Saint Francis (Ind.) picked up a hard-fought win over Taylor, and both ranked teams in action cruised to victory to highlight Week 5 across the MSFA.

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Greg Gorham-Sports Information Director-Mid-States Football Association

#14 Marian 58, Madonna 7

Kwame Miller would break off a 70-yard TD run for Madonna in the first quarter, but the Marian defense would go on to hold the Crusaders to just 159 yards of total offense on the day, as the No. 14 Knights took a 58-7 road win on Saturday.
Tristan Polk got the scoring started midway through the first quarter after a pair of stops from the Madonna defense, leading the Knights on a 96-yard drive capped by a 62-yard TD pass to Jameson Coverstone. The Crusaders would respond with Miller’s game-tying run, but Marian would add in four more trips to the end zone in the first half, including two from Keagan La Belle to give the visitors a 37-7 lead at the break.
Polk would finish with 253 yards passing and three TDs, completing 17 of 21 passes on the day. Alijah Price was the Knights’ leading rusher with 81 yards on 12 carries, and Coverstone recorded a team-high 79 receiving yards and a TD on two catches.
Miller was the top offensive threat on the day for Madonna, finishing with 95 yards and a TD on ten carries.
Defensively, Reis Walker made four tackles, including two for loss for Marian, while Mitch Nguyen finished with nine tackles for the Crusaders.

#16 Indiana Wesleyan 65, St. Francis (Ill.) 31

St. Francis found the end zone on their first drive of the day, but No. 16 Indiana Wesleyan came back with three touchdown drives before the end of the first quarter, as the Wildcats cruised to a 65-31 win over the Saints.
Arjun Lothe threw three TD passes in the second quarter, as Indiana Wesleyan continued to pull away in the first half, with a 38-yard Josh Clifton field goal closing out the second quarter to put the Wildcats in front 45-10.
Lothe collected 355 yards on 19 completions, with Isaac Smith grabbing seven passes for 150 yards and two scores. Cameron Morrison led the Wildcats on the ground, with 11 carries for 85 yards and three trips into the end zone.
Nathan Maul led the Saints with 254 yards and two TDs, finding Ryan Little nine times for 148 yards and a TD.
Cruz Pursley finished with nine tackles for Indiana Wesleyan, while Michael Hackman collected 14 stops to lead St. Francis.
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Saint Francis (Ind.) 49, Taylor 35

A defensive touchdown in the second half would prove to be the difference, as Saint Francis spoiled Homecoming with a 49-35 road win over Taylor.
Nathan Parker would tie the game in the third quarter for the Trojans, capping an 86-yard drive with a two-yard TD run. Joshua Kulka responded to reclaim the lead for the Cougars with a 38-yard TD pass to Bohde Dickerson, for the third of his five TD passes on the day.
On Taylor’s next drive, Nick Nondorf doubled the Saint Francis lead with a 43-yard fumble recovery to the end zone, as the Cougars took a 35-21 lead late in the third quarter.
Alex Amburgy would get seven points back for the Trojans in the first play of their opening drive of the fourth quarter, connecting with Luke Etchison for a 46-yard TD. Kulka would put Saint Francis back up by two scores with a TD pass to Adam Smith, but in the closing minutes, Parker collected his second TD run to close the gap again to 42-35. The Cougars would then put the game away when Azariah Wallace broke free for a 72-yard TD to secure the win.
Kulka finished with 295 yards and five TD passes to lead the Cougar offense, while Wallace collected 137 yards on 23 rushes and one TD. Five different receivers would grab TD catches, with Smith leading the way with 72 yards on four receptions.
For Taylor, Amburgy would finish with 216 yards and two TDs, while Parker rushed 24 times for 132 yards and two scores. Etchison made five catches for 82 yards and one TD.
On the other side of the ball, Jaydin Evans made nine tackles with one tackle for loss to Saint Francis. Reid Messer finished with a team-high nine tackles for Taylor.
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Saint Xavier 42, Defiance 17

A third-quarter TD would bring the Yellow Jackets to within a score, but Dominic D’Ambrosio would throw three TDs to three different Cougars as Saint Xavier pulled away down the stretch for a 42-17 road win over Defiance.
D’Ambrosio finished with 334 yards and three passing TDs, while rushing for another score on the ground. Stephon Gist, Jr. made seven catches to lead Saint Xavier, collecting 94 yards and a TD. Tyreese Lee carried the ball 13 times for 80 yards and a TD.
Ethan Thanthanavong led the Defiance attack, throwing for 228 yards and a TD, while also catching a TD pass from Tawann Rome in the third quarter. Cooper Sloan finished with 11 catches for 73 yards, and Tristan Thomas led the Defiance rushers with 40 yards on seven carries.
Defensively, Chris Swayne anchored the Cougars to the tune of 20 tackles, including one sack, forced fumble, and an interception. Terry Elias, Jr. finished with 14 tackles and a fumble recovery. For the Yellow Jackets, Damon McCracken made six stops to lead the defense.

Siena Heights 61, Judson 24
Box Score | SHU Recap

Collecting 37 points before allowing their opponents to get on the board, Siena Heights dominated on Homecoming weekend with nearly 600 yards of total offense in a 61-24 win over Judson.
Braylen Himmelein threw three TDs in the first half as the Saints pulled away; the Siena Heights signal-caller threw for 274 yards, on 15-of-23 passing. The Eagles first got on the board with a 27-yard field goal from Oscar Ortiz in the third quarter, followed by a 66-yard TD pass from Marcus Freeman to Zach McGee to cut the deficit to 37-10.
The Saints would pour it on in the 4th quarter, scoring 24 points to secure the win and move to .500 on the season.
Freeman through for 211 yards and two TDs for Judson, completing 21 of 27 passes with two TDs. McGee was the team’s leading receiver, making four catches for 87 yards and a score.
Brendan Haisenleder rushed for 81 yards and two TDs on 12 carries for Siena Heights, while Tendaji Alexander grabbed six catches for 101 yards and a TD.
Defensively, Clarke Hamilton made six tackles to lead the Saints, including one sack. Ridley Joseph anchored the Eagles with eight tackles.

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