DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica football team will host conference rival the University of Northwestern on Saturday for its 2016 Homecoming Game.
Where:
Public Schools Stadium – Duluth, Minn.
When:
Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
Live Video/Stats: http://csssaints.com/ssn
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St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 5-1, 5-0 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
Last Action: The Saints jumped out to a 28-0 lead and never looked look in a 45-7 victory at Iowa Wesleyan University last Saturday … For the second straight week,
Kyle Stepka (New Prague, Minn./New Prague HS) threw five touchdown passes, three of which went to
Hunter Thompson (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo HS) … Thompson had a season-high eight receptions for 180 yards …
Aaron Olson (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) had the other two TD receptions …
Dakota Paulson (Menomonie, Wis./Menomonie HS) also had a TD pass as the Saints tied a program record with six touchdown passes … The Saints defense held the Tigers to a season-low 229 yards of offense and only 10 first downs … The Saints also committed a season-low two penalties in the victory.
Homecoming Success: The Saints are 7-1 all-time on Homecoming, winning the last seven … This will only be the second time the Homecoming Game will not be played at UMD's Malosky Stadium. The last time was in 2014 when the Saints won in dramatic fashion with a fourth quarter comeback to defeat Northwestern 28-24.
"Tackle Cancer" Game: Saturday's game will also be a "Tackle Cancer Game" where the St. Scholastica football team will have tackle cancer decals on their helmets … Tackle Cancer benefits the Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund … Fans attending the game can make donations towards funding additional cancer research and together we are "Tackling Cancer" … In 2015 over $233,000 was raised for Minnesota's cancer community.
Get Up Early: The Saints have out-scored opponents 75-0 in the first quarter of the last four games combined … In the first two games of the season, CSS was out-scored 13-0.
Air Raid: Stepka ranks fourth in NCAA Division III in passing yards per completion (17.2), fifth in passing TDs (21), and fifth in points responsible for (138) … Olson ranks second in the country with 10 touchdown receptions, while Thompson ranks ninth with eight … Stepka ranks 13
th in the nation with a 174.2 passing efficiency … Historically, the Saints have struggled to throw the ball against Northwestern averaging only 154 yards per game, going over 200 yards only twice in the eight meetings.
20 is the Magic Number: The Saints are 55-0 since 2010 when they score at least 20 points … The Saints are 2-18 all-time when they fail to reach 20 points with both wins coming against the University of Northwestern.
UMAC Streaks: The Saints will enter this weekend having won 35 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) 100.
Protect this House: The Saints are 18-5 all-time at Public Schools Stadium … The last conference loss at PSS came to Greenville College (Ill.) on October 9, 2010 … Since then, CSS has won 14 straight UMAC games at PSS … The Saints are currently on an 18-game home winning streak overall, the fifth-longest in NCAA Division III.
UMAC Preseason Poll
1. St. Scholastica...................................... 81 points (9 First Place Votes)
2. Northwestern.......................................... 72 points (1 First Place Vote)
3. Greenville................................................ 57 points
4. Westminster............................................ 56 points
T-5. Eureka.................................................. 43 points
T-5. MacMurray........................................... 43 points
7. Crown....................................................... 42 points
8. Minnesota Morris................................... 30 points
9. Martin Luther........................................... 14 points
10. Iowa Wesleyan..................................... 12 points
Upcoming Opponent
Northwestern Eagles
Record: 5-1, 4-1 UMAC
The Eagles are coming off a stunning 38-14 loss at home to MacMurray College (Ill.) last Saturday … The stout Northwestern defense that did not allow a single point through the first three weeks of the season gave up a season-high 527 yards against Highlanders … MacMurray ran the ball 50 times for 282 yards … Prior to that Northwestern had allowed only 454 yards on the ground all season … Corban Halbur is the signal caller for the Eagles … Halbur has completed 56-percent of his passes this season for 1,056 yards and four touchdowns … His favorite target has been Cody Carlson, who has a conference-best 34 receptions for 390 yards and two scores … On the ground, the Eagles have three running backs that have rushed for over 200 yards … BJ Foster leads the way with 221 yards, while Kyle Anenson has rushed for 205 and four scores … Anenson has also returned a kickoff for a touchdown and leads the UMAC averaging 29.1 yards per kick return … Senior linebacker Ben Greener leads the defense as he ranks second in the conference with 11.2 tackles per game … In the secondary, Andrew Smith has three interceptions, which is tied for second in the UMAC … The Eagles have the fifth-best red zone defense in NCAA Division III, allowing points on only half of the opponents' possessions in the red zone (9-18).
Series History: CSS leads 5-3
Last Meeting: The Saints scored two touchdowns in the final 57 seconds of the second quarter for their lone scores of the game and it was enough to defeat the Eagles under the lights in St. Paul 13-7 last year … Four of the last six meetings between the two teams have been decided by a touchdown or less, including the last two games … The last three games in Duluth have been decided by a total of eight points.
Looking Ahead: The Saints will be at the University of Minnesota Morris on Saturday, October 22.
