Anthony Robinson carries the ball during the Knights’ home opener on Saturday afternoon.
                                 Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange

Anthony Robinson carries the ball during the Knights’ home opener on Saturday afternoon.

Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange

<p>Savien Hayes returns a punt during the first half in Laurinburg.</p>
                                 <p>Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange</p>

Savien Hayes returns a punt during the first half in Laurinburg.

Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange

<p>Jeremiah “Deuce” StallWorth lines up to defend a Union Commonwealth player during their matchup.</p>
                                 <p>Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange</p>

Jeremiah “Deuce” StallWorth lines up to defend a Union Commonwealth player during their matchup.

Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange

<p>The Knights prepare to run onto the field prior to the game.</p>
                                 <p>Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange</p>

The Knights prepare to run onto the field prior to the game.

Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange

LAURINBURG —The St. Andrews Knights football program was defeated 21-0 by conference rival Union Commonwealth in their home opener on Saturday afternoon. The Knights now stand at 0-4 (0-1 in conference games) on the season with the loss while the Bulldogs improve to 2-4 (1-1 vs AAC teams) with the victory. Despite the difficult loss, Head Coach Robert Curtin was appreciative of the terrific atmosphere provided at the team’s first home game of the 2024 season.

“It was a great crowd, the university and alumni really got behind us,” Curtin said.” It’s a great football environment here at St. Andrews, we just have to figure out how to turn a corner on one or two things within our program.”

St. Andrews came out of the gates swinging, recovering the opening kickoff in a surprise onside kick and giving the offense terrific field position at around midfield. They then heavily relied on the rushing attack with Juwan Lyons and Henry Kanu doing the majority of the work on a drive that gained 42 yards over nine plays and 3:10 of game time. They unfortunately couldn’t muster any points out of it as they decided to go for it on 4th & goal from the 9-yard line and failed to convert. It would be one of many missed opportunities for the offense on a day they just couldn’t execute at the right times. They also went for it on a 4th & 7 from the Union Commonwealth 41-yard line later in the half and failed to convert that attempt as well. Curtin did not second guess the aggressive decisions, citing a need to get the juices flowing for a team that needs it offensively.

“We’re 0-4 now on the season and I need to do something to spark this team offensively, obviously we had some beautiful calls like the onside kick,” Curtin said. “I wanted to play a very aggressive game; I got to do a better job of identifying when we want to be aggressive and with play calling.”

One bright spot for the Knights was the play of their defense throughout the afternoon as they continually gave their offense chance after chance to get back in the game. They only had one bad series in the first half where they allowed the Bulldogs to gain 94 yards in 13 plays over 5 minutes and 31 seconds. Taji Jackson capped off that drive with a two-yard touchdown run to put Union Commonwealth up 7-0 going into halftime. The defense for St. Andrews was stellar in the first half otherwise, forcing three and outs on all three other Bulldogs possessions.

The Knights did have a chance to get back in the game as they received the second half kickoff. They were not able to capitalize on that opportunity, however, as Byron Gee nearly fumbled the ball away before Henry Kanu was sacked for a loss of 12 yards, resulting in a quick three and out and a forced punt. Jay Randall returned the punt 55 yards all the way down to the Knights’ 4-yard line, giving the Bulldogs what seemed like a golden opportunity to extend their lead. However, the St. Andrews defense stepped up again with John Brown getting a sack on the first play and Lavarius Heath-Lewis blocking a chip shot field goal attempt from Dustin Brown. Curtin was very pleased with the way his defense played throughout the game and gave credit to Defensive Coordinator Trent Fredericks for having them prepared all day.

“Our defense shows up every single game and they play exceptionally well,” Curtin said. “I am very fond of the defense; Coach Fredericks has done a great job with them.”

The highlight of the next series for the Knights on offense was a fake punt from deep in their own territory as Raphael Louis connected with Ellison Sandifo for a 13-yard gain on 4th & 2 at their own 9-yard line. It was a bold call, to say the least, but St. Andrews was still eventually forced to punt and never really sniffed a tie game again.

The Bulldogs immediately went right down the field, covering 62 yards over 11 plays and five minutes of game time. Jackson and DeMarco Hopkins did most of the work on a drive where they converted two fourth downs. Jackson scored on the ground from six yards out to extend the Union Commonwealth lead to 14 at the very beginning of the fourth quarter (14:30 left in the game). The rest of the quarter consisted of mostly punts, a Hopkins interception of Blaydon Blake and another Jackson touchdown run, his third of the game, this one from five yards out to make the final score look more lopsided than most of the game was.

The St. Andrews defense allowed just 262 total yards and was particularly good against the pass with Union Commonwealth only gaining 71 yards through the air. The Knights simply couldn’t get anything going on offense as they only totaled 135 yards and averaged 2.1 yards per play. The full game statistics can be found on the St. Andrews Athletics website here: St. Andrews University (sauknights.com).

The Knights will remain at home for another conference matchup against Point next Saturday, Oct. 19 with the game scheduled to start at noon. Curtin knows that figuring out who the right man to lead his offense going forward is will be paramount.

“We’re a flexbone triple option offense and if we can’t read our keys we’re just a dive team,” Curtin said. “We got to figure out who can read the option and it’s different every snap, so we have to get a mature guy in there.”