Wichita, Kan.- The University of Saint Mary Football team opened the season against Friends University on Saturday night, resulting in a 64-20 loss. The Spires are now overall 0-1 and in conference play.

Saint Mary had a slow start to the game, giving up 17 unanswered points to open the game. It only took one play for the offense to get on the board after Shane Bishop hit Michael Gazzana, who took it 82 yards for the Spire's first touchdown of the night. 

Friends responded with a quick touchdown of their own on the ensuing drive to go up by 17. The Saint Mary defense gave up one more touchdown in the second quarter, while the offense could not produce more points. The Sires found themselves down 36-6 as the game entered halftime.

The Saint Mary defense opened the second half with a turnover caused by Sam Taylor and allowed the offense to strike first. With a short field, the Spires turned the fumble recovery into points after Bishop threw his second touchdown pass of the night to Nick Holmes to make it a 36-13 ball game. The Falcons extended their lead to 37 after two unanswered touchdowns to end the third quarter. Saint Mary scored their third and final touchdown of the night as Bishop hit Julian Bishop with a pass for 13 yards, making the score 50-20. Two more touchdowns by the Falcons in the later stages of the fourth quarter made the final score 64-20. 

Up Next

Saint Mary will host Bethel College at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Charles J. Berkel Memorial Stadium.