Saint Xavier University

CHICAGO – Behind a season-bests bests pass breakups (13) and sacks (7.0), a season-high tying 10.0 tackles for loss (TFL) and a pair of interceptions, the Saint Xavier University football team (2-4/0-0 MSFA Midwest) earned a 20-7 victory over Lawrence Tech University (Mich.) in the final Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) crossover game of the 2026 season Saturday afternoon on Homecoming at Bruce R. Deaton Memorial Field in Chicago, Ill. Graduate student linebacker Carter Wynn was credited with a team-high tying eight tackles (six solos), 3.5 TFL for 17 yards, 3.0 sacks for 16 yards and two quarterback hurries. His 3.5 TFLs and 3.0 sacks are the most by a Cougar defender since last season when junior defensive back Zach Norred (Manteno, Ill./St. Rita) did so, with seven tackles, vs. University of Saint Francis (Ind.) on October 25, 2025.

Redshirt junior wide receiver Charles Campbell (Chicago, Ill./Quincy/Reavis) caught two passes, totaling 163 yards with two touchdowns, for his first two scores of the year. On the team's first possession of the game, he caught a pass and ran 64 yards into the endzone. Midway through the second quarter, with Saint Xavier pinned at its own one-yard line, Campbell made a reception and raced over 80 yards for another touchdown, tying the single-game program record with a 99-yard touchdown catch. He is just the fourth player for the Cougars to have a 99-yard reception, joining Jim Doherty (2004-07), who did so vs. Malone University (Ohio) on October 27, 2007, Wes Gastel (2009-12) on September 19, 2009, vs. Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.), and Shane Zackery (2009-12), also against ONU, on September 3, 2011.

• Senior quarterback Blainey Dowling (Chicago, Ill./Eastern Illinois/Mount Carmel) was 15-for-28 with 290 yards passing and three touchdowns. He added 12 rushing yards on three attempts.
• Freshman wide receiver Coen Demack (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bishop McNamara) snared a team-best seven passes for 70 yards and a score.
• Redshirt freshman running back Kendall Netters (Dunlap, Ill./Peoria) led the team with 24 rushing yards on seven carries.
• Senior defensive back Taj McClellan (Joliet, Ill./Joliet Catholic Academy) also made eight tackles (five solos) with 0.5 TFL for a yard and a pass breakup.
• Senior defensive lineman Semaj Williams (Chicago, Ill./King College Prep) mad seven stops (two solos) with two sacks for 13 yards and a QB hurry.
• Junior linebacker Denym Sykes (Romeoville, Ill./Plainfield East) came away with seven tackles, three quarterback hurries and a sack for 10 yards.
• Senior defensive back Owen Schickel (Chicago, Ill./Ave Maria/Mount Carmel) totaled seven tackles (six solos), two pass breakups and a forced fumble.
• Senior defensive back Teddy Garman (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) added four tackles (one solo), four pass breakups and his first interception of the year, returned for 28 yards.
• Freshman defensive back Nathan Gonzalez (Minooka, Ill./Minooka Community) recorded three tackles (two solos), two pass breakups and his first collegiate interception that was returned for eight yards.
• The defense turned Lawrence Tech away after an 11-play, 39-yard drive ended on an incomplete pass on 4^th and 12 at the SXU 36-yard line. On the next play, Dowling found Campbell in front of the Saint Xavier sideline for a 64-yard catch and run score.
• After a three-and-out by the Cougar defense, the Blue Devils downed a 42-yard punt at the SXU one-yard line. On 2^nd and 10, after an incompletion, Dowling connected with Campbell again for the 99-yard gallop to push the lead to 14-0 at the 7:17 mark.
• On LTU's opening drive of the second half, Garman intercepted a pass near midfield, returning the ball to the 21-yard line before running out of bounds. Three plays later, Dowling hit Demack on a screen pass, who waited for his blockers before rumbling in for an 11-yard score. It was his team-leading 10^th touchdown reception on the season.
• Lawrence Tech got on the board with just under five minutes left in regulation on a one-yard rushing touchdown that capped a 12-play, 58-yard drive.
• The ensuing on-side kick attempt was recovered by McClellan. The Cougars went three-and-out giving the Blue Devils another opportunity, however Gonzalez jumped in front of a pass with 90 seconds later to secure the win. It was the fifth win on Homecoming for SXU in the last six seasons.

Saint Xavier (2-4/0-0 MSFA Midwest) begins MSFA Midwest League Conference play when they go to Saint Mary of the Woods, Ind. to face Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (Ind.) on Saturday, October 17. The game is scheduled for a 12:00 pm central kickoff.