Saturday, Sept. 23, 2006

Game stats

FORT WAYNE, Indiana – Nobody was thinking 63 points after a scoreless first quarter, but that's what the University of Saint Francis scored in the last three quarters in the Cougars 63-8 win over the University of Wisconsin-River Falls on Saturday afternoon at Bishop D'Arcy Stadium.

NAIA No. 2 USF improved to 3-0 winning its 44th consecutive regular-season game and 32nd consecutive home game. The Cougars piled up 552 yards total offense against the Falcons (1-2) and have outscored their first three opponents 165-14 thanks to back-to-back 63 point performances. USF defeated Pikeville College (KY) 63-0 last Saturday (Sept. 16).

After naming the field at Bishop D'Arcy Stadium in honor of head coach Kevin Donley, USF got rolling in the second quarter on the arm of quarterback Eric Hooks' three touchdown passes -- 12 yards to Ryan Kauchak, 10 yards to Brian Schultz and 11 yards to Zach Rainey. USF led 21-0 with the best yet to come.

USF scored more 35 points in the second half before the road-weary Falcons got on the scoreboard.  It was UW-RF's third consecutive road game to start the season and the Falcons had logged more than 2,300 miles.

Sophomore back Doug Wasylk scored on a 49-yard breakout to open the second half onslaught. He averaged 12.4 yards per carry and notched his first collegiate 100-yard rushing game, 112 total on just nine carries. Jeff Wedding came in for Hooks and connected with WR Bo Thompson for a 50-yard TD pass. Hooks scored on a 9-yard run. And interior lineman Joe Piwoszkin joined the scoring party when he scooped up a UW-RF fumble (QB Jeremy Wolff) that USF LB Brian Kurtz had jarred loose. Piwoszkin barreled in on a 22-yard recovery and run.

Beau DeBruin put UW-RF on the board with a 10-yard run with 3:10 to play in the game and Wolff ran for two. USF freshman Taylor Vieck finished the scoring when he broke free on a 44-yard jaunt.

USF opens its bid for an eighth Mid-States Football Association Mideast League title next Saturday at on Kevin Donley Field at Bishop D'Arcy Stadium against Ohio Dominican University at noon. ODU had a bye week on Saturday after a 24-17 loss in its home opener on Sept. 16 to Tiffin University. ODU is 2-1 having won 38-9 at Campbellsville (KY) and at 33-14 at Iowa Wesleyan.

                                                     -- GO USF --