On a cold and windy Saturday afternoon, Saint Xavier’s football team advanced to the first round of the playoffs with a 24-21 victory over the University of Saint Francis. The win was hard fought from the Cougars and was a great way to enter the playoffs.
Before the game, SXU gave thanks to all the seniors that have put everything on the line through their four years of playing.
Players such as Wide Receiver, Justin Pringle; Defensive Lineman, Jaleel Halloway; Linebacker, Joey Marksovic; Linebacker, Peyton Nigro; and Defensive Back, Ron Carrol were all recognized that afternoon before the game.
In the first quarter Saint Francis got on the board in the first two minutes of play with a passing touchdown to make the score 7-0.
Throughout the first quarter the Cougars struggled to handle snaps which led to many broken plays, and the inability to put together drives.
The Cougars responded later on with a one yard touchdown from junior quarterback, Stuart Ross, to make the score 7-7 at the end of the first.
The cold November weather made running the ball a must for Saint Francis, but the cougars made their focus on throwing the ball.
Late in the second quarter, junior wide receiver, Kyle Quinn, threw a 27 yard touchdown to senior wide receiver, Mason Gray, to take a 14-7 lead.
Halfway through the third quarter, after a big catch from Gray, Ross threw it up and Pringle came in and made an interception with an adjustment to the ball to get the touchdown to take a 21-7 lead on Saint Francis.
Later that same quarter junior kicker, Peyton Benes, kicked a 28-yard field goal to make the score 24-7.
With a minute and thirty seconds left in the third, Saint Francis tacked on to their score with a passing touchdown from twenty yards out to make the score 24-14.
In the fourth quarter Saint Francis scored again a rushing touchdown from two yards to tighten up the score 24-21.
Ross had a great game with a stat line of 13/20 completion percentage, 197 yards, a touchdown, an interception, and a rushing touchdown.
Senior Linebacker, Joey Markasovic had 12 total tackles, a tackle for loss, and a pass break up.
With another well fought game and the statistical help of Markasovic and Ross the Cougars kept up a nine game win streak.
Next week, the Cougars are on the road to the first round of the 2022-2023 NAIA Football Championship. The Cougars will play the seventh seed Marian University in Indianapolis, IN on Saturday at 12:05 CT.