Akron 30, Saint Francis PA 23
Associated Press
AKRON, Ohio - Cam Wiley had a 1-yard touchdown run in overtime and Akron held off FCS-member St. Francis (Pa.) 30-23 in the debut of head coach Joe Moorhead.
Wiley scored on the first possession of overtime in the season opener for both teams. Justin Sliwoski then drove the Red Flash to the Akron 6, including a 16-yard pass to Dawson Snyder on fourth-and-10. But Tyson Durant picked off a Sliwoski pass to end it.
It was Akron's first season-opening win since 2018 against Morgan State. Moorhead spent the last two seasons as offensive coordinator at Oregon and was an assistant at Akron from 2004-08.
DJ Irons threw two touchdown passes and was 23 of 38 for 270 yards passing for the Zips. Irons lofted a 41-yard pass to Shocky Jacques-Louis, who beat two defenders and made a two-handed, over-the-shoulder catch, that gave the Zips a 17-16 lead late in the third quarter. Irons connected with nine receivers that included six completions of 15 yards or more.
The Zips stretched their lead to 23-16 with 5:42 left on Wiley's 7-yard touchdown run, but St. Francis blocked the PAT attempt. Sliwoski then tossed a 55-yard pass to Dawson Snyder that sparked a five-play, 81-yard drive, capped by Deondre Scott's 7-yard touchdown run, to tie it 23-23 with 3:30 remaining.
Sliwoski was 11-of-17 passing for 162 yards. Damon Horton also had a touchdown run for St. Francis.
| Scoring Summary |
| First Quarter |
StF-Pa | Akron |
| Akron |
FG |
10:37 |
Cory Smigel 25 yard field goal |
0 |
3 |
| StF-Pa |
FG |
7:02 |
Alex Schmoke 35 yard field goal |
3 |
3 |
| Second Quarter |
StF-Pa | Akron |
| StF-Pa |
TD |
14:07 |
Damon Horton 1 yard TD run (Alex Schmoke Extra Point) |
10 |
3 |
| Akron |
TD |
10:28 |
Tristian Brank 9 yard TD pass from DJ Irons (Cory Smigel Extra Point) |
10 |
10 |
| StF-Pa |
FG |
1:08 |
Alex Schmoke 35 yard field goal |
13 |
10 |
| Third Quarter |
StF-Pa | Akron |
| StF-Pa |
FG |
6:27 |
Alex Schmoke 38 yard field goal |
16 |
10 |
| Akron |
TD |
3:24 |
Shocky Jacques-Louis 41 yard TD pass from DJ Irons (Cory Smigel Extra Point) |
16 |
17 |
| Fourth Quarter |
StF-Pa | Akron |
| Akron |
TD |
5:42 |
Cam Wiley 7 yard TD run (Cory Smigel Kick Failed) |
16 |
23 |
| StF-Pa |
TD |
3:30 |
Deondre Scott 7 yard TD run (Alex Schmoke Extra Point) |
23 |
23 |
| OT |
StF-Pa | Akron |
| Akron |
TD |
|
Cam Wiley 1 yard TD run (Cory Smigel Extra Point) |
23 |
30 |
| Team Stats |
| |
Saint Francis U |
Akron |
| First downs |
18 |
19 |
| Rushing |
7 |
6 |
| Passing |
11 |
13 |
| Penalty |
0 |
0 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency |
4-16, 25% |
4-15, 27% |
| 4th down efficiency |
2-2, 100% |
1-2, 50% |
| Rushes-Yards |
40-189 |
33-99 |
| Passing Yards |
261 |
285 |
| Return Yards |
51 |
14 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int |
21-34-1 |
22-37-0 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost |
2-9 |
6-49 |
| Punts |
6 |
7 |
| Fumbles Lost |
0-0 |
1-0 |
| Penalties - Yards |
10-61 |
4-42 |
| Akron Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| D. Irons |
22 |
37 |
285 |
2 |
0 |
| Akron Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| C. Wiley |
21 |
85 |
4.0 |
2 |
| D. Irons |
12 |
14 |
1.2 |
0 |
| Saint Francis U Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| Akron Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| T. Durant |
1 |
0 |
| Saint Francis U Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| J. Slaiby |
6 |
274 |
45.7 |
| Akron Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| N. Gettman |
7 |
329 |
47.0 |
| Saint Francis U Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| C. McKinney |
1 |
4 |
4.0 |
| Akron Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| Saint Francis U Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| C. McKinney |
3 |
47 |
15.7 |
| Saint Francis U Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| A. Schmoke |
47 |
