DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica football team will face the University of Northwestern Saturday night in St. Paul for UMAC supremacy.
Where:Reynolds Field – St. Paul, Minn.
When:Saturday at 6 p.m.
Live Video: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/unw/
Live Stats: http://unweagles.com/sports/2012/11/7/gen_1107121456.aspxLive Audio: http://www.csssaints.com/ssn Social Media:Twitter:
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https://www.facebook.com/StScholasticaFootball St. Scholastica SaintsStatsRecord: 5-1, 5-0 UMACUpper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats Last Action: After scoring 47 points in the first half the week before, the Saints poured on 35 points in the first half last week against Iowa Wesleyan University en route to a 41-7 victory over the Tigers at Public Schools Stadium …
Mike Mensing (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine HS (Gustavus Adolphus)), the team's third starting quarterback this season, threw three touchdowns in the first half and the Saints also recorded a special team's score for the third straight week in the victory.
Big Second Quarters: The Saints have out-scored teams 98-10 in the second quarter this season this season and 147-19 in the first half this season.
Under the Lights: Saturday night's game will only be the seventh night game for St. Scholastica in program history … The last night game for CSS was last season against Eureka College (Ill.) at PSS, in which the Saints won 59-0 … Saturday will also be the latest road game the Saints have ever played … The only true road night game took place in 2013 at Crown College at that was a 5 p.m. kickoff.
Special Team Scores: The Saints have scored on special teams the past three weeks with punt returns for scores against Crown and Martin Luther and then returning a blocked punt for a touchdown against Iowa Wesleyan last week … It was the first blocked punt for the Saints since the opening game of the 2010 season … That same play was also the last time the Saints returned it for a touchdown.
Next Man Up: The Saints have dealt with a rash of injuries on the offensive side of the ball thus far this season … CSS has been without playmaking wide receiver
Andrew Smith (Rogers, Minn./Rogers HS) all season … Starting quarterback
Dakota Paulson (Menomonie, Wis./Menomonie HS) has missed the last couple of games due to injury … Senior running back
Chris Gassert (Moose Lake, Minn./Moose Lake HS) has missed the last three games due to injury … CSS has also used five different starting offensive line combinations on the year.
Mangan Hits 200: Senior linebacker
Alex Mangan (Eagan, Minn./Eagan HS) became the sixth Saints to record 200 career tackles in last week's … He currently ranks third all-time with 30 career tackles for a loss … Mangan was named the UMAC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
Sack Record in Jeopardy: Senior
Joe Geiselman (Virginia, Minn./Virginia HS) is currently sitting at 14 sacks for his career … The Virginia, Minnesota-native is just a half sack shy from tying the program record of 14.5 held by
Blake Cedarleaf (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi HS), who set that record in the final game of last season.
Spreading the Ball Around: So far this season, 18 different Saints have caught a pass … That is already a program-best as the previous high was 14 during the 2011 season … Also four different CSS quarterbacks have thrown touchdown passes, which is also a program-high in a season.
Might Come Down to the Kicking Game: With the top two defenses doing battle Saturday night, points may be at a premium … CSS freshman
Donovan Blatz (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View HS) is 3-for-3 on field goal attempts this season … However, CSS has struggled on extra point attempts at 11-for-21 on the year and only 2-for-8 on 2-point conversion attempts … Northwestern sophomore Ben Lyons is also 3-for-3 on field goal attempts and is 23-of-24 on extra points.
UMAC Streaks: The Saints have won 26 straight UMAC games; a streak dating back to October 20, 2012 when they fell to Northwestern 14-13 at Ordean Stadium … The Saints will also carry a 21-game conference road winning streak into Saturday night's contest … The last time CSS lost a conference road game was at Martin Luther College on September 25, 2010.
20 is the Magic Number: The Saints are 47-0 since 2010 when they score at least 20 points … They are only 1-16 all-time when they don't reach 20 points … That lone win came against Northwestern in 2010.
UMAC Preseason Poll1. 80 Points – College of St. Scholastica (8 First Place Votes)2. 70 Points - University of Northwestern (1)
3. 69 Points – Greenville College (1)
4. 54 Points – Westminster College
5. 44 Points – Iowa Wesleyan College
6. 36 Points – Crown College
7. 35 Points – Eureka College
8. 27 Points – MacMurray College
9. 21 Points – University of Minnesota Morris
10. 14 Points – Martin Luther College
Upcoming Opponent Northwestern EaglesRecord: 5-1, 5-0 UMAC After dropping the season-opener to St. Olaf College 16-13, Northwestern has been in control in the UMAC beating teams by an average margin of 29.6 points per game … The Eagles had their closest margin last season, defeating MacMurray College (Ill.) on the road 21-13 … Quarterback Grant Schoen leads the conference averaging 169.0 yards per game through the air and with a 57.3 completion percentage … His top target, Caleb Couwenhouven, is second in the conference averaging 67.3 receiving yards per game and four receiving touchdowns … In last year's game vs. CSS, Couwenhouven had seven receptions for 185 yards and a touchdown … Freshman running back BJ Foster is coming off his best game of the season, going for 155 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns vs. MacMurray … Foster has rushed for 100 yards in each of the last two games … The Northwestern defense is tops in the UMAC, leading in every category with the exception of pass defense … The opportunistic Eagles ranked second in NCAA Division III with a plus-11 turnover margin … Junior linebacker Ben Greener and senior linebacker Nathan Van Zee lead the team with 45 tackles each … Van Zee leads the team with 11.5 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks … Greener had two interceptions and a fumble recovery in last year's game against the Saints.
Series History: CSS leads 4-3
Last Meeting: The Saints trailed the Eagles by 10 points with under seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter last season until CSS scored 14 points in the 6:17 to rally for a 28-24 Homecoming victory … Three of the last five meetings have been decided by four points or less … The all-time score in the series slightly favors Northwestern 156-153.
Looking Ahead: The Saints will host the University of Minnesota Morris at Public Schools Stadium on Saturday, October 24.
