2 and that offset that advantage. I'm surprised and pleased.

"It's hard to find much to complain about when you score 63 points and average 8.1 yards a play on offense, but I'm sure we've got more work to do after we break down tapes. We are getting better."

The win was the 80th for the USF football program, all under Donley's guidance. It was also the 31st consecutive win at home for the Cougars (2-0), the 43rd consecutive regular season win, the first shutout in a USF home opening game and the seventh consecutive home opening win.

USF kicked off the PC to open the game and attempted an onside kick, but the Bears recovered to start at their own 40-yard line. PC pushed to the USF 29, but Adam Blakey and Matt Millhouse combined to stop De'von Joseph on fourth and two at the 29. USF drove 71 yards in seven plays, the big play in the drive on a 43-yard scamper by Derrick Alderman. Sophomore halfback Doug Wasylk capped the drive with a 4-yard run with 8:28 to play in the first quarter.

USF added three more touchdowns before halftime -- a 29-yard pass reception from QB Eric Hooks to Alderman, a 30-yard Hooks to Bo Thompson strike and a 6-yard Daniel Carter run. Add in four Cale Grzych extra points and USF led 28-0 at the half.

Carter added a second TD in the fourth quarter turning a short pass from QB Jeff Wedding into a 54-yard touchdown. Two more freshmen got in the scoring act -- Taylor Vieck with a 4-yard run in the third quarter and Marcus Rush with a 17-yard jaunt. Zach Rainey caught a Hooks pass and stepped over a PC defender at the 5-yard line to score and the defense put up six on the board when Vincent Price recovered a blocked punt in the end zone with 10:54 to play in the game.

Alderman rushed for a team-leading 67 yards on just three carries to become the seventh USF back to rush for 1,000 or more yards in his career.

USF won its fifth consecutive game against a Kentucky opponent, scored the most points by a Pikeville opponent and handed the Bears their first shutout since starting the football program in 2001.

USF seeks win No. 3 on Saturday, September 23 at Bishop D'Arcy Stadium against the University of Wisconsin-River Falls at noon.

                                                     -- GO USF --