Box Score Box Score
MORRIS, Minn. – The St. Scholastica football team will have to wait another week before picking up its first win as the Saints fell at the University of Minnesota-Morris today 21-7 at Big Cat Stadium in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) opener.
Minnesota-Morris (2-1, 1-0) jumped out quick on the Saints, scoring on its first two possessions. After CSS (0-2, 0-1) was forced to punt on the opening possession of the game, the Cougars marched 85 yards on 11 plays. The drive was capped off on a 10-yard touchdown reception by Matt Fragodt on third-and-goal. Fragodt broke the school's record for touchdowns in a career on the play.
On the following possession, the Saints drove the ball down to the Morris 3-yard-line. Three plays later, CSS was intercepted in the end zone and the ball went over to the Cougars. The Cougars then went 80 yards on nine plays and went up 14-0 when Ernest Tucker ran it in from eight yards out with 12:39 left in the first half.
St. Scholastica got inside the Cougars 10-yard-line once again on the next possession, but turned it over on downs at the Morris 8-yard-line. The Saints defense then forced a three-and-out and the CSS offense had great field position. This time the Saints capitalized as backup quarterback #Alex Thiry# (So.-Cambridge, Minn./Braham), in his first action of the season, went 2-for-2 on the drive and #Christopher Henagin# (Jr.-Cloquet, Minn.) scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 14-7 at the half.
Morris took the opening possession of the second half down the field and extended its lead to 21-7 when Robert Koranda scored on a 5-yard touchdown run. The CSS defense held the Cougars without a point the rest of the way, so it was up to the offense.
On the Saints' opening possession of the second half, they took the ball all the way down to the Morris 25-yard-line, but once again turned it over on downs. At the start of the fourth quarter, the Saints got the ball to the 31-yard-line of Minnesota-Morris, but failed to convert on fourth down. St. Scholastica threw a couple of interceptions at the end of the game as the Cougars prevailed 21-7.
Morris had a slight advantage in total yards, out-gaining the Saints 302-287. CSS had more yardage through the air 182-85, but the Cougars had a 217-105 advantage on the ground. The Saints had 16 first downs, compared to 14 for Morris. Third and fourth down conversions were the story of the game. CSS was just 5-for-19 on third and fourth downs. On six of the 11 possessions, the Saints had the ball in Cougars territory.
#Jake Olson# (Fr.-Esko, Minn.) was 15-of-26 for 133 yards through the air. Alex Thiry (Cambridge, Minn./Braham HS (Minn.-Duluth)) was 5-of-10 for 49 yards. #Jonathan Bennett# (Fr.-Blackduck, Minn.) led the Saints receiving corps with six catches for 56 yards. #Mike VanMassenhove# (So.-Superior, Wis.) had five receptions for 40 yards. Henagin had a nice day on the ground, rushing for 79 yards on 13 carries. For the second straight week, #James Leary# (Fr.-Inver Grove Heights, Minn./South St. Paul) led the Saints defense with 16 tackles. #Phil DesMarais# (So.-Duluth, Minn./Denfeld) added 12 tackles.
The Saints will play their first home game next weekend when it takes on Crown College at Malosky Stadium on the campus of UMD. It will also be the first homecoming for the college. The kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
