Notables
-CSS trailed 14-0 entering the fourth quarter
-All scoring plays for the Saints came in the fourth quarter
-Olson's eighth consecutive game with at least one TD reception
-In seven meetings, CSS has never lost to WC

FULTON, Mo. (csssaints.com) - The St. Scholastica football team defeated Westminster College 21-20 on Saturday in a nail-biting victory after trailing the entire game, only to come back in the fourth quarter with three touchdowns to take the victory.

Early Struggles
The game got off to a bit of a slow start for the Saints. On St. Scholastica's first possession, Westminster's Zach Roseman forced a fumble and recovered the ball after just two plays. The Blue Jays would then go on to score after just five minutes of the game had progressed. Two plays into the second Saints drive of the game, Roseman forced and recovered a second fumble. The Saints and Blue Jays then traded the ball back and forth, neither team able to put points on the board until, with just under two minutes left in the first quarter, Trent White completed a 49 yard pass to Mike Washington for a Westminster touchdown. Time expired in the first with Westminster ahead 14-0.

The score would not change for the entirety of the second quarter. St. Scholastica gained some momentum on its last drive of the half, which started with under a minute to go until half time. A few big pass completions from Kyle Stepka (New Prague, Minn./New Prague HS) put heavy pressure on the Westminster defense, but time expired before the Saints could get any points on the board.

Second Half Redemption
The third quarter was another scoreless one for both teams. Halfway through the quarter, the Blue Jays intercepted a pass in a play that looked like it would get things rolling for Westminster, but the Saints' defense came out big on the next play when Joe Matthews (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley HS) intercepted the Blue Jays' pass and got the ball back into the hands of the CSS offense. The teams continued to trade possessions back and forth for the remaining six minutes of the quarter, with no points being added on either side.

The start of the fourth quarter brought with it a new intensity for the Saints. Isaac Rocha (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna HS) got things started for CSS when he intercepted a pass two minutes into the quarter. Eric Soderberg (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids HS), on the next play, rushed for 45 yards and into the end zone. Donovan Blatz (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View HS) booted a successful extra point and finally put the Saints on the scoreboard, making the score 14-7. The Blue Jays went three and out on the next drive, and the Saints took advantage of the quick turn over. Three plays later, Stepka found Aaron Olson (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) at the end of a 25 yard pass for a Saints touchdown. With the help of a Blatz extra point, CSS tied the score at 14 with just over 10 minutes to play in the game. 

Westminster kept fighting though, and their next drive ended in White completing another pass to Washington for a touchdown with 5:20 left in the game. The extra point kick was unsuccessful though, in what would prove play a huge part in the final one point score deficit at the end of the game. The next drive for the Saints went right in a lot of ways. In seven plays, the CSS offense drove 53 yards, and Jack Peru (Phoenix, Ariz./Trevor G. Browne HS (Phoenix College)) was able to rush for 17 yards into the end zone, tying the score at 20-20 with three and a half minutes left in the game. Blatz came in, kept a cool head, and put the extra point kick through the uprights, making the score 21-20. 

The Blue Jays held on to hope and put up a good fight on their next drive, working hard to get within scoring distance. Jason Senger (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo HS (Gustavus Adolphus)) ended their drive when he intercepted a pass in a huge play for the Saints with only 1:17 remained on the clock. Stepka knelt the ball on three consecutive plays which allowed the Saints to punt the ball to the Blue Jays with only 12 seconds remaining on the clock. After two incomplete passes by Westminster, time expired and the Saints took home the W. 

Notable Performances
Stepka threw 15 completions for 169 yards and a touchdown, with 69 rushing yards. Olson had four receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown. Jake Zoellick (Sarona, Wis./Rice Lake HS) led the defense with nine tackles, followed by Joe Matthews (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley HS) and Kenneth Jinkins (Eagan, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) who each had eight. 

For the Blue Jays, White had 12 completions for 139 yards. Latif Adams led in rushing yards with 189 on 36 carries. Washington tallied 97 receiving yards on seven receptions with two touchdowns. Bret Robertson had 10 tackles on the day.

Eliminated from Postseason Contention
Even though the Saints rallied to win, they were eliminated from postseason contention as both conference leaders, the University of Northwestern and Eureka College (Ill.) each recorded wins on Saturday to setup a winner-take-all championship game next week.

Up Next
The Saints (6-3, 6-2 UMAC) are back in action next Saturday when they take on Greenville at Public Schools Stadium for their final Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) game of the season. Follow the action live on Saints Sports Net.