Jump Shatters Records but Football Loses at Saint Francis

Loretto, PA - The La Salle University Football team traveled to St. Francis this afternoon to take on the Red Flash, and, despite a record-breaking performance by freshman extraordinaire Michael Jump (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South), they were defeated, 45-42.

The Explorers had a chance until the very end, when kicker Greg Dempsey (Trainer, PA/Chichester) pushed a 28-yard field goal wide left with only :02 seconds remaining.

The star of the game was the freshman quarterback Jump, who completed 26-48 passes for 449 yards and four touchdowns. Making the first start of his career, Jump figured, "Well, I might as well break every passing record in school history". He nearly did. His 449 yards eclipsed the previous mark of 339, set by Ed Marynowtiz in 2002 against Catholic. His 26 completions were also a school record, and his 48 attempts also equaled the previous high.

The Explorers fell behind early, 14-0 and then 21-7, but thanks largely to Jump and the no-huddle offense, they were able to climb back into the game, and even took the lead in the 4th quarter before wilting at the end.

Jump's favorite target was receiver John Zabel (Ellicot City, MD/Mt. Hebron), who hauled in seven catches for 152 yards, including a 52-yarder. Sophomore Lou Russo (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) also had a big day receiving, catching five balls for 70 yards and two scores.

Despite standing in the shadow of a great passing performance, rusher Ken Triboletti also had a solid game, amassing 101 yards and two touchdowns on 21 attempts.

On defense, Taylour Lauri led the Explorers with 10.5 tackles, eight of them solo. Nick DePinto also had a standout performance, registering 6 tackles and an interception, which he returned for 36 yards.

But defense was only a footnote on this day. The Explorers amassed 567 yards of total offense, also a school record. St. Francis did most of its damage on the ground, where Ricky Taylor sliced through a sometimes-leaky Explorer defense for 222 yards on 31 carries.

In the end, it came down not to who had the ball last, but to the distance between the uprights. The Explorers will look to avenge this defeat on Saturday, October 9th, when they travel to Collegeville to take on Ursinus.