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Truman State University Athletics

24
Winner Truman TSU 3-4
20
St. Francis (IL) SFIL 5-2
Winner
Truman TSU
3-4
24
Final
20
St. Francis (IL) SFIL
5-2
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
TSU Truman 0 3 21 0 24
SFIL St. Francis (IL) 13 7 0 0 20

Game Recap: Football |

Bulldogs Rally For 24-20 Win Over #19 Saint Francis

JOLIET, Ill. – Jordan Brown's 31-yard pick six late in the third quarter capped off a come-from-behind 24-20 victory by the Truman Bulldogs over nationally ranked (NAIA – 19th) Saint Francis (Ill.) on Saturday afternoon.

The Bulldogs fell behind 20-0 early in the second quarter but managed a Roger Howard 24-yard field goal just before the halftime break to get on the scoreboard. Truman then took the opening drive of the second half down the field with Andy Satulla capping off an eight-play 65-yard drive with his first college touchdown from a yard out.

Austin Zoda caught a deflection and set up Truman deep inside USF territory and Satulla needed two plays as he raced to the left pylon to trim the lead to 20-17.

On the very next possession, Brown sat on quarterback Don Butkus' third down pass and raced into the endzone untouched for the 24-20 lead.
Truman's defense stood tall late. A fourth quarter interception by the Saints at the Truman 40 plus a 15-yard foul gave USF the ball with 8:17 left to play.

The Saints got inside the five but turned the ball over on downs after John Magee's running attempt was stopped inches short of the first down stake by Isaiah Hinton and Ben Wellman.

Satulla doubled his season rushing total with 172 yards on 31 attempts to lead the Bulldogs. Randy Schroeder completed 17-of-35 for 158 yards. Truman finished with 384 yards of total offense with 226 yards on the ground.

Scoring Summary:
  • Saint Francis took the lead on the opening possession as John Magee scored from 10 yards out to cap off an 11-play, 75-yard drive.
    • USF converted on a pair of third downs early in the drive and got a pass interference to move the ball to the nine. After a one-yard loss, Magee broke a tackle and scored the touchdown.
  • Following a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Don Butkus hit tight end Adam Morrison on fourth down for a 21-yard TD pass. The extra point was missed to make the score 13-0.
    • With a tough wind, the kickoff was muffed and recovered by Dekota Doerr at the Bulldog 28. Butkus completed three short passes to set up a fourth and three. Morrison broke away from the line of scrimmage untouched for the touchdown.
  • On the first play following an interception, Noland Brandon used a jet sweep to score an 11-yard touchdown to put USF up 20-0 at the 10:01 mark of the second quarter.
    • Randy Schroeder's third down pass sailed a bit hit and hit off of Joey Schenck's extended hands into the arms of Doerr at the USF 40. Doerr raced down the right sidelines before being tackled at Truman's 11.
  • Roger Howard's 24-yard field goal started the Truman comeback. Howard's field goal capped off a 13-play, 57-yard drive and was struck with 27 seconds left in the half.
    • Schroeder found Schenck over the middle for 30 yards on second and 12 then for 11 as the Bulldogs faced fourth and six at the 20. After a USF timeout, Howard was called upon for the field goal attempt.
  • Andy Satulla's one-yard touchdown plunge cut the lead to 20-10 as Truman took the opening drive of the second half down the field for the score.
    • Satulla started the drive with a 28-yard run, the longest for the true freshman this season. Schroeder hit Brass Woods for 19 yards on fourth and four from the 31. Schroeder then found Felix Neboh for 11 yards down to the one.
  • Satulla's second score of the day was a 22-yard rush following Austin Zoda's interception at the 2:45 mark of the third quarter.
    • Zoda grabbed the deflection and returned it 15 yards to the USF 30. It was Truman's first interception of the season. After an eight-yard pass to Schenck, Satulla broke free for the left pylon and the score.
  • Jordan Brown gave Truman the lead with a 31-yard interception return with 1:22 left in the third quarter.
    • It was the first pick six by a Bulldog since Michael Elliot had a 15-yard score against Central Missouri in 2012.
Key Stats/Game Notes:
  • Satulla finished with a season high 31 carries and 172 yards. He averaged 5.5 yards per carry. He had 81 yards at the half. USF came into the game allowing 76.3 yards per game rushing.
  • Truman finished with 226 yards of rushing on 51 carries. Adam Yancey had eight for 34 yards and A.J. Hartfield added five for 18.
  • Truman outgained USF 384 to 215 and ran 21 more plays than the Fighting Saints.
  • Saint Francis had 75 of their 215 yards on the first drive of the game and 104 yards in the first quarter. They had 18 yards in the second quarter, 37 in the second and 56 in the fourth quarter.
  • Each team had three turnovers.
  • Ben Wellman led Truman with 11 total tackles and had a sack. Brown finished with eight stops along with the INT return.
  • Truman had six tackles for loss for 23 yards and two sacks totally 15. USF had allowed four sacks through the first seven games.
  • The Fighting Saints had four tackles for loss and no sacks on the day.
  • USF had allowed one rushing touchdown this season before Satulla scored twice on running plays within the third quarter.
  • Truman had over 30 minutes of possession time for the second straight week with 31:57.
  • The Bulldogs have won two straight and are now 3-4 on the season. USF had their five-game winning streak stopped and are 5-2 on the year. The Saints were looking to tie a school record for consecutive wins at six.
 
Up Next:
The Bulldogs return to conference play for the final four weeks starting next Saturday at William Jewell (Mo.). The Cardinals stunned Truman 21-17 with a second half comeback on Homecoming last year in Kirksville.
William Jewell got a 52-yard field goal with just over a minute to play to defeat Southwest Baptist (Mo.) 35-34 on Saturday. Kickoff from Liberty is slated for 12:00 p.m.
 
 
 
 
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