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PREVIEW: Saints and Panthers to Battle for UMAC Football Title

Printable CSS Game Notes vs. Greenville

DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – St. Scholastica will travel to Greenville, Illinois on Saturday to take on unbeaten Greenville College in a winner-take-all game for the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Football Championship. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.

Game Day Media:
Live Audio on Saints Sports Net | Live Video & Stats | CSS 2-Deep | Greenville 2-Deep

UMAC Standings | UMAC Stats

St. Scholastica Saints
Record:
 8-1, 8-0 UMAC
Head Coach: Greg Carlson (6th Season)
-The Saints will be in search of their third consecutive UMAC Championship and third straight NCAA postseason appearance.
-CSS is coming off of a 55-7 victory over the Minnesota Morris Cougars on Senior Day.
-Jake Turkowski (Superior, Wis./Superior HS), Cory Gebhard (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls HS), and Jake Jensen (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul HS) were all named Beyond Sports Network (BSN) Players of the Week for their performances against Morris.
-On the offensive side of the ball CSS has outgained opponents 2317-1003 on the ground. 
Jensen leads the UMAC in rushing yards per game at 133.8.  Jensen also is second in the UMAC in rushing touchdowns with 12 total.
-Jensen needs 91 yards on the ground to become the first Saint in program history to run for 3,000 yards in a career. He is currently fifth in the country with 1,204 yards on the ground this season.
-The Saints offense averages 434.6 yards per game in UMAC play and is 32-for-38 inside the red zone.
-Alec French (Isanti, Minn./St. Francis HS) helps solidify the UMAC's No. 1 statistically ranked defense with 88 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and three interceptions.  French currently sits fourth in the UMAC rankings for total tackles.
-Linebackers Keaton Rush (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS), Paul Olson (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS), and Tyler Zurn (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park HS) have combined for 8.5 sacks on the year as well as eight pass break-ups.
-Defensive backs Mike LaValley (Superior, Wis./Superior HS) and Turkowski have combined for nine interceptions on the year with four of the picks going for touchdowns. The Saints lead the conference with five defensive touchdowns this season.
-The defense as a unit allows just 272.4 total yards per game including just 111.4 yards rushing.  -Opponents average just 15.4 points per game against the Saints defense.
-CSS has outscored opponents 169-26 in the second and third quarters combined.
-However, the CSS defense is allowing 12 more points per game and 50 more yards per game on the road this season.

Greenville College Panthers
Record: 9-0, 8-0 UMAC
Interim Head Coach: Robbie Schomaker (1st Season)
-For the first time in program history, the Panthers are off to a 9-0 start.
-The Panthers enter Saturday's contest having won 17 games in row. It is the second-longest winning streak in NCAA Division III (Mount Union-23). The last Greenville loss was against the Saints last season.
-Greenville's victory over Northwestern in the regular season finale last season helped the Saints get the automatic qualifier into the NCAA Playoffs.
-The Panthers are coming off of a 28-7 victory over Westminster College.
-Greenville's offense is one of most prolific offenses in all of NCAA Division III, averaging over 522.1 total yards per game; including an outstanding 366.2 yards on the ground in UMAC play.
-The Panthers lead the UMAC in over 15+ statistical categories including total points scored, yards per game, rushing yards, rushing attempts, and rushing touchdowns.
-Brendon Chambers leads the high-powered offense throwing for 1372 yards and 13 touchdowns and only two interceptions.  Chambers also leads the rushing attack with 15 touchdowns, most in the UMAC.
-Greenville has four rushers over 225+ yards this season and those four running backs have combined for 22 total touchdowns.
-Shawn McKnight leads a solid receiving corps with five scores and 434 yards receiving on the year.
-Greenville has gotten off to slow starts as of late. In the last two games, it has been tied at the half against Iowa Wesleyan and Westminster. Three weeks ago it trailed 20-14 at the half against Northwestern.
-Cody Lopez leads the Panther defense with 60 tackles while fellow linebacker Robert Deering adds 54 tackles including 6.5 tackles for loss.
-Greenville's defense allows 352.1 total yards per game, but holds opponents to just 115 yards rushing per game.
Series History: (CSS is 2-1 vs. Greenville)
In the 2012 meeting the Saints hosted the Panthers at UMD for Homecoming.  Mike LaValley (Superior, Wis./Superior HS) picked off a Brendon Chambers pass on the opening defensive series and Saints QB Tyler Harper (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS) capitalized on the ensuing drive scampering in for 10 yard TD to put the Saints up 7-0.  Cory Gebhard (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls HS) added a 10 yard receiving score and Jake Jensen (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul HS) tacked on two rushing scores to put the Saints up 31-3.  Harper would add a goal line sneak rushing touchdown and LaValley capped the scoring for CSS with a 73 yard INT for a touchdown.  The Saints defense held Greenville to 314 yards of total offense in the contest.  The Saints would win in dominating fashion 45-3. It was the first time a Saints defense has not given up a touchdown in a game. CSS scored 28 points off of five Panther turnovers.  


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