Siena Heights University Releases 2022 Football Schedule

shu-football-9-27-21-via-mike-dickie
shu-football-9-27-21-via-mike-dickie

Adrian, MI – The Siena Heights University football program has released its schedule for the 2022 Fall season, which features ten games beginning at home on Saturday, September 3rd, and going through November 12th, 2022.

“We are really looking forward to competing against some of the best competition in all of the NAIA,” said SHU head football coach Matt Kohn. “We want to be the best, and we’ll have an opportunity to play against some of the best this Fall.”

The Saints kick things off at home against Olivet Nazarene. The Tigers spent eight weeks in the NAIA Football FirstDown PlayBook Top 25 Poll reaching as high as sixth. Siena Heights fell to Olivet Nazarene in a tightly fought battle to start the 2021 season, but the Saints have a 6-3 advantage in the series against the Tigers and have won two of the last three meetings.

The following two contests are on the road, with the first being against Saint Xavier. The Cougars worked their way up the NAIA poll, ranking 12th in the final poll of the 2021 season. The Saints and SXU met inside O’Laughlin Stadium a season ago, with the Cougars coming away with  the win. Saint Xavier holds a 3-1 lead in the series against SHU.

The final road game of the early stretch is at Saint Francis (Ill.). The Fighting Saints fell to Siena Heights 13-8 in 2021. The SHU Saints have won the last four meetings in the five-game history between the programs. Saint Francis (Ill.) made it as high as 20th in the NAIA Top-25 poll in 2021.

Following the season’s first two-game road trip, the Saints welcome Mid-States Football Association Mideast League rival Saint Francis (Ind.) to  O’Laughlin Stadium for the 2022 Siena Heights Homecoming game on Saturday, October 1. Siena Heights has a two-game winning streak over the Cougars, with back-to-back double-digit victories. Saint Francis (Ind.) made it as high as 13th in the NAIA poll during the 2021 season.

Another tough matchup looms for the Saints in week five, with the Cardinals of Concordia (Mich.) visiting for a noon kickoff. SHU will look to end the seven-game winning streak that CUAA currently holds. The most recent was a 20-10 loss in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Two of the last three matchups had less than a touchdown margin when these two teams played. The Cardinals rose as high as fifth in the NAIA Top-25 poll.

Week six will have Siena Heights visiting Madonna for the first time since the Crusaders began competing two seasons ago. The Saints have won the first two meetings by large margins to hold a 2-0 advantage over Madonna.

The Blue Devils from Lawrence Tech will visit O’Laughlin Stadium for the second-consecutive season for week seven of the 2022 campaign. SHU leads the series 2-0 against the Blue Devils, who have two seasons of MSFA football under their belts.

The final home game for Siena Heights will be on October 29 when Indiana Wesleyan comes to Adrian, Michigan. The Wildcats have won the last three meetings to hold a 3-1 lead in the series. This will also be the first time since IWU’s inaugural season (2018) that the game is held  inside O’Laughlin Stadium.

Week nine has the Saints traveling to face the Marian Knights in Indianapolis. Marian currently holds a nine-game winning streak in the series that dates back to 2012, the inaugural varsity season of Saints’football. The Knights were ranked during the entire season in 2021, reaching as  high as sixth on the chart.

The 2022 season wraps up in Upland, Indiana, against Taylor. The Saints have won the last four matchups against the Trojans to hold a 6-3 edge in the series. This will be the first trip to Upland for SHU since the 2017 season.

*Text media courtesy of Siena Heights University. Featured Image by Mike Dickie*

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