Marion, Ind. – The No. 13 ranked Saint Xavier University football team (3-2, 0-0 MSFA Midwest) lost to No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan University in a Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) crossover contest Saturday afternoon at Wildcat Stadium in Marion, Ind. in a Top 15 NAIA match-up. The Cougars limited IWU, who entered the game averaging 216 yards per contest on the ground, to just 95 yards, however Indiana Wesleyan did its damage through the air as they totaled 440 passing yards. Junior linebacker Chris Swayne (LaSalle, Ill./LaSalle-Peru Township) led the SXU defense with a career-high 15 tackles (five solos) and he had two pass breakups. Graduate student linebacker Ryan Fitzgerald (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) also had a career-best in tackles with 14 (seven solos) while adding a sack for six yards and a forced fumble.

• Fifth-year senior quarterback Stuart Ross (Springfield, Ill./Springfield Southeast) completed 72.2 percent of his passes (13-for-18) for 71 yards and an interception.
• Redshirt sophomore running back Mario Price (Chicago Heights, Ill./Calumet New Tech) ran for 23 yards on 10 carries.
• Fifth-year senior wide receiver Kyle Quinn (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) caught a team-high five passes for 21 yards. He also had two carries for five yards, a kick return for 20 yards and completed his only pass attempt for three yards.
• Graduate student wide receiver Julian Smith (Glenwood, Ill./Jackson State/Calumet New Tech) amassed 110 kick return yards on four attempts and he had a reception for 11 yards.
• Fifth-year senior wide receiver/punter Joe Polselli (Evergreen Park, Ill./St. Rita) had seven punts for 302 yards, four that landed inside the 20-yard line, with an average of 43.1 yards and a long of 65. He also had two pass catches for 10 yards and a rush of six yards.
• Senior defensive back Nick Shultz (Shorewood, Ill./Minooka Community) tied his career-high with 11 tackles (one solo).
• Freshman defensive back Zach Norred (Manteno, Ill./St. Rita) also collected a career-high in tackles with 11 (seven solos).
• Junior linebacker Terry Elias Jr. (Monee, Ill./Crete-Monee) tallied nine stops (three solos).
• Fifth-year senior defensive back Kevin Countryman (Morris, Ill./Providence Catholic) totaled seven tackles (four solos) with two pass breakups and a fumble recovery returned one yard for a touchdown.
• The Wildcats scored on the first possession of the game on a two-yard touchdown run after a nine-play, 60-yard drive at the 11:09 mark of the first quarter.
• After a strip sack that resulted in a fumble, IWU kicked a 33-yard field goal to go up 10-0 at the 9:45 mark.
• Indiana Wesleyan pushed the lead to 17-0 with 5:05 left in the opening frame on a 29-yard touchdown run.
• Polselli launched a 65-yard punt that was downed at the one-yard line and on the next play Fitzgerald forced a fumble that Countryman returned for a score, the fourth defensive touchdown of his career, to cut the deficit to 17-7 with 2:42 left in the first period.
• The Wildcats headed into the locker room with a 20-7 lead after they kicked a 26-yard field goal just before the end of the half.
• IWU extended its advantage to 27-7 with 9:09 remaining in the third quarter on a 15-yard touchdown pass.
• With 4:20 left in the third period, Indiana Wesleyan scored on a 41-yard touchdown pass to go up 34-7.
• An intentional grounding penalty by SXU resulted in a safety to make it 36-7 at the 8:15 mark of the fourth quarter.
• A 22-yard field goal by the Wildcats with 3:06 left in regulation capped the scoring.

No. 13 Saint Xavier (3-2, 0-0 MSFA Midwest) returns to Bruce R. Deaton Memorial Field to host Defiance College (Ohio) in another MSFA crossover. The game is set for a 12:00 pm kickoff in Chicago, Ill.