DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica football team has its final road game of the season on Saturday when it heads to Fulton, Missouri to face Westminster College.
Where:
Priest Field – Fulton, Mo.
When:
Saturday at Noon
Live Video: http://www.wcbluejays.com/multimedia/bjsn
Live Stats: http://www.wcbluejays.com/sports/fball/2016-17/boxscores/20161029_o7ju.xml
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St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 5-3, 5-2 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
Last Action: A week after the Saints had a long conference winning streak come to an end, they saw their 26-game conference road win streak halted with a 34-24 loss at the University of Minnesota Morris … Turnovers plagued the Saints by committing seven for the day, the most since a 2014 playoff loss at Saint John's and the most against a conference team in program history …
Aaron Olson (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) recorded all three touchdowns for the Saints and running back
Ben Buthe (New Prague, Minn./New Prague HS) had a career-high 145 yards rushing …
Jake Zoellick (Sarona, Wis./Rice Lake HS) led the defense with 10 tackles.
20 is No Longer Magic: For the first time since 2010, the Saints scored at least 20 points and lost on Saturday at Minnesota Morris … CSS had been 55-0 up to that point.
Back-to-Back Losses: For the first time since the 2010 season, the Saints lost back-to-back games in the same season … And for the first time since the 2009 season, St. Scholastica lost back-to-back UMAC games.
No Distribution: Only three receivers caught a pass last week at Minnesota Morris … That is the lowest amount of receivers to catch a pass in a game since a 2012 loss to the University of Northwestern.
Injuries Piling Up: The Saints have been without running back
Teddy Gildersleeve (Osceola, Wis./Osceola HS) since the Martin Luther game … Wide out
Hunter Thompson (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo HS) has been out since the Iowa Wesleyan game … Quarterback
Kyle Stepka (New Prague, Minn./New Prague HS) missed last week's game and cornerbacks
Rick Johnson (Wrenshall, Minn./Esko HS) and
Nick Jerhoff (Eagan, Minn./South St. Paul HS) also missed last week's game … For the second straight season, CSS has had three starting quarterbacks this season.
Olson Carrying the Load: Despite having four different quarterbacks throw passes to him this season and being the definite go-to target the past two games,
Aaron Olson (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) recorded his second consecutive 100-yard receiving game last week … He is the first CSS player to have back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since Jonny Bennett did it during the 2011 season … Olson is tied for the NCAA Division III lead with 14 receiving touchdowns and is two shy of the single-season program record of 16 held by Keegan O'Neill during the 2011 season … He has recorded at least one touchdown in seven straight games.
Where They Stand: The Saints are currently tied for third with MacMurray College (Ill.) with both teams a game back of Eureka College (Ill.) and the University of Northwestern … CSS will eliminated from postseason contention if both of those teams win this weekend … However, if one or both teams were to lose and the Saints were to win, they would be still alive … Eureka hosts Minnesota Morris, while Northwestern hosts Greenville.
Punting: The Saints rank sixth in NCAA Division III with a net punting average of 38.6 … Senior
Jason Senger (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo HS (Gustavus Adolphus)) is averaging 41.0 yards per attempt with six punts landing inside the 20 … He only has 23 attempts this season which does not meet the 3.6 punts per game minimum to be ranked by the NCAA or the UMAC.
How Far is it to Fulton, Mo.?: From St. Scholastica's campus to Westminster's campus it is approximately 640 miles and over 10 hours by vehicle, according to Google Maps.
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
Westminster Blue Jays
Record: 4-4, 4-3 UMAC
The Blue Jays were defeated 28-6 at home last Saturday by the University of Northwestern … Turnovers on consecutive drives in the third quarter by Westminster led to Northwestern touchdowns, which broke open 14-6 game at halftime to a 28-6 advantage … The Blue Jays have also lost to co-conference leader Eureka College (Ill.) and to MacMurray College (Ill.) … Westminster and CSS rank closely to each other in the conference offensively and defensively, with both teams ranked third and fourth … On the offensive side, the running game leads the Blue Jays with a pair of runners ranked in the top five of the conference in rushing yards per game … Latif Adams, the 2015 UMAC Offensive Player of the Year, is averaging 93.3 yards, while dual-threat quarterback Trent White is averaging 73.8 yards … White is also averaging 186.1 yards per game through the air to lead the conference with 259.9 yards of total offense per game … Matt Quarles has a team-high 31 receptions, while Mike Washington is right behind him with 27 catches … Quarles also ranks second in the UMAC, averaging 24.3 yards per kick return and 10.7 yards per punt return … Defensively, senior Bret Robertson leads the team and is ranked third in the league with 71 tackles … Defensive lineman Ayo Oyesanya leads the conference with 14.5 tackles for a loss per game, including 6.5 sacks … Westminster has scored four defensive touchdowns this season, which ranks fifth nationally … It has also forced 24 turnovers, which ranks seventh in the country.
Series History: CSS leads 6-0
Last Meeting: The Saints defeated the Blue Jays 48-12 last year at Public Schools Stadium capture the UMAC regular season championship … St. Scholastica has scored at least 20 points in all six meetings, but all three games played in Missouri have been decided by only an average of nine points.
Looking Ahead: The Saints host Greenville College (Ill.) for Senior Day in the regular season finale next Saturday at Public Schools Stadium.
