Graduate Student Wide Receiver Julian Smith Running With the Ball SXU Athletics
The Cougars have unfortunately found themselves struggling towards the end of the season. On Nov. 2, Saint Xavier took another loss against Marian University (Ind.) with a final score of 31-20.
The Cougars are on a three game losing streak, and this loss currently leaves their record standing at 4-5. With only two games left in the regular season, the Cougars need to lock in and secure those wins before the season is a total disaster.
Ever since the homecoming game loss on Oct. 19, the Cougars can’t seem to get back on track when it comes to winning.
No. 18 SXU vs University of St. Francis (Ill.): 36-29 (L)
Homecoming was spoiled for SXU fans and players, as the Cougars walked off the field taking a tough loss in overtime (OT). The Cougars went up big with the lead in the first half, and even at one point they were up 22-0. However, towards the end of the game, they finished the half scoring with 29 points.
When the second half started, St. Francis switched up the script and went on a comeback. They stunned SXU, as the Cougars weren’t able to score for the rest of the game. St. Francis continued to score more touchdowns to complete the comeback.
St. Francis forced OT and scored the touchdown that led to SXU’s defeat.
We saw a great performance from fifth-year senior quarterback Stuart Ross as he completed 22 out of his 29 passes for a career best 365 yards and threw two touchdowns.
Junior wide receiver Ronnie Foster also played well as he hauled in nine receptions, and scored two touchdowns for a career-high 145 receiving yards.
Fifth-year senior wide receiver Kyle Quinn had the second most receptions with four total catches for 68 yards and scored a touchdown.
Redshirt sophomore running back Mario Price finished the game with ten carries for 44 yards.
Graduate student linebacker Ryan Fitzgerald tallied a total of 14 tackles, tying his career high. Four of those tackles were also solo tackles, and he recorded 0.5 tackles for loss.
Senior defensive back Nick Shultz got a new career high 12 tackles with eight of them being solo. He also picked off a pass and returned it for 27 yards.
We also saw fifth-year senior defensive back Kevin Countryman post up a season high eight tackles.
SXU vs Olivet Nazarene University: 21-6 (L)
The Cougars were only able to score six points in the entire game. Both teams seemed to struggle but Olivet Nazarene scored more compared to SXU, which led to Olivet Nazarene winning the match on Oct. 26.
Fifth-year senior wide receiver/punter Joe Polselli was the only player to score a touchdown in the match. Polselli also hauled in three receptions for 71 yards, and he punted seven times for 220 yards.
Stuart Ross didn’t have the best game as he threw 17-42 for 150 yards, he also threw two interceptions which deeply hurt the team in the long run.
Foster had six receptions for 49 yards and Mario Price had 11 carries for 34 yards.
This was a better game for the defense as Countryman set a career high with 12 tackles and five of them were solo. Countryman also got a sack and a fumble recovery.
Junior linebacker Chris Swayne played well as he recorded 11 tackles with seven of them being solo. Swayne also made two interceptions for 32 yards and had a pass breakup.
SXU vs Marian University (Ind.): 31-20 (L)
Saturday on Nov. 2, the Cougars fought very hard in this game, but the rough start ruined their chances for a comeback win. The Knights started the game strong with a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
The Cougars came close to a comeback in the fourth quarter with the score being 28-20, but they couldn’t get the job done. A 34 yard field goal from Marian University put the Cougars away with a final score of 31-20.
Quinn finished the game with six receptions for 63 yards.
Graduate student wide receiver Julian Smith caught six passes and scored two touchdowns.
Ross also played efficiently as he completed 27 out of his 38 passes for 244 yards. Ross also threw two touchdowns, but found himself getting sacked a total of eight times in the match.
The defense played a solid game as junior linebacker Terry Elias Jr. made a total of 12 tackles with six of them being solo.
Swayne also made ten tackles in this game including seven solo tackles, and Fitzgerald tallied up eight tackles with five of them being solo.
The Cougars hope to put an end to this losing streak next Saturday, as they face off against the University of St. Francis (Ind.) on Oct. 19. The Cougars will hit the road and travel to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where the game starts at 12:00 p.m.