2016 Saint Francis Cougars football team

Last updated

2016 Saint Francis Cougars football
NAIA national champion
Conference Mid-States Football Association
DivisionMideast League
Record13–1 (5–1 MSFA (MEL))
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorPatrick Donley, Trevor Miller (13th, 11th season)
Defensive coordinatorJoey Didier, Eric Wagoner (7th, 9th season)
Home stadiumBishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium
Seasons
←  2015
2017  →
2016 Mid-States Football Association standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Mideast League
No. 5 Marian (IN) x^  6 –0   11 –1  
No. 1 Saint Francis (IN) ^  5 –1   13 –1  
Concordia (MI)  4 –2   7 –4  
Siena Heights  2 –4   5 –5  
Taylor  2 –4   4 –7  
Missouri Baptist  2 –4   3 –8  
Lindenwood–Belleville  0 –6   0 –10  
Midwest League
No. 15 Robert Morris (IL) x^  5 –0   7 –4  
Saint Xavier  3 –2   6 –4  
St. Francis (IL)  2 –3   5 –6  
Saint Ambrose  2 –3   4 –6  
Olivet Nazarene  2 –3   4 –7  
Trinity International  1 –4   4 –7  
  • x – League champion/co-champions
    ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

The 2016 Saint Francis Cougars football team represented the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 2016 NAIA football season. They were led by head coach Kevin Donley, who served his 19th year as the head football coach at Saint Francis. The Cougars played their home games at Bishop John D'Arcy Stadium and were members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL). The Cougars finished 2nd in the MSFA MEL division and received an at-large bid to the NAIA playoffs.

Contents

The team went on to win the first football national championship in the school's history. In the 2016 NAIA Football National Championship, the Cougars defeated the Baker Wildcats, 38-17. [1]

Kevin Donley was voted by the American Football Coaches Association as the 2016 NAIA National Coach of the Year. [2] Donley was also granted a five-year contract extension after the 2016 season. [3]

Schedule

(13-1 overall, 5-1 conference) [4]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
August 272:00pmat Trinity International (IL)*No. 4Deerfield, ILW 34–20523
September 37:00pmat Olivet Nazarene (IL)*No. 4Bourbonnais, ILW 58–141,563
September 1012:00pmTaylor (IN)No. 4
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
W 37–63,277
September 2412:00pmLindenwood-Belleville (IL)Dagger-14-plain.pngNo. 3
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
W 63–73,591
October 112:00pmNo. 1 Marian (IN)No. 2
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN (Franciscan Bowl)
L 21–354,300
October 81:00pmat No. 29 Siena Heights (MI)No. 5Adrian, MIW 24–222,132
October 151:00pmat No. 26 Concordia (MI)No. 4Ann Arbor, MIW 44–61,650
October 2212:00pmNo. 24 Robert Morris (IL)*No. 4
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
W 28–211,759
October 2912:00pmMissouri BaptistNo. 4
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
W 56–241,677
November 512:00pmat Davenport (MI)*No. 4Grand Rapids, MIW 35–61,213
November 1912:00pmNo. 11 Missouri Valley (MO)*No. 4
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN (NAIA First Round)
W 79–201,495
November 2612:00pmNo. 5 Morningside (IA)*No. 4
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN (NAIA Quarterfinal)
W 42–351,579 [5] [6]
December 31:30pmat No. 3 Reinhardt (GA)*No. 4
  • Ken White Field
  • Waleska, GA (NAIA Semifinal)
W 42–241,567 [7]
December 176:00pmvs. No. 2 Baker (KS)*No. 4
 ESPN3 W 38–172,500 [1]

Game summaries

10/1/2016 - The #2-ranked Cougars played another historic game vs. the #1-ranked Marian Knights, undefeated conference rivals and defending NAIA national champions. Saint Francis matched up well, and they took a 21-14 lead into the half. However, USF’s second-half mistakes allowed the Knights to take control of the game, and the Knights prevailed 35-21. This year's game began a new tradition between the two Indiana perennial powers. The regular season contest will now be referred to as the Franciscan Bowl. A traveling trophy will reside with the winner until the next contest. With this year's win, Marian takes a 1-0 lead in the series. [8]

10/8/2016 - The Cougars only fell 3 places to 5th after last week's loss to Marian. This week, Saint Francis traveled to Siena Heights to face another tough conference opponent. The Cougars led 21-10 at the half. However, a strong effort by the Saints defense in the second half made the game close. In the end, Saint Francis returned home with a victory by a score of 24-22.

10/22/2016 - The Cougars returned home after a 2-game road trip to face the 24th-ranked Eagles from Robert Morris University. The match between two Top-25 teams certainly lived up to expectations. Robert Morris took the opening kick-off and scored to take an early 7-0 lead. That score held until just before halftime when the Cougars scored to tie the game. The Cougars took the second half kick-off and scored to take the lead, 14-7, a lead that never would be surrendered. Late in the game, the Cougar defense put up a defining goal line stand. Facing 1st and goal from inside the 1-yard line, The Cougars beat back the Eagles' offense on four consecutive plays to preserve the victory. For their strong performances, each team retained their position in the weekly polls. Saint Francis broke a tie to take 4th place outright, and Robert Morris retained the 24th position in the poll.

11/19/2016 - The game started out as a shoot-out as each team scored on their first 3 possessions, resulting in a 21-20 Saint Francis lead. From that point, it was all USF. The Cougars scored on each of their 7 first half possessions, taking a 44-20 lead into the half. Their scoring continued into the second half with 35 unanswered points to arrive at the final score of 79-20. The game was played under adverse weather conditions. A clear field was quickly covered with snow at the start of the game, and neither defense was able to react to the potent offenses. Cougar quarterback Nick Ferrer threw for over 350 yards as the Cougars amassed over 600 yards of total offense. Ferrer completed 5 touchdown passes, 3 of them going to Seth Coate, who had over 150 yards of receptions for the game. For their efforts, Ferrer and Coate were named the game's offensive co-MVPs. The defensive MVP award went to Lucas Sparks.

11/26/2016 - With two teams that combined to score 145 points in the first round, this game was expected to be a high-scoring affair. This game matched the #4 Saint Francis Cougars vs the #5 Morningside Mustangs, and the two teams were expected to be evenly matched. The game started with Morningside breaking out to a 20-0 lead. Saint Francis got on the scoreboard in the 2nd quarter, and the halftime lead favored Morningside by that 20-7 score. In the second half, the Cougars finally got their offense rolling, scoring the next 14 points to set the lead at 21-20. Morningside immediately responded with a touchdown of their own. Their two-point try was good, and Morningside regained the lead, 28-21. But Saint Francis scored to tie the game again, 28-28. Then, late in the 4th quarter, Saint Francis took control of the game by scoring the next two touchdowns to generate a 14 point lead, 42-28. Once again, Morningside countered with a quick touchdown, and the gap was closed to the final score of 42-35. Saint Francis controlled the ball at the end of the game to run the Mustangs out of time-outs, and the Cougars advanced to the semifinal round. The USF offense had multiple stars in the contest. For the second straight game, QB Nick Ferrer threw for 5 TD's, 3 of them once again going to Seth Coate. But the offensive Player of the Game was awarded to Justin Green, who ran for 296 yards and 1 TD on 25 carries. The defensive award went to Eric Hemmelgarn. Of special note: The win was a milestone victory for USF head coach Kevin Donley. The win was the 300th victory in his long and illustrious career as the all time leader in wins in the NAIA division of football. After the game, Donley was presented with an encased football to commemorate the achievement.

12/03/2016 - With the upset loss by #1 Marian last week, USF missed the anticipated rematch with the Knights. Instead, the Cougars hit the road to make the 600 mile road trip to Waleska, GA to face the undefeated and #3 ranked Reinhardt Eagles. The Cougars were the last team to beat Reinhardt, in last season's FCS opening round at Saint Francis. The potent offense of the Eagles proved once again to be a tough challenge to stop. But the Cougars prevailed 42-24 due largely to big plays and turnovers. Highlights of the game include a second half 98 yard touchdown run by Justin Green on the first play after the Cougars had just completed a strong goal line stand to prevent an Eagles first down and likely score; two interceptions on back to back possessions by Saint Francis, the first being a pick-6 touchdown return and the second setting up another quick score by the Cougars; three touchdown runs by Justin Green and two touchdown catches by Seth Coate. A score in the first quarter put the Eagles in front 7-0. But Saint Francis responded quickly to tie the game, and two additional scores led to a 21-7 Saint Francis lead. This was the Eagles' largest deficit of the season and only the third time they had trailed in a ball game all season. The Eagles ended the half by kicking a field goal with zero time on the clock, an untimed down granted due to a pass interference call against USF. Each team scored once in the third quarter to take the score to 28-17. The two interceptions pushed the score to 42-17, and Reinhardt scored once again to create the final margin of victory. The Cougars will be playing in two weeks in the title game for the 4th time in their history, hoping this time to gain their first national championship. The offensive Player of the Game was once again Seth Coate, and the defensive Player of the Game was awarded to Spencer Cowherd.

12/17/2016 - For the first time in team history, the Saint Francis Cougars won their last game of the season. With their 38-17 victory over #2 Baker Wildcats, the Cougars attained their first NAIA football national championship. The win was the second for head coach Kevin Donley, having won a first title 25 years earlier while coaching the Georgetown Tigers. [9]

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre12345678910Final
NAIA Coaches' Poll 433254444441

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Malone Pioneers football team</span> American college football season

The 2008 Malone Pioneers football team represented Malone University in the season of 2008 NAIA football season. The Pioneers played their home games in Fawcett Stadium.

William Kevin Donley is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach for the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana, a position he has held since April 1997. As of January 2024, Donley has completed 45 seasons as a head coach, in addition to the 1997 season which was devoted to establishing the football program at the University of Saint Francis. The Saint Francis Cougars began play the following year.

The 2010 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football season is made up of 10 college athletic programs that compete in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) under the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) for the 2010 college football season. The season began on August 28, 2010, at 7:00 pm when the Ottawa University Braves challenged state-rival Baker University in the College Fanz First Down Classic game.

The Saint Francis Cougars are the athletic teams that represent the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Crossroads League for most of its sports since the 1994–95 academic year ; while its football team competes in the Mideast League of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA).

The 2010 NAIA football national championship was played on December 18, 2010, as the 55th Annual Russell Athletic NAIA Football National Championship.

The 2011 NAIA football national championship was played on December 17, 2011, as the 56th Annual Russell Athletic NAIA Football National Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 NAIA football national championship</span> College football game

The 2012 NAIA football national championship was played on December 13, 2012 as the 57th Annual Russell Athletic NAIA Football National Championship. The game matched the once-beaten and 5th-ranked Knights from Marian University against the undefeated and 3rd-ranked Mustangs from Morningside College. The game matched two teams making their first appearance in the championship game, assuring someone would win the title for the first time. The teams proved to be evenly matched, and the outcome was not decided until the winning points were scored in the first round of overtime. With their winning field goal, the Marian Knights prevailed, 30-27 in the first overtime game in NAIA football championship history.

The 2015 Saint Francis Cougars football team represented the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 2015 NAIA football season. They were led by head coach Kevin Donley, who served his 18th year as the first head coach in the history of Saint Francis football. The Cougars played their home games at Bishop John D'Arcy Stadium and were members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL). The Cougars finished as the MSFA MEL champion and received an automatic bid to the NAIA playoffs.

The 2017 Saint Francis Cougars football team represented the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 2017 NAIA football season. They were led by head coach Kevin Donley, who served his 20th year as the first and only head coach in the history of Saint Francis football. The Cougars played their home games at Bishop John D'Arcy Stadium and were members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL). The Cougars finished an undefeated regular season as the defending national champions. They finished 1st in the MSFA MEL division and received an automatic bid to the NAIA playoffs.

The 2013 Saint Francis Cougars football team represented the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 2013 NAIA football season. They were led by head coach Kevin Donley, who served his 16th year as the first and only head coach in the history of Saint Francis football. The Cougars played their home games at Bishop John D'Arcy Stadium and were members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL). The Cougars finished 1st in the MSFA MEL division and received an automatic bid to participate in the postseason NAIA playoffs.

The 2012 Saint Francis Cougars football team represented the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 2012 NAIA football season. They were led by head coach Kevin Donley, who served his 15th year as the first and only head coach in the history of Saint Francis football. The Cougars played their home games at Bishop John D'Arcy Stadium and were members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL). The Cougars finished tied for 1st in the MSFA MEL division and received an at-large bid to participate in the postseason NAIA playoffs.

The 2011 Saint Francis Cougars football team represented the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 2012 NAIA football season. They were led by head coach Kevin Donley, who served his 14th year as the first and only head coach in the history of Saint Francis football. The Cougars played their home games at Bishop John D'Arcy Stadium and were members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL). The Cougars finished in 3rd place in the MSFA MEL division, but they received an at-large bid to participate in the postseason NAIA playoffs.

The 2010 Saint Francis Cougars football team represented the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 2010 NAIA football season. They were led by head coach Kevin Donley, who served his 13th year as the first and only head coach in the history of Saint Francis football. The Cougars played their home games at Bishop John D'Arcy Stadium and were members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL). The Cougars finished in 2nd place in the MSFA MEL division, but they received an at-large bid to participate in the postseason NAIA playoffs.

The 2007 Saint Francis Cougars football team represented the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 2007 NAIA football season. They were led by head coach Kevin Donley, who served his 10th year as the first and only head coach in the history of Saint Francis football. The Cougars played their home games at Bishop John D'Arcy Stadium and were members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL). The Cougars finished in 2nd place in the MSFA MEL division, but they received an at-large bid to the 2007 postseason NAIA playoffs.

The 2018 Saint Francis Cougars football team represented the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 2018 NAIA football season. They were led by head coach Kevin Donley, who served in his 21st year as the first and only head coach in the history of Saint Francis football. The Cougars play their home games at Bishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium as members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL). The Cougars entered the season as back-to-back, two-time defending national champions.

The 2005 Saint Francis Cougars football team represented the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 2005 NAIA football season. They were led by head coach Kevin Donley, who served his 8th year as the first and only head coach in the history of Saint Francis football. The Cougars played their home games at Bishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium and were members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL). The Cougars finished in 1st place in the MSFA MEL division, and they received an automatic bid to the 2005 postseason NAIA playoffs.

The 2004 Saint Francis Cougars football team represented the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 2004 NAIA football season. They were led by head coach Kevin Donley, who served his 7th year as the first and only head coach in the history of Saint Francis football. The Cougars played their home games at Bishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium and were members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL). The Cougars finished in 1st place in the MSFA MEL division, and they received an automatic bid to the 2004 postseason NAIA playoffs.

The 2001 Saint Francis Cougars football team represented the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 2001 NAIA football season. They were led by head coach Kevin Donley, who served his 4th year as the first and only head coach in the history of Saint Francis football. The Cougars played their home games at Cougar Stadium and were members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL). The Cougars finished in tie for 1st place in the MSFA MEL division. Both co-champions received invitations to the 2001 postseason NAIA playoffs.

The 1999 Saint Francis Cougars football team represented the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 1999 NAIA football season. They were led by head coach Kevin Donley, who served his 2nd year as the first and only head coach in the history of Saint Francis football. The Cougars played their home games at Cougar Stadium and were members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL). The Cougars finished in 1st place in the MSFA MEL division, receiving an automatic bid to the 1999 postseason NAIA playoffs.

The 2019 Saint Francis Cougars football team represents the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 2019 NAIA football season. They are led by head coach Kevin Donley, who serves in his 22nd year as the first and only head coach in the history of Saint Francis football. The Cougars play their home games at Bishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium as members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL).

References

  1. 1 2 "Ferrer, Coate lead Saint Francis to title". The South Bend Tribune. December 18, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Saint Francis' Donley Named AFCA National Coach of the Year". NAIA. January 10, 2017.
  3. ↑ Greg Jones (December 21, 2016). "Saint Francis football coach gets extension". The Journal Gazette.
  4. ↑ "Football | University of Saint Francis | Fort Wayne - 2016 Football Schedule". Saintfranciscougars.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  5. ↑ "St. Francis makes NAIA semis". The Times (Munster, Indiana). November 27, 2016. p. B3 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Saint Francis rallies from 20-0 to down Mustangs". Sioux City Journal. November 26, 2016.
  7. ↑ "St. Francis advances to NAIA title game". The Times (Munster, Indiana). December 4, 2016. p. B2 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "USF and Marian University Begin New Tradition with Franciscan Bowl Game". University of Saint Francis. September 19, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Saint Francis Wins First National Championship". NAIA. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.