St. Francis looking to reverse the trend of 2021's close losses

Sep. 1—LORETTO — Posed the question of how hungry he was to get back on the football field and try to grab the Northeast Conference football crown that just slipped through he and his teammates hands in 2021, St. Francis University redshirt sophomore defensive end Donnell Brown didn't miss a beat.

"How hungry were you before we walked in here for lunch?" Brown quipped, flashing a big smile.

The response drew a round of hearty laughs from the media, college staff and fans assembled at St. Francis' kickoff luncheon on Aug. 25, but there was a lot of truth wrapped in Brown's humor.

The Red Flash are coming off a year in which they went 4-3 in the NEC, losing those three games by a combined five points and winning at traditional conference power Duquesne for the first time since 1992.

Bolstered by the return of starting quarterback Justin Sliwoski, every starter on the offensive line — including 2021 all-conference second-team center Seth Osborne and 310-pound Ligonier Valley product Wylie Spiker at right guard — and possibly the best kicking tandem in the league, St. Francis has designs on chewing up the competition and accomplishing something it never has before: winning an outright NEC championship.

Coach Chris Villarrial's team, 5-6 overall a year ago, was picked third in the Northeast Conference's preseason poll behind two-time defending champion Sacred Heart and Duquesne. The Red Flash dropped a heartbreaker to Sacred Heart at DeGol Field in 2021, 14-13, when Alex Schmoke's 42-yard field goal as time expired was off the mark.

St. Francis opens the season at 6 p.m. Thursday when the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Red Flash step up in class for a game at Mid-American Conference and Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program Akron, led by former Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead.

There's plenty of reason to be optimistic. St. Francis returns seven starters on offense and five on defense, 66 players overall and has augmented the veterans with a few very promising newcomers.

Probably the biggest reason to feel good about the Red Flash's prospects this season is the presence of a veteran quarterback. A Pitt transfer, Sliwoski was behind Jyron Russell to begin 2021, but his consistency and steadiness made Villarrial reward the Hempfield Area High School product with more and more plays until he finally took the job for his own.

Sliwoski finished the season fifth in the FCS in passer efficiency. He completed 64.8% of his passes, throwing 12 touchdowns.

Perhaps most importantly, he only was intercepted once.

He probably won't feel rushed in the pocket very much. The Red Flash only allowed 23 sacks in all of 2021 and all six offensive linemen who started are back in the fold.

The 310-pound Osborne was named first-team preseason all-conference as a redshirt junior. Spiker started as a true freshman in 2021, and he's being backed up by another area player, Bishop McCort Catholic redshirt freshman Nick McGowan.

Spiker and McGowan are two of the seven players from The Tribune-Democrat coverage area on the roster. That group also includes redshirt sophomore wide receivers Aaron Tutino (Ligonier Valley) and Dawson Snyder (Shanksville-Stonycreek, played football at Shade), redshirt freshman offensive lineman Levi Villarrial (Central Cambria) and true freshman linebackers Mercury Swaim (Bedford) and Zach Eckenrode (Penn Cambria).

Snyder is listed as a starting wideout on the opening game depth chart. He saw action in nine games in 2021, catching one pass for seven yards.

Rounding out the starting line are 315-pound sophomore left tackle Cole Graham and 295-pound sophomore right guard Jesse Ramil.

Left tackle Tre'Quan Dorsey is backed up by Virginia Tech transfer Louis Mihota, who started much of 2021 inside.

Redshirt sophomore tight end Hunter Brown also returns to the starting lineup.

Who Sliwoski is throwing to or handing off to isn't nearly as certain. Last year's leading rusher, Marques DeShields, and leading receiver, Kahtero Summers, both transferred to Rhode Island in the offseason. Freshman Judah Tomb, another wideout that started most of 2021, also has moved on.

Summers led the conference in 2021 with seven touchdown catches.

However, redshirt freshman Brandan Lisenby is back to help shore up at the receiving position.

He was second on the Red Flash in 2021 with 36 receptions for 471 yards.

Redshirt freshman Casey McKinney is listed as the other starting receiver in Richland graduate Marco Pecora's three-wideout starting alignment. Six-foot-three freshman Elijah Surratt from national prep power Baltimore St. Frances is listed in the initial two-deep at receiver along with fellow true frosh Makai Jackson and redshirt junior Kai Williams.

Also worth watching for is Penn State transfer Norval Black, who played junior college ball with Dorsey at Lackawanna.

Redshirt junior Lovell Armstead will get the first shot to take DeShields' place. He had 61 carries for 305 yards in 2021. DeShields was first-team all-NEC, rushing for 796 yards and catching 20 passes. Damon Horton, a 210-pound redshirt sophomore, is his backup.

In 2021, the defense, coordinated by Bishop McCort Catholic graduate Scott Lewis, allowed 19.1 points per game, but more than half the starting lineup graduated or transferred. The returnees are Brown, a preseason all-NEC pick, 2021 leading tackler Willie O'Hara and redshirt sophomore Sebastian Benjamin at linebacker, redshirt junior Kerry Galloway and redshirt sophomore free safety Gregory Reddick, who was the conference defensive freshman of the year with 10 pass breakups.

For Akron, the new starters are slated to be 320-pound redshirt senior James Watkins at nose tackle and redshirt junior Dwayne Majors at end, sophomore Kesean Dyson and redshirt freshman Marcel Mami at linebacker and a pair of redshirt freshmen in the secondary — Kennyth Kennedy at corner and Al-Ma'Hi Ali at strong safety.

The kickers are top notch. Schmoke, from Bellwood-Antis, was 6-for-8 behind 40 yards and 15-for-17 on field goals overall in 2021, earning first-team all-conference recognition. Slaiby averaged 38.9 yards per punt and was second-team all-NEC.

With so much returning, Schmoke probably wouldn't mind if a few fewer games came down to his foot, but, if that's what puts the Red Flash over the top in the conference this fall, he's happy to kick them to it.