Box Score Box Score

The Saints football team finished the season undefeated for the first time in the program's young history after beating the Eureka College Red Devils 48-7 in Eureka, Ill. on Saturday afternoon.

The win over the Red Devils (4-6, 4-5 UMAC) improves the Saints record from a season ago by three wins for the third consecutive year (2008: 1-7, 2009: 4-6, 2010: 7-3, 2011: 10-0).

The Saints took the first lead of the game when Alex Thiry (Cambridge, Minn./Braham HS (Minn.-Duluth)) found Keegan O'Neill (Superior, Wis./Superior HS) for a 20-yard touchdown.  The Mike Theismann (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo HS) extra point was good to give CSS the early 7-0 advantage. 

St. Scholastica went on to score on their next drive as well when Nick Thiry (Braham, Minn./Braham HS) caught a 28-yard touchdown pass, and with the Theismann extra point the Saints' lead was extended to 14-0.

Early in the second quarter the Saints lead would grow once again when Travis Nehowig (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS) ran in for a score from two yards out to make it 20-0 CSS.

Eureka scored their only touchdown of the day on the next drive when Wes Schmidgall caught a Sam Durley pass for a five yard score.  Travis Huber's extra point was good to cut the lead to 20-7 Saints.

The Saints would get one more score in the first half when A. Thiry passed to Jonny Bennett (Blackduck, Minn./Blackduck HS) for a 32-yard touchdown.  Theismann's extra point was good to send St. Scholastica into halftime with a 27-7 advantage.

The Saints wasted no time in the second half as Sherome Milon (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS) took the opening kickoff 74 yards for the score, and the first kick return for a touchdown in St. Scholastica history.  Theismann's extra point was once again good to extend the lead to 34-7.

A. Thiry would connect with O'Neill one more time in the third quarter for a 59-yard touchdown to give the Saints a 41-7 lead after the Theismann extra point.

The Saints final touchdown came on a six yard run by Nehowig in the fourth quarter.  Theismann's extra point was good to make it 48-7, the score that would eventually be the final.

A. Thiry had another outstanding game going 11-20 with 199 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions.  Thiry ends the regular season with a 73.3 completion percentage, 2549 yards, 37 touchdowns and a couple outstanding statistics; just one interception and a nation-leading 235.5 passer rating.

Nehowig ended the game with 142 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns.  Thomas Fragale (Loxahatchee, Fla./Seminole Ridge HS) added 32 yards on a day that St. Scholastica had 204 yards rushing.

O'Neill led the way receiving for CSS with four catches for 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns.  N. Thiry added 50 yards and a touchdown on four catches and Bennett brought down two catches for 36 yards and a touchdown.

Zack Dubanoski (New Prague, Minn./New Prague HS) had a big defensive day with 10 tackles, 2.5 for a loss and 1.5 sacks.  JP Leary (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul HS) led the way in tackling with 11 and also grabbed an interception on the afternoon.  Christopher Doran (Royalton, Minn./Andover HS) added six tackles and 1.5 sacks and Jordan Rasmussen (Albert Lea, Minn./Albert Lea HS (Ridgewater CC)) had a sack as well for the Saints, totaling four on the day.  Kaelin Harvey (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley HS) had an interception to give the Saints two on the day and boost their turnover margin to an astronomical +24.

The Saints (10-0, 9-0 UMAC) now await their fate in the NCAA Tournament as the brackets will be organized and announced at 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 13 at NCAA.com.  Stay tuned to csssaints.com to stay updated on when and where the Saints football team will play next Saturday.