Flash Points:

• SFU Football welcomes Lock Haven to DeGol Field to begin the 2017 season.
• Kickoff is scheduled for Noon with a broadcast on NEC Front Row.
• SFU begins its NEC Title defense after earning its first conference title as a Division I program last year.
• Lock Haven was 4-7 last season, including 4-3 in the PSAC, and won four of its final six games.

SFU Game Notes | SFU Two-Deep | LHU Two-Deep | Live Stats | NEC Front Row | Scouting Report
 
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis Football team begins its NEC Title defense on Saturday as it hosts Lock Haven for the 2017 season opener.  SFU opens its 94th football season and 22nd year as an FCS program.  The Red Flash is set for a Noon kickoff against the Bald Eagles, with a broadcast on NEC Front Row.  Pat Farabaugh, play-by-play, and Jay Roberts, color analyst, will be on the call.
 
The Red Flash, led by Head Coach Chris Villarrial, went 7-5 last year, including 5-1 in the NEC, to earn its first ever NEC Title.  SFU made an appearance in the FCS Playoffs for the first time in program history and won its first conference title as a Division I program.  Villarrial won his second consecutive NEC Coach of the Year award and was named ECAC Coach of the Year.
 
Lock Haven, coached by Dave Taynor, was 4-7 last season, with a 4-3 mark in the PSAC.  The Bald Eagles won four of their last six games to close out the year.  LHU returns 38 lettermen and 12 starters from last year's squad.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Saint Francis meets Lock Haven for the first time since 1950 on Saturday.  The Bald Eagles won the most recent meeting, 26-13, but the Red Flash leads the all-time series, 5-1.
 
VILLARRIAL NAMES TEAM CAPTAINS
The 2017 team captains were named before SFU's scrimmage last Saturday. 
 
Senior safety Delondo Boyd (Indian Head, Md./Henry E. Lackey), senior cornerback Malik Duncan (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic), junior tackle Mederick Flavius, Jr. (Lauderhill, Fla./Northeast) and senior tight end Matt Valenzuela (Sterling, Va./Dominion) were elected by their fellow players to represent the program as captains.  Boyd is in his second year as a captain after being the only underclassman captain last season.
 
LEWIS COLLECTS PRESEASON HONORS
After setting SFU and NEC records with 1,478 receiving yards last year, junior receiver Kamron Lewis (Fresno, Calif./Edison) received a lot of attention this preseason.  Lewis was tabbed Preseason All-America by College Sports Madness, HERO Sports and STATS FCS.  He was also selected for the Walter Payton Award and CFPA National Performer Of The Year Watch Lists.
 
Lewis, the 2016 NEC Offensive Player of the Year, was a Postseason All-America selection by the Associated Press, College Sports Madness, HERO Sports and STATS FCS last year.  He finished third in the FCS in receiving yards, third in receiving yards per game (123.2), ninth in yards per catch (19.7), 12th in receiving touchdowns (11), 20th in receptions per game (6.3) and 25th in all-purpose yards per game (132.5). 
 
Lewis currently ranks fifth all-time at SFU with 1,585 career receiving yards, just 169 behind Todd Eckenroad (1991-93) for fourth.
 
SIX NAMED PRESEASON ALL-NEC
SFU set a program-record with six Preseason All-NEC selections, including Boyd, Duncan, Flavius and Lewis.
 
Boyd, a 2016 Second Team All-NEC, was second on the team last year with 70 tackles, while Duncan, also a Second Team All-NEC pick, broke the SFU season record with 14 pass breakups.  Flavius has made 22 career starts, including all 12 games last year at left tackle. 
 
Running back Marcus Bagley (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) and offensive lineman Christian Eubanks (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) were also selected Preseason All-NEC but are expected to miss the 2017 season.
 
GRADUATE TRANSFERS
The Red Flash looks to benefit from the addition of two experienced players this season, with the arrival of quarterback Bear Fenimore (Austin, Texas/Westwood) and receiver Jorge Solano (Coral Springs, Fla./Coral Springs Charter).
 
Fenimore, a Houston transfer, has two years of eligibility left after graduating in three years with his degree in Retail Consumer Science.  After redshirting in 2014, he didn't see any playing time in 2015 or 2016.  A three-star prospect at Westwood High School in Austin, Fenimore threw for 3,014 yards and 23 touchdowns as a senior.  Fenimore is expected to start against Lock Haven.
 
Solano, a Fordham transfer, will play his final year of college football.  He started nine games last year for the Rams, catching 24 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns.  He is also a dangerous returner, setting a Fordham season record with 43 returns and 909 return yards as a freshman in 2013. 
 
THE DARKSIDE
The SFU defense, known as "The Darkside", looks to build off a strong performance last year in which it ranked 11th in the FCS in scoring defense (19.8 ppg), 15th in total defense (320.8 ypg), 18th in rushing defense (121.2 ypg) and 39th in passing defense (199.6).  SFU ranked fourth in the nation in sacks, setting a school-record with 39, and forced 24 turnovers, including 16 interceptions.
 
Saint Francis returns seven starters on defense, including Boyd and Duncan.  SFU returns defensive linemen Austin Gray (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Egg Harbor Township) and Shawn McCord (Aberdeen, N.J./Red Bank Catholic), linebackers Sean Orsini (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) and Zane Stewart (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg) and cornerback Jalen Wells (Westerville, Ohio/Thomas Worthington).
 
The Red Flash will need to replace a few key players lost to graduation, safety Lorenzo Jerome (Sunrise, Fla./J.P. Taravella), linebacker Solomon Leaeno (Kapolei, Hawaii/James Campbell) and nose tackle Wesley Nagaseu (Waipahu, Hawaii/Waipahu), but looks to the solid depth it established last year to step up into those roles.
 
ZO WATCH
Former Saint Francis All-America safety Lorenzo Jerome (Sunrise, Fla./J.P. Taravella) signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in May 2017.
 
Jerome played in all four preseason games, starting the first two games at free safety.  He tied for seventh on the team with nine tackles, including eight solo, and broke up a pass.  He made three tackles in the 49ers opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, two tackles and a pass breakup against the Denver Broncos and four stops against the Minnesota Vikings. 
 
SCOUTING THE BALD EAGLES
Lock Haven features a high-powered offense that averaged 29.4 points and 450.4 total yards per game.  LHU averages 287.1 passing and 163.3 rushing yards per contest.
 
Redshirt junior Cameron Tobias is take over as the starting signal caller.  He completed 5-of-10 passes for 43 yards and two touchdowns last year.
 
LHU has a deep group at running back, led by junior John Ford, who ran for 841 yards and seven touchdowns in 2016.  Tobias' top returning target is senior tight end Del'Vaughn Dennis, a Division II Honorable Mention All-America selection, who caught 36 passes for 523 yards and three touchdowns last year, while sophomore Kyeef Williams had 15 receptions for 281 yards and a score.
 
Lock Haven's offensive line includes four seniors and a sophomore, led by senior center Trent Fielding, a Preseason All-American selection. 
 
The Bald Eagles use a 3-3-5 defensive scheme and allowed 35.6 points and 347.6 total yards per game last year.
 
Junior tackle Brandon Clements leads the returners on the defensive line.  He had eight tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in 2016.  Sophomore Fernando Flores, an outside linebacker, leads the returning players in the position group with 37 tackles last year.  In the secondary, All-PSAC junior safety Isaiah Flamer placed third on the team with 79 tackles and led the team with four interceptions in 2016.  All-conference safety Daniel Strawbridge returns after an injury kept him out most of the season last year.