ADRIAN – For the Saints of Siena Heights, Saturday afternoon marked an incredibly special occasion, as it was the final home football opener for a program that has seen so much success on and off the field. In short, this was the start of The Last Dance.
On July 1 it was announced that Siena Heights University would close at the conclusion of the 2025-26 academic year, a decision made due to severe financial pressures and operational challenges, as assessed by senior leadership. In short, the DJ has called Last Dance, and the Saints are to find their final partner to finish things off with.
“When I come into our team meeting every day, I ask our guys ‘Who are we?’ They respond with ‘We Are Champions.’ We define a champion as someone who answers the call, these kids, these coaches, they all answered the call,” Siena Heights coach Matt Kohn said. “There are a lot of things these guys could have done when they found out about the closure, a lot of the guys on our staff could have left for other opportunities, but we all made the distinct choice to come back here for the Last Dance. We answered the call, and I believe that is what makes a champion, answering the call, regardless of circumstance.”
Siena Heights looks to impress during Last Dance
Things started out slowly for the Saints on Saturday but, as it turns out, it is how you finish that matters the most as Siena Heights scored 17 fourth-quarter points to pull past their visitors from Saint Francis (Ill.) at O’Laughlin Stadium en route to a thrilling 24-21 win.
What Happened?
Saint Francis hit paydirt first, scoring on a 7-yard touchdown run with 2:44 left in the first quarter, a score that would hold for much of the first half.
Late in the first half, Saint Francis was driving, however, a key sack by the Siena Heights defense forced a punt, giving the home team possession at the 20-yard line with 3:07 left in the first half. Siena Heights proceeded to move the ball down the field using a mixture of passing and running the ball before finding the end zone on a tough 4-yard touchdown run by Brendan Haisenleder . The extra point by Carter Ball was good, tying the score up at 7-7 heading into the half.
After Siena Heights was forced to punt to start the second half, it was Saint Francis retaking the lead on a 6-yard touchdown run by Gavin Day. The extra point was good, giving Saint Francis the 14-7 lead after three quarters of play.
Trailing by a single score, it was Siena Height’s turn to take over as the Saints scored 17 big points in the fourth quarter to retake the lead and move comfortably out front.
The comeback started thanks to a Carter Bell 22-yard field goal, closing the score to 14-10, which in turn led to perhaps the biggest play of the game: Siena Heights rolled the dice and called for the onside kick, which saw the kicker dribble the ball 10 yards, and with his blockers clearing the way, it was the kicker recovering the onside kick, giving Siena Heights possession near midfield.
“That onside kick was all Special Teams coach (Andrew) McGaughy, that was his call,” Kohn said. “McGaughy had told me he saw some things on film all week and he thought it would work. After the field goal he switched over on the head set and said, ‘What do you think coach?’ So, I said let’s do it, and it worked perfectly.”
One play later it was Braylen Himmelein hitting Troy West II deep for a 44-yard catch, setting up Siena Heights inside the red zone. Two throws later, both to Credell Prather, the Saints found the endzone as Prather brought down a jump ball in the corner of the end zone and just tapped a toe in for the touchdown, giving Siena Heights their first lead of the game at 17-14 with 8:48 left in the game.
Siena Heights looked to put things away with a dynamic and grinding drive after forcing a three-and-out as Jaylen Flowers capped off a long drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, giving Siena Heights the 24-14 lead with 6:25 left on the clock.
Saint Francis cut into the lead with one more score on a 13-yard throw and catch, however Siena Heights sealed the victory with a clutch sack by Greg Predina with only seconds left, preserving the 24-21 win.
Top Performances
Braylen Himmelein, QB, Siena Heights – Finished 22 of 31 passing for 322 yards and one touchdown to go with one interception.
Brendan Haisenleder and Jaylen Flowers, RB, Siena Heights – The duo each notched a touchdown run, with Haisenleder adding 39 yards on the ground while Flowers had 32.
Four different Siena Heights receivers recorded four or more receptions, led by Tendaji Alexander with 6 catches for 89 yards while Credell Prather added 5 catches for 59 yards. Kendrick McBride had 4 catches for 76 yards while Troy West II had 4 catches for 71 yards
Jalen Edwards, LB, Siena Heights – Edwards led the defense with 12 tackles and a forced fumble.
As a unit the Siena Heights defense had five sacks, led by AJ Knox with two and Greg Pedina and Clark Hamilton with one each. Hamilton added 11 tackles, two for a loss, and a fumble recovery.
Joe Nemecek, LB, Siena Heights – 10 tackles, including 1 and a half for a loss.
What’s Next?
Siena Heights improves to 1-1 on the season with the win and will be back in action Saturday when they make the long trip to Olivet Nazarene where the Saints will continue dancing to the beat of the Last Dance. In the end, one thing is for certain, the Siena Heights Saints know who and what they are, they are Champions, simply because they answered the call of the Last Dance.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Siena Heights football kicks off Last Dance with come-from-behind win over Saint Francis
Reporting by Troy Tennyson, The Daily Telegram / The Daily Telegram
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
