Flash Points:

• SFU Football hosts Wagner on Saturday at Noon in a key NEC matchup.
• The game will be broadcast on ESPN3, with Paul Dottino, Kevin Gilbride and Matt Popelka on the call.
• Wagner was picked third in the NEC Preseason Poll, right behind Saint Francis.
• The Seahawks opened their season with a 37-7 win over Saint Anselm last Thursday.

Wagner | DeGol Field | Noon | ESPN3/WatchESPN
 
Wagner Two-Deep | Wagner Notes
 
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis Football team hosts Wagner on Saturday in a key NEC matchup to kickoff the entire NEC conference schedule.  The Red Flash and the Seahawks are set for a Noon kickoff on ESPN3, with Paul Dottino, Kevin Gilbride and Matt Popelka on the call.  Meet the Seahawks in this week's scouting report.
 
Jason Houghtaling leads the Seahawks and owns an 8-15 record in his third year at the helm.  Houghtaling, 35 years old, is the third-youngest head coach in Division I.  Wagner went 6-5 last year, including 4-2 in the NEC to finish third in the conference standings.  Wagner spoiled SFU's attempt at a perfect conference record, with a 31-24 win in Staten Island last year.  Wagner returned 68 lettermen and 16 starters from the 2016 squad.
 
The Seahawks earned a 37-7 win over Saint Anselm last week to open the 2017 season.  Wagner totaled 417 yards of offense, including 277 passing and 140 rushing.  Junior Alex Thomson completed 21-of-28 passes for 256 yards and a touchdown.  Juniors Ryan Fulse and Denzel Knight led the run game.  Fulse had 16 carries for 79 yards and a touchdown, while Knight had 13 rushes for 61 yards and three scores.  Junior D'Erren Wilson made 10 catches for 136 yards and a touchdown.  Kicker James Cooper hit a 40-yard field goal attempt.
 
Wagner's defense allowed just 139 total yards, including 10 passing yards.  Wagner forced three turnovers, with two interceptions and a forced fumble, and tallied six sacks.  Linebacker Kishon Banks and defensive tackle Kiser Terry tied for the team-lead with six tackles, with Terry adding one for loss.  Linebacker Quintin Hampton had five tackles, including four for loss and two sacks.  Junior safety Sterling Lowry and senior safety Tyamonee Johnson recorded interceptions.
 
The Seahawks averaged 26.1 points and 375.5 total yards per game last year, including 224.4 passing yards and 151.1 rushing yards per contest. 
 
Senior Alex Thomson, in his third year as Wagner's starting quarterback was a Preseason All-NEC selection.  Last season, Thomson, six-foot-five, 225 pounds, completed 57 percent of his passes for 2,436 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions.  He added three rushing touchdowns.
 
Knight, a six-foot-two, 220-pound junior, rushed for 703 yards and seven touchdowns last season to lead the returning running backs.  He averaged 6.5 yards per carry and 63.9 per game.  He also caught 17 passes for 91 yards and a score.  Junior Ryan Fulse, 5-foot-11, 195 pounds, transferred to Wagner from Monroe College, where he ran for 958 yards in 2016.
 
Senior John Williams and junior D'Erren Wilson lead a talented receiving group for the Seahawks.  Williams, a six-foot-six target, was a Preseason All-NEC selection after leading Wagner with 33 catches for 701 yards and five touchdowns in 2016.  Wilson, six-foot-three, transferred from UCF, where he caught nine career passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns.  Sophomore Willie Dale, six-foot-two, also returns after catching seven passes for 112 yards and a score last year.  Junior Chris Woodard will start at tight end after hauling in six catches for 92 yards in 2016.
 
Wagner's offensive line includes two fifth-year seniors, two juniors and a sophomore.  Senior left tackle Matt Diaz was a Preseason All-NEC selection.  Wagner's line has over 60 combined starts, with Diaz starting the majority of the last three seasons.  Junior center Titus Richards has 17 career starts, while guards Chris Gangarossa and Brady Hudik each have 11. Senior right tackle Greg Senat joins receiver Shack Scott as Wagner athletes who play both football and basketball.
 
The Seahawks defense, a 3-4 scheme, allowed 21.1 points and 342.5 yards per game in 2016.  Wagner gave up 218 passing and 124.5 rushing yards per game, while forcing 19 turnovers, including 15 interceptions, and recording 18 sacks.
 
Preseason All-NEC defensive end Jordan Baskerville leads the Wagner line.  The senior tied for the team-lead with 9.5 tackles for loss and led the squad with six sacks last year.  He had 34 tackles and a forced fumble.  Kiser Terry, a senior defensive tackle, had 37 stops in 2016, with three for loss, while senior nose tackle Christian Gore had 23 tackles, with three for loss and two sacks.  Junior Charbel Dabire, 25 tackles and two TFL, and sophomore Julian McLeod, 11 tackles and two sacks, provide depth on the line.
 
A solid linebacking group is led by sophomore Santoni Graham and junior Quintin Hampton on the inside.  Graham led Wagner with 83 tackles last year, including 57 solo, 9.5 for loss, two sacks and an interception, which he returned 43 yards for a touchdown.  Hampton was second on the team with 74 stops, including 53 solo, 9.5 for loss, five sacks and a fumble recovery.  On the outside, sophomores Cameron Gill and Allaah Sessions move into starting roles this year.  Gill had 14 tackles, two sacks and a pick last year, while Sessions had seven tackles, including a sack.
 
Senior safety Jesse Flaherty led the returning members of the secondary with 55 tackles and four interceptions last season.  Cornerbacks Myron Morris and Malik Warner move into bigger roles for the Seahawks.  Morris had 21 tackles, two interceptions and three pass breakups in 2016, while Warner recorded 16 stops and five pass breakups.  Junior safety Sterling Lowry had 14 tackles and a pick last year and senior safety Tyamonee Johnson had three tackles in 2016.
 
Graduate transfer James Cooper, a former Temple kicker, was a Preseason All-NEC choice after hitting 16-of-20 attempts last season, including 14-of-14 from inside 40 yards.  He hit a long of 52 yards against Sacred Heart in 2016.  Freshman Eric Silvester takes over the punting duties and averaged 39.7 yards per kick last week.  Sophomores David Thomas and Myron Morris handle the kick return duties, while senior Gerald Kahari had a 51-yard punt return against Saint Anselm. 
 
Saint Francis trails the all-time series, 21-5, against Wagner.  The Seahawks jumped out to a 31-0 lead last year in Staten Island.  The Red Flash scored 24 unanswered points, but fell short in its comeback attempt.  SFU's last win in the series came in 2015, with a 43-14 win in Loretto.