Neighbor News
USF Football Improves to 2-0
St. Francis routs Lindenwood-Belleville 40-7 at ATI Field at Joliet Memorial Stadium.
JOLIET, Ill. – Junior Trace Wanless (Glen Ellyn, Ill./ Glenbard South) threw two touchdown passes and ran for another as No. 20-ranked University of St. Francis defeated Lindenwood University-Belleville 40-7 in nonconference football action Saturday at ATI Field at Joliet Memorial Stadium.
St. Francis (2-0) tallied 40 unanswered points after the Lynx (0-2) opened the scoring on a 34-yard strike from Austin Rickhoff to Dylan Bradley midway through the second quarter. The Saints tied the game at the 5:28 mark when Wanless hooked up with senior Troy Torrence (Chicago, Ill./ De La Salle) for a 34-yard touchdown completion.
On the second play of Lindenwood-Belleville’s next drive, USF sophomore defensive end Tim Smith (Oregon, Ill./ Oregon) sacked Rickhoff, stripped him of the ball and ran 34 yards into the end zone to give the Saints the lead for good, 13-7.
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St. Francis, which has posted back-to-back 2-0 starts to a season for the first time in the program’s 29-year history, made it 20-7 at the midway point of the third period when Wanless connected with redshirt freshman Adam Morrison (Rosemont, Ill./ East Leyden) for a 73-yard touchdown completion.
The Saints added three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, all on the ground. After avoiding a sack, Wanless broke several tackles and rambled 37 yards for the score early in the final stanza. Senior Malik Norman (Homewood, Ill./ Homewood-Flossmoor) scored on runs of 1 and 18 yards to cap the scoring.
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Featuring a balanced offensive attack, St. Francis amassed 177 yards rushing and 172 through the air. Wanless completed 7-of-19 pass attempts for 163 yards and a pair of TDs against one interception. He also ran for 59 yards and one score on seven carries. Junior John Magee (Plainfield, Ill./ Plainfield South) led USF with 65 yards rushing on six attempts.
Rickhoff finished the day 17-of-32 for 167 yards and one touchdown. He was picked off twice, both times by redshirt freshman Ryan Johnson (Rockford, Ill./ Boylan Catholic). Junior Jamal Graham (Chicago, Ill./ De La Salle) made a team-high 10 tackles, while junior Albert Cruse (Chicago, Ill./ Hubbard) collected a pair of sacks.
St. Francis concludes its season-opening three-game homestand next Saturday when it entertains Trinity International University at 4 p.m.
