DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica football team hopes to finish another conference schedule unblemished and clinch the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) championship outright when it takes on Greenville College (Ill.) in Illinois on Saturday.
Where:Francis Field – Greenville, Illinois
When:Saturday at Noon
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https://www.facebook.com/StScholasticaFootball St. Scholastica SaintsStatsRecord: 8-1, 8-0 UMACUpper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats Last Action: The Saints put up some big offensive numbers in Saturday's conference-clinching 48-12 victory over Westminster College (Mo.) … For the first time in program history, CSS threw for over 500 yards (521) and completed the most passes in a game (28) …
Kyle Stepka (New Prague, Minn./New Prague HS), who was named the UMAC Offensive Player of the Week, threw for a program record 453 yards and
Hunter Thompson (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo HS) became the fourth Saint to record at least 10 catches with 10 receptions for a program-record 297 yards and two touchdowns … His 297 receiving yards are the third-most in a game this season in NCAA Division III … CSS also set a program record with number of offensive plays (85), breaking the previous record of 83 set in the team's inaugural season in an overtime game at Macalester College …
Joe Geiselman (Virginia, Minn./Virginia HS) and
Xavier Rhodes (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul HS) each had eight tackles to lead the defense.
Automatic Qualifier: With last Saturday's win, St. Scholastica became the first Division III program to clinch an automatic qualifier into the NCAA playoffs … Since the automatic qualifier was established in the UMAC in 2011, the Saints have been the only team to win it … The Saints will make their fifth straight appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs on Saturday, November 21.
Opportunistic D: In their first three games of the season, the Saints had a minus-3 turnover margin, including five turnovers in the their only loss at Ripon College (Wis.) … In the last five games, CSS has a plus-14 turnover margin … The Saints have forced the most turnovers in the conference (26) and rank fourth in NCAA Division III.
Don't Forget Special Teams: The Saints lead the nation in defending kick returns, allowing 9.98 yards per return … Of all the teams ranked in the top 10 in this category, CSS has the highest number of opponent kickoff return opportunities (43) … The Saints are also one of three teams in the country to return four punts for touchdowns this season and lead the nation in punt return yards (543).
Big Second Quarters: The Saints have out-scored teams 151-23 in the second quarter this season and 213-38 in the first half this season … Saturday was the first time all season the Saints have allowed two offensive touchdowns and just the second time they allowed at least 10 points in the first two quarters.
Spreading the Ball Around: 18 different Saints have caught a pass … That is 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.
Streaks on the Line: The Saints have won 29 straight UMAC games; a streak dating back to October 20, 2012 when they fell to Northwestern 14-13 at Ordean Stadium … That conference win streak is second-longest in NCAA Division III, behind Mount Union's (Ohio) 94 … The Saints will also carry a 22-game conference road winning streak into Saturday'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 49-0 since 2010 when they score at least 20 points … The Saints are 2-16 all-time when they fail to reach 20 points with both wins coming against Northwestern.
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 Greenville PanthersRecord: 3-6, 3-5 UMAC The Panthers have finished in the top three of the UMAC every year since joining the league in 2009 … However, they will not make that claim this season and enter Saturday's contest losers of three of their last four games … Greenville fell at home to Northwestern last week 21-19 … The Panthers trailed 21-0 at halftime before making a second comeback and had a chance to tie the game with under two minutes to go, but the 2-point attempt failed … Greenville is winless at home this season (0-4) … In their three wins this season, the Panthers were trailing at halftime and have only led after 30 minutes in two games … As usual, Greenville enters Saturday's game as the top rushing team in the conference (244.2 yards per game) … Greenville has the top offense in the conference at 415.1 yards per game and have thrown the second-most passing touchdowns in the league this season (14) … Sophomore quarterback Jacob Battaglia is averaging 102.1 yards per game and has thrown seven TD passes … Junior Hamid Camera leads the team in rushing at 107.6 yards per game, which ranks second in the UMAC, and has nine touchdowns … The Greenville defense is led by senior linebackers Robert Deering and Joey Silva … Deering leads the league with 12.9 tackles per game, while Silva leads the conference with eight sacks.
Series History: CSS leads 4-1
Last Meeting: The Saints defeated Greenville 42-14 at Public Schools Stadium last season to win the UMAC regular season title … CSS scored 21 points in the second quarter to pull away from the Panthers …
Andrew Smith (Rogers, Minn./Rogers HS) had a then-program record 253 yards receiving and three touchdowns … Saturday's contest will mark the first since 2012 that these two teams are not playing for a conference championship in the regular season finale.
Looking Ahead: The Saints will be off next week … The NCAA Division III playoff selection show will take place on Sunday, November 15.
