St. Lawrence University enters the third week of the season ranked among the best in the country on defense with a chance to do something at SLU that hasn't happened since 1972. The Saints posted a pair of shutout victories in the first two games and ranks number one in the country in scoring defense, passing efficiency defense and red zone defense. The Saints have not put together three consecutive shutouts since the last game of 1971 and the first two games in 1972.
St. Lawrence faces Endicott College for just the second time in history and defeated the Gulls 34-9 last season at Leckonby Stadium.
Last Week
The St. Lawrence defense ran its scoreless streak to 120 minutes this year and more than 144 minutes dating back to the final game of the 2015 season with a 52-0 win over Norwich. The win stopped a streak of nine straight games in the series that the visiting team had won and gave the Saints a 2-0 start to the season for the first time since 2013 (wins over Coast Guard and Norwich). The Saints wasted little time scoring on their first three drives and four of the first five to build a 31-0 lead at halftime. The defense scored for the third straight game as Chris Ryan forced a fumble, recorded the fumble recovery and carried it in for a touchdown. Sean Richardson finished 23-for-37 for 253 yards and four touchdowns and Vincenzo Ferraro caught eight passes for 161 yards and three scores.
Endicott dropped to 0-2 with a 42-20 loss to Hobart at home. The Gulls scored first with a short touchdown run capping an 80-yard drive and the defense limited the Statesmen to just one score in the first half as the teams went into halftime with Hobart leading 7-6. The Gulls were still in the game in the fourth quarter, scoring at the 9:04 mark to trim the Hobart lead to 28-20 but the Statesmen scored twice in the closing minutes for the 42-20 final score. Lavante Wiggins had 100 yards on 18 carries and the defense forced three turnovers for Endicott.
Last Year
In the first meeting between the Saints and the Gulls, St. Lawrence took an early lead with a pair of touchdowns in the opening quarter and scored as time expired in the first half to take a 20-0 lead. Mitch Gallagher and Nick Frenger scored with second half runs and the Saint defense was strong with three sacks and two interceptions and not allowing a touchdown until Endicott scored as time expired in the game. Mike Lefflbine threw for a career-high 349 yards (35-for-44) while Chyron Brown-Wallace and Alec Dietsch combined for 10 tackles, two for loss, a sack and an interception.
A Nose for the End Zone
The dangerous receiving combination of tight end Mitch Gallagher and wide receiver Vincenzo Ferraro has turned into points in nearly every game for the past couple years. Ferraro has scored a touchdown in each of the last four games and five of the last six including a team-leading four receiving touchdowns this year. Gallagher has a streak of scoring success that stretches all the way back to 2014. The 6-1, 240 pound tight end has scored at least one touchdown in nine of the last 10 regular season games and scored in 16 of his last 19 regular season games dating back to the second game of the 2014 season. Most of his scores have come on receptions but he also has three rushing touchdowns and even a passing touchdown during the streak.
Go Ahead . . . Throw the Ball
James Holley-Grisham picked off his first pass of the season and the 18th of his career in the first quarter against Norwich. The interception continued a streak of at least one interception in 22 of the last 23 games. The defensive line also helped slow the passing game with four sacks. The Saints have recorded a sack in 13 of the last 14 games.
First Time in a Long Time
When Daly Hebert nailed a field goal from 39 yards out at the end of the first half against Norwich it marked the longest field goal for the Saints since the first game of the 2010 season when Matthew Dodge connected on a 47-yard kick against Ithaca (62 games ago). The Saints were actually lined up for a 42-yard field goal before a false start penalty pushed them back five yards.
Mr. Consistency
Andrew Carvalho has been successful on each of his 11 point after kick attempts this season and has a streak of 33 straight dating back to last year and has hit 44 of the last 45 attempts dating back to the middle of last year's Endicott game.
Mass. Success
The Saints do not play often in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts but when they do, they win more often than not. Since 2006, St. Lawrence is 5-2 in the Bay State.
Awards
Two players earned weekly awards this past week with Vincenzo Ferraro being named to the D3football.com Team of the Week and Chris Ryan earning the Liberty League co-Defensive Player of the Week award. The team award winners for the week were Ferraro for offense, Ugo Njeze on defense, Austen Lauricella on special teams while Casey Nuchereno and Ryan Charter with the weekly scout team award winners for defense and offense respectively.
Putting up the Zeros
The Saints are one of just seven teams in all of college football (NCAA Division I, II and III) that have yet to surrender a point. Four of the seven teams have played just one game. Dating back to last season, the Saints have a streak of 144 minutes 11 seconds of shutout football and have not given up a point since midway through the third quarter against Mount Union in the NCAA Tournament.
Only Northwestern College (MN) has a longer streak with 166:26 of scoreless football.