LORETTO, Pa. (Nov. 11, 2006) – You couldn’t have written the script any better for a group of seniors that have shattered school, conference and national records at an alarming rate.
Senior Todd Harris (Duquesne, Pa. / Duquense) led the way with one of the most impressive performances in school history to help the Saint Francis football team run away with a 35-14 Senior Day, and Homecoming Day, victory over Wagner on Saturday afternoon at DeGol Field.
Harris became the school’s single-season rushing yards leader while breaking off the two longest runs of his career en route to 283 yards and two touchdowns. He added 40 yards on an onside kick attempt, which he almost returned for a touchdown.
Senior quarterback Anthony Doria (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Seton LaSalle) completed 11-of-16 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns, including one to former high school teammate Michael Caputo (Bethel Park, Pa. / Seton LaSalle). Caputo caught three passes for 71 yards, and fellow senior Luke Palko (Imperial, Pa. / West Allegheny) had two receptions for 19 yards and a score.
Senior Chad Ignatz (Bridgeville, Pa. / South Fayette) had four tackles and a pass deflection in his final game as a Red Flash player, while senior Sean McCune (Everett, Pa. / Everett) had three tackles, including one for loss.
Saint Francis finished the season 3-8 overall, and 2-5 in the Northeast Conference. Head coach Dave Opfar’s squad won two of its final three games, and finished 3-3 at DeGol Field.
Harris saved his best performance in a Red Flash uniform for his last contest. He had touchdown sprints of 50- and 90-yards. The 50-yard run gave Saint Francis a commanding 28-0 lead with 5:13 left in the third quarter, put him over 4,000 career all-purpose yards, broke the school’s single-season rushing touchdown record, and gave him the single-season rushing yards record. At that point, the 50-yard run was the longest of his career.
But just two offensive plays later, Harris was handed the ball at his own 10-yard line, and darted down the right sideline untouched for a 90-yard touchdown, the longest run from scrimmage in school annals. He picked up a key block from sophomore wide receiver Antoine Rivera (Willingboro, N.J. / Willingboro) at about the 50-yard line on the sprint.
Harris’ 283 rushing yards are second most in a single-game in program history, and his 323 all-purpose yards also rank second in school history. On the season, he ran for a school record 1,330 yards to become the program’s all-time leading rusher with 3,414 yards, which ranks third in league annals. He scored a school record 11 touchdowns this season, while smashing the all-time school record with 20 during his career.
Doria finished his career with 8,544 passing yards, which is a school and Northeast Conference record. He is the only player in conference history to throw for over 8,000 career yards. Caputo wrapped up his stellar career with a school and league record 245 receptions for 3,464 yards, while also grabbing 31 receiving touchdowns, also a school record. Palko finished second in school and conference history with 225 catches. His 2,020 career receiving yards also rank second in program history, and 10th in the league record books.
The Red Flash weren’t going to be denied on Senior Day. After winning the toss and stalling on their first offensive series, the defense came up with a big stand. Doria directed the offense on a 4-play, 84-yard drive in 1:28. He capped it off with an 11-yard touchdown strike to Palko, who had missed the past five games with a high-ankle sprain.
The defense came up with another strong series, and the Red Flash again drove down the field for a 5-play, 86-yard drive in just 2:11. Doria hit Caputo for 19 yards to make it 14-0 after Adam Sciulli (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Central Catholic) hit the extra point.
Doria then hit Rivera with a 28-yard scoring strike with 11:08 left in the second quarter to make it 21-0 heading into halftime. That drive went five plays and 39 yards in 1:47.
The longest of Saint Francis’ five scoring drives was just 2 minutes, 59 seconds. The Red Flash scored all five touchdowns on drives of five plays or less.
Saint Francis led 28-0 before Wagner could muster a lengthy drive. Aliga Betts ran 28 yards for paydirt to break the shutout bid with 2:47 left in the third quarter to make the ballgame 28-7.
But Harris put it out of reach with his 90-yard run from scrimmage.
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