SAINT MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, Ind. -- The 2024 Midwest Sprint Football League Regular Season Championship is on the line Saturday, October 26 as the Crimson Wave of Calumet College of St. Joseph and the Pomeroys of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College meet at 3 pm (ET) at Jay Barrett Field at West Vigo High School.

Additionally, in pregame ceremonies six seniors for the Pomeroys will be honored prior to playing their final regular season home game. Both CCSJ and SMWC enter the contest with perfect 5-0 records as the Pomeroys have won five in a row while the Crimson Wave have set a new league record by winning each of their last 11 contests dating back to September 30, 2003 -- a 14-13 loss at Quincy.

The game will be broadcast live on the Indiana Sports Network as well as WNDI 95.3 FM on the radio with the legendary John Montgomery describing the action.

SMWC continues its third season of competing in sprint football. The Pomeroys are 18-3 all-time in the sport -- all under the direction of third-year head coach Blaine Powell. The Pomeroys are a perfect 11-0 all-time record away from home and are 7-3 when playing on their home turf.

The Pomeroys have clinched a spot in the 2024 Midwest Sprint Football League Playoffs and also will play their semifinal contest at Jay Barrett Field on Saturday, November 2. The winner of this game will have home field field advantage throughout their 2024 MSFL Playoff run. Bellarmine has clinched the No. 3 seed in the playoffs and will travel to the loser of Saturday's game for a MSFL semifinal while the winner of this game will capture the No. 1 seed and host either Quincy or Midway next Saturday.

The Crimson Wave are under the direction of head coach Jay Novak.

The Pomeroys have faced Calumet College of St. Joseph more than any other program in the three-year history of the league and are 3-2 all-time against the Crimson Wave. CCSJ is 3-0 against the Pomeroys in West Terre Haute while the Pomeroys have won both of the matchups in Whiting, Ind. Notably, these two teams competed in both the 2023 & 2024 MSFL Championship Game.

The Pomeroys won the 2022 Midwest Sprint Football League Championship with a 23-7 win at CCSJ in the league's championship game which was played in Whiting, Ind. In 2023, SMWC reached the MSFL Championship Game but fell to CCSJ in that game at Jay Barrett Field to finish as league runner-up. It was the first college football playoff contest to be held in Vigo County since 1984. In 2024, the Pomeroys were named the MSFL Preseason favorite. 

Jeremiah Tosky is coming off his second MSFL Offensive Player of the Week winning performance in the victory at Walsh (Ohio). Tosky completed 17-of-25 passes for 386 yards as the Pomeroys improved to 5-0 on the season with a road win at Walsh. He recorded a total of three touchdown passes in the contest. He capped the opening drive with a 39-yard scoring strike and then came back with a 72 yarder on the second drive for a quick two possession lead. Tosky added a 47-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter to send SMWC to a 28-0 halftime lead.

SMWC won all three of the MSFL weekly awards following their 54-26 win at Bellarmine on October 5. Marques Reese (Indianapolis, Ind. / Ben Davis HS) is the MSFL Offensive Player of the Week while Austin Petrillo (Rockville, Ind. / Parke Heritage HS) is the MSFL Defensive Player of the Week and Darrius Megnin (Corydon, Ind. / Corydon Central HS) is the MSFL Special Teams Player of the Week.

Reese took the league's Special Teams Player of the Week honors after Week 1 and comes back this week as the MSFL Offensive Player of the Week. Reese caught six passes for 158 yards -- an average of 26.3 yards per catch with a pair of touchdowns in the 54-26 road victory over Bellarmine. His long of 62 yards came in the first play after halftime to stretch the Pomeroy lead to 22-7 over the Knights. He also hauled in a 40-yarder just before halftime to give SMWC a 14-7 advantage. He also caught one two point conversion and added a 13-yard kickoff return.

Petrillo was credited with six total tackles, including a tackle for a loss in the Pomeroys 54-26 victory at Bellarmine. He posted a pair of interceptions including a key one in the red zone just before halftime to stop a potential game-tying drive by the Knights before halftime. Petrillo also blocked a PAT kick in the third quarter which was eventually returned 98 yards for a defensive two point conversion. He intercepted his second pass of the contest and returned the ball to the Bellarmine 4-yard line for 61 yards which set up the final SMWC touchdown of the day.

Megnin pulled off one of the most rare scoring plays in all of football when he took a PAT attempt that was blocked by Petrillo and scooped the ball at the two-yard line and returned it 98 yards for a defensive two-point conversion after Bellarmine had scored to cut into the Pomeroy lead. The extra two points combined with a safety three minutes later established a 40-20 advantage for SMWC heading into the 4th quarter.

Through four games this season, SMWC is averaging 45.6 points per game which leads the league while CCSJ is second checking in at 33.6 ppg. SMWC leads the league also with a total of 471.6 yards per game. 
 
The SMWC defense is allowing 17.4 points per game during their current five-game winning streak and are second in the league to CCSJ who is only allowing 7.4 points per contest.

The Pomeroys will return home on Saturday, November 2 when they host a MSFL Semifinal contest at Jay Barrett Field. Kickoff time and opponent will be determined after the completion of all league games this Saturday.