Box Score
DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Scholastica football team earned its first-ever three-game winning streak with a 10-7 victory in its final home game of the season against Northwestern College at Malosky Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles started with the ball on the opening kickoff, and the Saints forced a three-and-out. After the punt, the Saints kept the ball on the ground the entire first drive, with #Matt Johnson# rushing for 29 yards over four plays and quarterback #Alex Thiry# rushing for 27 yards on one play. #Cole Karsky# capped off the nine-play, 54-yard drive with a 20-yard field goal to put the Saints up 3-0 with 8:36 remaining in the first.
After forcing a punt, the Saints next drive stalled after the Northwestern defense forced a fumble deep in Saints territory. The Eagles kept it on the ground with Dan Sunde eventually finishing the six-play, 26-yard drive with the game's first touchdown. The extra point was good, and the Eagles led 7-3 with three minutes left in the quarter.
The Saints controlled the ball for the next six minutes, driving the field on a twelve-play, 62-yard drive which began with a #Jonny Bennett# 17-yard kickoff return. Thiry threw for 34 yards on the drive with Johnson rushing for the rest, including an eight-yard charge into the end-zone to put the Saints back on top. A #Taylor McGinnis# extra point put the Saints up 10-7.
The two teams traded punts for much of the second quarter, with the Saints making one long drive of 12 plays and 52 yards which Northwestern stalled with a sack and a forced fumble on their own 16 yard line. On the Eagles' next drive, #Justin Trautmiller# picked off a pass and returned it for 36 yards to set the Saints up at midfield, but Northwestern eventually forced a punt before the end of the half with the Saints leading 10-7.
Both teams' defenses stood tall in the second half. Northwestern stalled a Saints drive with an interception late in the third quarter, while the Saints' #Mike LaValley# intercepted a Northwestern pass late in the fourth to put the game on ice for CSS, as they ran out the clock after the turnover to end the game.
The Saints finished with 13 first downs while holding the Eagles to just nine. CSS had 261 yards of total offense while the Eagles finished with 173.
For the Saints,
Alex Thiry (Cambridge, Minn./Braham HS (Minn.-Duluth)) finished 13-22 with 110 yards passing and one interception. Johnson finished with 107 yards on the ground on 25 attempts, adding 21 receiving yards on a long toss from Thiry. #Nick Thiry# led the Saints in receiving with five catches for 55 yards.
Josh Balzer completed just nine passes and had two interceptions while throwing for 64 yards for the Eagles. Tim Youtzy led the Eagles with 41 yards rushing while Sunde scored the lone touchdown for Northwestern. Chad Rusinkovich led the Eagles in receiving with five catches, but just eighteen yards. Josh Young had one reception for 25 yards.
#Keaton Rush# led the Saints defense with 10 tackles, while #Sean Graskey# and #Alec French# had eight each, including a combined 1.5 tackles for loss.
The Saints will be a long way from Duluth for their regular season finale next Saturday as they will be in tropical Missouri to face Westminster College. If the Saints win they will clinch at least a share of second place in the conference in just their third year of existence. The kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and can be heard live on ESPN Radio 560-WEBC with Charlie Johnson on the call.
