Homecoming is one of the most joyful times on campus at Siena Heights. The culmination of Homecoming is arguably the football game, where students, staff, alumni and family come together to cheer on the team. While the fans were having a good time tailgating with old friends before the game, Siena Heights’ football team was thinking about the tough game ahead.

“It was exciting, there were a lot of people there, and everyone was really pumped up,” said sophomore kicker Brock Quinlan.

In the locker room the team was focused, but having fun, Quinlan said. They were gearing up and looking to upset #5 Saint Francis (Ind.). In the previous game, the team pulled off a 30-29 upset over 17th-ranked Saint Xavier, with SHU coming back in the final drive of the game in a spectacular fashion. They were looking for a similar result against USF.

However, an upset was not in the cards as St. Francis defeated the Saints 24-22 on Oct. 8.

“We had gone through a great week of practice and we felt this game was going to go down to the wire and would be an enjoyable game not only for the alumni, but also for the fans at the game and at home watching,” said senior Dont’e Fox.

Everybody had anticipated this game from the beginning of the week. The Saints entered a buzzing arena resplendent with supporters and alumni. The band and dance teams were in attendance, along with the hundreds of spectators.

During the game, the teams found themselves battling hard for the victory, with the lead changing hands several times.

Siena Heights had a 10-7 lead after the first quarter on a field goal from Quinlan and a late touchdown with 23 seconds remaing on a throw by quarterback Lucas Barner to Austin Krider.

The second quarter swerved in the Cougars’ favor. USF put up an unanswered 14 points to take a 21-10 halftime lead.

“I felt like we had a good chance at beating them after only being down 21-10. It was still a close game and we were all feeling okay and were ready to come out and play,” Fox said.

Deontae’ Rush added a receiving touchdown in the third quarter, closing the gap to only 5 points.

In the final quarter, the Saints went up 22-21 when Barner connected with Krider again for a 58-yard touchdown with 6:48 remaining. The team tried for a two-point conversion but was unsuccessful.

Well-executed defense, especially from Raymond Williams and E.J Shaah, only allowed USF a field goal at 2:26. This time, the Saints could not generate another late game win.

“It was a stressful and intense game since it was close the whole time. I honestly thought we were going to come back when we got the ball at the end, but it didn’t work out,” Quinlan said.

In the end, Siena Heights saw history repeat itself. Siena Heights fell 49-25 in 2015 against USF, where they outpassed the Cougars, 323-225, but significantly trailed in the running game, 227-64. This time around, the Saints kept the score closer, but failed to keep up with the opponents running game with minus 6 rushing yards to USF’s 127 yards.

The Saints fell to 3-2 on the season.