DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica football team hits the road for the first time in a few weeks as it faces Martin Luther College in New Ulm on Saturday.
Where:
MLC Bowl – New Ulm, Minn.
When:
Saturday at 2 p.m.
Live Video: http://livestream.com/mlc-knightvision
Live Stats: https://livestats.mlc-wels.edu/
Social Media:
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St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 3-1, 3-0 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
Last Action: The Saints jumped up 14-0 on Crown College in the first quarter, despite only running four offensive plays in the quarter, en route to a 49-13 victory over the Storm …
Kyle Stepka (New Prague, Minn./New Prague HS) threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns, while
Kenneth Jinkins (Eagan, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) intercepted a pair of Crown passes … The second Jinkins interception was returned 41 yards for a touchdowns … Earlier in the game, Jinkins returned a Storm punt 60 yards for a touchdown …
Aaron Olson (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) had four receptions for 65 yards and two scores …
August Marleau (Deer River, Minn./Deer River HS) led the defense with 12 tackles and one fumble recovery.
Scoring in All Facets: For only the second time in program history on Saturday, the Saints scored a touchdown on offense, defense and special teams … Jinkins accounted for the special teams and defensive scores, which led him to be named to the D3football.com Team of the Week … The only other time it happened was against the University of Minnesota Morris last season and that was when
Mitch Ejnik (New London, Minn./New London-Spicer HS ) returned a punt and a fumble return for a score.
20 is the Magic Number: The Saints are 53-0 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 33 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) 98 … The Saints will also carry a 24-game conference road winning streak into Saturday … The last time CSS lost a conference road game was at Martin Luther College on September 25, 2010.
Don't Forget Special Teams: The Saints are tied for the NCAA Division III lead with five blocked kicks this season … CSS has blocked three extra points, one punt and one field goal …
August Marleau (Deer River, Minn./Deer River HS) has blocked two of those extra points, which ranks third in the nation … The Saints rank 10
th in the nation in net punting at 39.4
Everything Thru the Air: Stepka ranks seventh in the country in yards per completion (16.9) and 11
th in passing touchdowns with 11 … He has thrown at least three touchdown passes in each of the last three games … Olson's five touchdown receptions rank 11
th in the NCAA Division III … CSS is averaging 5.82 yards per play this season, which ranks 75
th in the country, but have run the third-fewest amount of plays (231) among the teams that have played at least four games.
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
Martin Luther Knights
Record: 0-4, 0-3 UMAC
The Knights are in search of their first victory of the season as it will be Homecoming on campus this weekend … Last Saturday, the Knights became the first team to score on the University of Northwestern this season, recording a season-high 20 points in a 38-20 loss … Martin Luther trailed just 10-7 at halftime and did not allow a Northwestern offensive score until there was nine minutes left in the third quarter … The MLC offense enters this week averaging only 8.5 points and 277.0 yards of offense per game … The Knights due rank third in the conference with 178.5 yards on the ground per contest … Quarterback T.J. Babinec has thrown for 377 yards, including a season-high 155 yards last week … He has also run for 115 yards this season … The team's leading rusher is Josh Wong, averaging 64 yards per game … Wide out Joshua Arndt has all three of the team's TD receptions, while Ian Paulson has a team-high 14 receptions … Chris Dean leads the defense with 32 tackles … The Knights have recorded only one sack on the year.
Series History: CSS leads 5-4
Last Meeting: The Saints triumphed over the Knights 53-13 last season on Homecoming at Malosky Stadium … Martin Luther is the conference team that has had the most success against CSS all-time, winning the first four meetings … The Saints have won the last five and have scored at least 48 points in four of those wins … CSS is only 2-2 all-time at the MLC Bowl.
Looking Ahead: The Saints will be the road again when it travels to Iowa Wesleyan University on Saturday, October 8.
