DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica football team begins a new era on Saturday when it kicks off against Ripon College (Wis.).
 
Where:
Public Schools Stadium - Directions
 
When:
Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
Watch: http://www.csssaints.com/SSN (Brian Prudhomme and Josh Miron on the call)
 
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St. Scholastica Saints
Roster | 2013 Stats
2013 Record: 9-2, 9-0 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
 
The St. Scholastica football team will be under the guidance of its second head coach in program history when it takes the field Saturday as Kurt Ramler took over for retired coach Greg Carlson back in March. Ramler will lead a Saints squad that has won three straight Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) titles and has lost only one UMAC game in the past three seasons.
 
Offense
Who's Back: The Saints return five starters, three of which are on the offensive line … Quarterback Tyler Harper (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS) is entering his third season as a starter … Harper has started all 22 games the past two seasons and had one of his best games in the road victory at Greenville last season to capture the UMAC championship … He has thrown 18 TDs in each of the last two seasons … Chris Gassert (Moose Lake, Minn./Moose Lake HS) returns at running back … As a backup last season, Gassert ran for 679 yards and five TDs … He led the UMAC with 7.7 yards per carry … Junior fullback Mitch O'Neil (Otsego, Minn./Rogers HS) will be leading the way for Gassert and the running backs … O'Neil was a second team All-UMAC choice last season … Spencer Specht (Ramsey, Minn./Anoka HS), Nick Murphy (Glendale, Ariz./Brophy College Prep ) and Andrew Smith (Rogers, Minn./Rogers HS) all return at wide receiver … Those three combined for 25 receptions last season … Senior center Pete Stanley (Rogers, Minn./Rogers HS) leads the offensive line … Stanley is a two-time first team All-UMAC selection and has started all 22 games the last two years … Senior left tackle Matt Evans (Andover, Minn./St. Francis HS) moves over from right tackle … Evans missed the final two games last season due to injury … In his place Jon Vande Waa (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS) started the final five game last season, whether it was at guard or right tackle.
 
Who's Gone: The Saints are without their top four wide receivers from a season ago, whether it be by graduation or just not returning this season … Cory Gebhard (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls HS) led that receiving corps with 42 receptions a season ago … Running back Jake Jensen (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul HS) ran for a career-high 811 yards last season, but was the team's second leading receiver 18 receptions … Jensen led the team with 13 touchdowns … He finished as the all-time leading rusher in program history … Gebhard and Jensen combined for 24 of the team's 51 touchdowns last season … Left tackle Chris Lambach (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul HS) was named the conference's Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2013
 
Newcomers: In the backfield, look for Northfield's Preston Robinson (Northfield, Minn./Northfield HS) and Ken Burton Jr. (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore City College HS (Virginia University of Lynchburg)) out of Maryland to spell Gassert … Riley Hill is the team's third offensive line coach in the last three season … Hill took the place of Ryan Allgood, who is now an offensive graduate assistant at the University of Oklahoma.
 
Defense
Who's Back: The Saints return their front three in defensive ends Blake Cedarleaf (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi HS) and Joe Geiselman (Virginia, Minn./Virginia HS) and nose tackle Aaron Tody (Superior, Wis./Superior HS (Itasca CC)) … Cedarleaf and Geiselman combined for 14.5 sacks and 19 tackles for a loss in 2013 … Senior Paul Olson (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS) is the lone returning starting linebacker … Olson was fourth on the team with 74 tackles last season … Alex Mangan (Eagan, Minn./Eagan HS) appeared in all 11 games last season at linebacker and was tied for a team-high 10 tackles for a loss … Junior Xavier Rhodes (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul HS) leads the defensive backfield … Rhodes was third on the squad with 80 tackles a season ago … Rhodes had a career-high 15 tackles in the playoff game vs. Bethel … John Mike (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul HS) and Jack Miller (Mendota Heights, Minn./St. Thomas Academy ) will move into starting roles at corner back … Miller started six game last season and had one interception … Mike appeared in all 11 games in 2013.
 
Who's Gone: 2013 UMAC Defensive Player of the Year Alec French (Isanti, Minn./St. Francis HS) … French also became the first CSS football player to earn All-American recognition by D3football.com when he was named honorable mention … He recorded a program-record 114 tackles last season … Linebackers Keaton Rush (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS) and Tyler Zurn (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park HS) combined for 140 tackles last season … Rush was a first team All-UMAC choice and finished with the fifth-most career tackles in program history … Defensive Backs Mike LaValley (Superior, Wis./Superior HS), Sherome Milon (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS) and Jake Turkowski (Superior, Wis./Superior HS) … Among the them, the trio combined for 118 games played and 24 interceptions and seven touchdowns.
 
Newcomers: Defensive Coordinator George Penree takes over for former coach Allen Smith … Smith is now the Linebackers Coach at Drake University (Iowa) … Jared Moran (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville HS), Mitch Ejnik (New London, Minn./New London-Spicer HS ) and DeAngelo Condon (Minneapolis, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) return to the football program after taking some time away … Moran last played for the Saints in 2011, while Ejnik and Condon were last on the team in 2012.
 
Special Teams
Who's Back: Two-time UMAC Special Team's Player of the Year Mike Theismann (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo HS) returns for his senior season … He will be adding punting to his repertoire this season … Theismann was a Beyond Sports Network First Team All-American in 2012 and missed only one field goal attempt in his first two seasons … In 2013, Theismann was 5-for-11 on field goal tries … Andrew Smith (Rogers, Minn./Rogers HS) will see more return opportunities this season.
 
Who's Gone: Punter Justin Bosman (Rush City, Minn./Rush City HS) had 15 punts land inside the 20 last season and averaged 35.5 per attempt … He holds the longest four punts in program history … Kick Returners Cory Gebhard (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls HS) and Josh Simmons (Houston, Texas/Jack Yates HS) … Gebhard had one punt return for a TD last season, while both Gebhard and Simmons both averaged 20 yards per kick return.
 
Newcomers: Look for Preston Robinson (Northfield, Minn./Northfield HS) and Kenneth Jinkins (Eagan, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) to get some chances in the return game.
 
Switching Sides of the Ball: Sophomore Harry Griffin (Elba, Ala./Elba HS) made the move from the defensive line to the offensive line this season and is projected to start at guard … Former guard Luke Scharrer (St. Paul, Minn./Mahtomedi HS) is now on the defensive line … Scharrer started the first six games on the offensive line last season before injury … Ian Zenner (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Marshall School ) moves from wide receiver to defensive back … Running back August Marleau (Deer River, Minn./Deer River HS) is now a linebacker … Wide receivers coach Matt Bremer is now the defensive backs coach.
 
About Coach Ramler: Ramler was the head football coach at Carleton College for six seasons where he was named the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Coach of the Year in 2008 … Last season he was the associate head coach and offensive coordinator at his alma mater Saint John's University … At Saint John's, Ramler played for legendary head coach John Gagliardi from 1993-96 … As quarterback, he was a two-time All-MIAC selection, including being named the conference's Most Valuable Player in 1996 … That season he was also named a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, which is handed out to the Most-Outstanding Division III Football Player … He holds the top three Johnnie records for passing yards in a game and is second in career passing yards and career touchdown passes … He won 27 games in his time as starting quarterback, which is tied for the second-most in program history.
 
Preseason All-Americans: Seniors Pete Stanley (Rogers, Minn./Rogers HS), Blake Cedarleaf (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi HS) and Mike Theismann (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo HS) received Preseason Al-American recognition by USA Football … Stanley was a first team selection, while Cedarleaf and Theismann were second team choices
 
PSS is Home for This Season: The Saints will play all five of their home games at Public Schools Stadium this season … CSS has played at four different home venues in program history has a record of 7-5 all-time at PSS.
 
vs. Midwest Conference: The Saints are 2-0 all-time against Midwest Conference teams … The Saints defeated Lawrence University (Wis.) in the 2010 (31-24) and 2011 (34-21) seasons.
 
Top 5 Games to Watch
9/6 – vs. Ripon
The Saints are only 6-11 all-time against non-UMAC opponents
9/20 – vs. Crown
A young Storm squad had the Saints on the ropes last season and held the Saints to 24 points, its lowest output vs. a UMAC team all season.
10/4 – vs. Northwestern
Northwestern returns 20 starters from last season … The last visit to Duluth for Northwestern was a 14-13 victory.
11/1 – at Minnesota Morris
The Cougars held the Saints scoreless for most of the first half last season … In 2012, the Saints needed a late defensive stop to hold on in Morris.
11/8 – vs. Greenville
The regular season finale that proved to be a pseudo-conference championship game last season … Both programs have finished in the top two the last three seasons.
 
UMAC Preseason Poll
1. 74 Points – College of St. Scholastica (5 First Place Votes)
2. 70 Points – Greenville College (2)
3. 69 Points – University of Northwestern (2)
4. 55 Points – Eureka College (1)
5. 49 Points – Crown College
6. 41 Points – University of Minnesota Morris
7. 32 Points – Westminster College
8. 29 Points – Martin Luther College
9. 21 Points – Iowa Wesleyan College
10. 10 Points – MacMurray College
 
Opponent
Ripon College Red Hawks
The Red Hawks finished fifth in the Midwest Conference last season as they finished with seven wins for the sixth time in the last eight seasons … For the first time since the 1997 season, the Midwest Conference will go to divisional play with Ripon playing in the North Division … The Red Hawks have been picked to finish second in the North Division behind St. Norbert College (Wis.), according to the preseason coaches' poll … Ripon will bring in a similar offense to that of Martin Luther College, with a double-wing option attack … The Red Hawks are replacing 12 starters from last year's squad … However, they return two all-conference quarterbacks in Tom Sawyer (second team-2012) and Stephen Covalt (second team-2013) … Sawyer missed most of last season due to injury … Connor Greenwald finished second on the team in rushing last season with 689 yards … On the offensive line, Ripon returns three of five starters from a 2013 squad that ran for 3,047 yards on the year, the fourth-most in program history … Defensively, senior linebacker Gage Ferkey and junior linebacker Austin Schleisner return with plenty of experience … Cornerback Logan Will has appeared in all but two games in his first three seasons.
 
Head Coach Ron Ernst: Coach Ernst enters his 24^th season on the sideline of Ripon football … During his time, the Red Hawks have experienced only one losing season and that took place in 1994 (4-5) … Ernst became just the second coach in Midwest Conference football history to reach 150 career victories in the regular season finale last season and is just nine shy of the MWC's all-time record of 159.