On Saturday, October 21, the Saint Xavier Football team will be playing the Saint Francis Fighting Saints at Deaton Field. The Fighting Saints are coming in with a two-game losing streak and a 2-5 record.
So far this year Saint Francis has struggled, losing games against Morningside and the Saint Francis Cougars by a combined score of 136-6. Saint Xavier looks to make these big losses a continuous trend with an attempt to try to win their third game in a row. With a win, Saint Xavier will extend their conference record to 4-0. This game looks like it will be a blowout as Saint Xavier is a team with a better record, with a lot more to play for, but the Fighting Saints still provide a set of challenges that could be difficult for Saint Xavier to respond too.
Despite their struggles, Saint Francis does have some playmakers on offense. This is seen mostly in the Fighting Saints’ running game where they lean on workhorse running back, Dwayne Milton, to lead their offense. Milton is an explosive running back who can gash an unprepared defense. Milton has nine touchdowns this season and the fact that he is averaging 111 yards per game rushing is impressive. The Saints running back doesn’t only rely on big plays though. Milton has enough power to push for extra yards in a pile, which is why he is averaging 6.5 yards per carry.
Dwayne Milton isn’t the only threat that the Fighting Saints have on offense, they also have dynamic quarterback, Major Dedmon. Dedmon has not had a good year through the air so far only completing 46% of his passes and averaging less than 70 yards per game.
However, this is not what makes him a great, what makes Dedmon a special quarterback is his legs.
This year Dedmon has been great when running the ball. The Saints quarterback has a net 550 yards on the ground and this would be even higher if sacks on pass plays were removed. Dedmon is averaging 78 yards per game, which is great for a quarterback and has even contributed five rushing touchdowns of his own. Saint Xavier is yet to face a Quarterback who runs as much or as well as Dedmon, so he will present an interesting challenge for the Cougars defense.
One facet of the game Saint Xavier should be able to exploit is the Saint Francis secondary. So far this year Saint Francis has allowed 279 pass yards per game. SXU is averaging 312 passing yards per game. These stats coupled together makes it look like Cougars’ star quarterback Alex Martinez is going to torch the Fighting Saints’ secondary.
Saint Xavier comes into this game needing a win to stay undefeated in conference play. This and the fact that Saint Xavier is just the more talented football team leads me to predict a comfortable win for the Cougars on Saturday. The Cougars should be able to score at will against the Fight Saints’ defense and The Cougars defense should be effective in neutralizing the Fighting Saints potent running attack.