Saturday, Oct. 21, 2006

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – For a few hours on a late fall afternoon, University of Saint Francis football coach Kevin Donley shook hands, exchanged hugs and thought ‘Wow.”

Wow -- 200 wins after his second-ranked Cougars shook off a scare from No. 23 Malone College on Saturday afternoon on a cool, sun-drenched Bishop D’Arcy Stadium. Malone took a 6-0 lead on a pair of Mike Skvor field goals in the second quarter, but USF took a 7-6 lead by the half and added 27 unanswered second half points before MC could score again.

   Wow – 48 consecutive regular season wins.

   Wow – a defensive effort that held the Pioneers to 13 yards total offense in the third quarter.

   Wow – a 99-yard, 8-play drive in just two minutes, 59 seconds finished on an Eric Hooks to Bo Thompson pass play for a 37-yard touchdown and a 20-6 USF lead.

   Wow – DE Eric Wagoner knocking down four Brad Reifsnyder passes.

   Wow – ILB Brian Kurtz with 13 tackles and a 65-yard interception return for a TD in the fourth quarter.

   “This is a team thing,” Donley said not long after his 200^th career win was secure. “I am just one person and a very small part of it. I’ve been fortunate to work with a lot of great players and coaches through the years and they have been a big part of it. Almost 90 of them have come here in Fort Wayne.”

   Donley has won 85 since starting the USF program from scratch with a lot of supportive USF staff as well as dependable Fort Wayne area business leaders who shared his vision.

   “We didn’t feel any pressure to get Coach D his 200^th win, it was just the pressure we feel everytime we step on this field to win and we don’t’ want to let our coaches down, especially when it comes to getting the 200^th win. It really feels special to be a part of getting Coach D his 200^th win.”

   Hooks and company made some special plays, especially in the second half. Hooks eluded the MC pressure and through a bullet to Derrick Alderman, who eluded a tackler to complete the 34-yard pass play. Alderman’s TD reception opened up a 13-6 USF lead with 3:55 to play in the third quarter.

   After the connection with Thompson, Mickey Cassidy got in the scoring fun catching a Hooks pass around the 13, where he ran over a would-be tackler to score – a 33-yard pass play for his first collegiate pass reception for a TD.

   Hooks was 11-for-19 passing in the second half for 218 yards and 3 TDs.

   Kurtz finished the USF scoring with a scintillating dash for the TD with his second interception this season.

   Kurtz credited Wagoner and the rest of the ‘D’ line for his ability to make tackles and get USF’s first INT for a TD this season.

   “He was outstanding, it was like his hands were magnets to the ball,” Kurtz said. “He was readin’ Reifsnyder’s eyes so well and he had four huge knockdowns. He deserves a lot of credit today. What it came down to was our pressure on Reifsnyder. He’s a great quarterback, but you can only get away from so many sacks.”

   Mike Skvor connected on a 33-yard field goal to give MC a 3-0 lead with 13:09 to play after a scoreless first quarter. On its next possession, MC got an 82-yard Reifsnyder to Derek Deardorff pass play, but Donovan Evans got close enough to make him turn to the sideline and Bret Winegardner finished the tackle at the USF 5-yard line. The USF defense held its ground with a little help on a false start and Skvor kicked a 27-yard field goal for a 6-0 lead with 8:33 to play in the first half.

   USF retaliated with a 12-play, 79-yard drive to take the lead for good. Sophomore Doug Wasylk finished the drive when he scooted 7 yards for the touchdown and Cale Grzych added the extra point for the 7-6 lead with 5:19 to play in the first half.

   The Cougars, who have won 35 consecutive home games and 17 consecutive games at home against NAIA rated team, travel to Seton Hill University next Saturday for a non-conference game before returning home to play No. 4 Walsh University on Nov. 4.

STREAKS. . . .

> 200th career win for head coach Kevin Donley
> #2 Cougars win 48th consecutive regular season game
> 85th win in 8-plus year history of Cougars football program
> USF wins 35th consecutive home game
> 31st consecutive MSFA Mideast League win

>>Next: USF @ Seton Hill University, Greensburg, PA, 1 p.m., Oct. 28 <<

                                                     -- GO USF --