Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007

  FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- Like a man who runs his own business, University of Saint Francis quarterback Jeff Wedding made the most of his first hour of work on Saturday afternoon.

  Wedding was all business throwing for two touchdowns, passing for 299 yards and collecting 15 first downs in the first half to lead USF over 31st-ranked Urbana University 42-16 at Bishop D'Arcy Stadium.

  "You would really have to dig to find a quarterback who had a better half, a better first quarter than what Jeff had this afternoon," USF coach Kevin Donley said. Wedding threw for 176 yards in the first quarter, completed 11 of 15 passes and complete a fourth-down TD pass that put USF ahead for good 6-0.

  He finished the game with 3 TD passes and 332 yards passing while eluding the hard-charging Blue Knights' defense that had climbed to the top of the Mid-States Football Association lead in sacks with 34. UU didn't sack Wedding once.

  "Jeff did an excellent job of finding receivers quickly and our receivers did a very solid job of catching passes and making plays after the catch," Donley said.

  Bo Thompson caught seven passes for 122 yards and Zach Rainey added 84 yards on five receptions. One of Rainey's catches was good for a determined 21-yard TD, the only score for either team in the third quarter.

  USF finished with 571 yards total offense -- 350 yards passing and 221 yards rushing, the second best rushing game against UU this season. McKendree had 285, but lost. USF produced a balanced run game that was led by Zach Till, who finished with 70 yards on just two carries. He broke loose for a 65-yard burst. Doug Wasylk was No. 2 with 53 yards on four carries, one a 47 yard jaunt.

  The Cougars' defense got in the pass catching act as well, most impressively defensive end Vince Price. He plucked what look like a middle screen off and motored 33 yards for the back-breaker TD -- a 28-9 USF lead with just over seven minutes to play in the first half.

  "We know our defense will pick us up and Vince did just that," Wedding said. "I'd just thrown an interception, so Vince's play re-energized everybody on our sideline."

  Bret Winegardner and Gilbert Allen added interceptions for USF, which now has 24 INTs in its last 16 games.

  Urbana (5-4, 2-3 MSFA MEL) took the opening kickoff, but USF stalled the Blue Knights at the UU 42. After USF's Mickey Cassidy returned the punt six yards, Wedding directed USF 81 yards in 11 plays. Wedding completed a 27-yard pass to Rainey and a 32-yard pass to Thompson. On fourth and five, Wedding found Vieck who made an excellent grab in traffic for the TD. Rhys Barnhart booted the extra point and with 8:31 to play in the first quarter, USF led for good.

  Jacob Harfman kicked a 29-yard field goal cutting the UU deficit to 7-3 with 6:57 to play, but the Blue Knight would get no closer.

  The next time USF got the ball, Wedding directed the 7-1 Cougars 83 yards in 10 plays. Marcus Rush capped the drive with a 1-yard dive.

  When USF got the ball back for a third time in the quarter, Wedding pushed the Cougars 83 yards in nine plays. He completed two crucial third-down passes, one to Wasylk for 12 yards and the other to Rainey for 18 yards. Brian Schultz hauled in the TD lob from Wedding for a 12-yard score with 13:16 to play in the first half.

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Box Score

                                                        -- GO USF --