FORT WAYNE, IN - On Saturday night, the University of Saint Francis Cougars (Ind.) kicked off their season by facing the #13 ranked Saint Xavier Cougars (0-0) at Bishop D'arcy Stadium. Although they kept it close and had momentum on offense in the first half, they struggled to capitalize on that momentum in the second half, ultimately suffering their first loss of the season with a final score of 45-28.

The Cougars started the game strong on defense when Emmanuel Davis recovered a fumble on a fourth-down attempt by Saint Xavier's offense during their opening drive. This turnover gave USF's offense excellent field position, commencing their first drive at the 27-yard line. On that drive, the Cougar offense capitalized, culminating in a 16-yard touchdown pass from Garrett Yoon to Crosley Maceachen.

In the subsequent drive, the Cougar defense once again came up big, recovering another fumble, this time by Corey Norris, at around the 11:35 mark in the first quarter. During the following drive, the USF offense executed a bit of trickery with Grant Gremel in the game. The Cougars ran a half-back option play to Cam Gillentine, who completed a pass to Adjaye Dandridge for a 28-yard touchdown pass in the endzone, making it 14-0 in the first quarter.

However, the defense began to slow down as the Saint Xavier Cougars scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown on a wildcat formation, narrowing the score to 14-7, still in the first quarter. The USF offense then stalled, and on the next drive, Saint Xavier advanced down the field, starting with a 60-yard rush and culminating in a 10-yard run at the 4:47 mark, tying the game at 14-14, still in the first quarter.

The second quarter saw back-and-forth action. An 11-yard pass with a quarterback switch to Grant Gremel found Derek Overbay in the endzone, making it 21-14 at the 8:38 mark. Shortly after this drive, Nate Newcomer intercepted a pass at the 7:21 mark, giving the USF offense great field position at the 15-yard line. After some successful ball movement, Eli Patchett scored a 1-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 28-14 at the 6:47 mark.

Saint Xavier, however, responded swiftly, scoring on a 32-yard fade pass to the endzone, making the score 28-21 with 3:34 left in the second quarter. The USF offense couldn't generate any further points, and Saint Xavier took advantage, scoring on a 6-yard wide-open catch in the endzone just before halftime with 0:01 second remaining.

The second half proved less exciting for the Cougars, as their offense struggled and couldn't get anything going, resulting in their first loss of the season. Notable stats from the second half included two interceptions by Nate Newcomer and Bailey Parker, totaling 5 total takeaways for the game for USF's defense.

The Cougars will be looking to bounce back as they resume play next Saturday when they travel to Joliet, Illinois, to take on the #24 ranked Saint Francis Saints (Ill.) (1-0). Kickoff is set for 2:00 PM | 1:00 PM CDT.

Cougar fans can stay updated with all events and recaps by visiting SaintFrancisCougars.com or by downloading the Saint Francis Cougars app.