Notables
-Thompson breaks program record of 1,925 receiving yards in a career
-Thompson becomes first Saint to earn more than 29 touchdowns in a career
-With a win next week, Eureka will win the conference's automatic qualifier

EUREKA, Ill. (csssaints.com) - The St. Scholastica football team was defeated within the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) for the first time this season on Saturday suffering a 40-34 loss against Eureka College (Ill.).

The Action
Eureka (7-2, 7-1 UMAC) scored first against the Saints in the last five minutes of the first quarter. The Saints blocked the extra point kick to put the score at 6-0. The Saints found the end zone on the next drive on a pass from Zach Edwards (West St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) to Christian Rund (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul HS (Hamline)) for 11 yards. Joe Matthews (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley HS) put the kick between the uprights and pushed the Saints into the lead by a point with a 7-6 score.

The second quarter started with a 61 yard rushing touchdown from Eureka. This time the kick was good and the Red Devils were back in the lead at 13-7 in the first minute of the second quarter. St. Scholastica had another successful drive on its next possession, on a 12 yard pass completion from Edwards to Hunter Thompson (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo HS). Matthews' kick was good and the lead switched once more with the Saints leading 14-13. The Red Devils had the last scoring play of the quarter, on a rush from Nick Holman, which put them at the 20-14 lead headed into half time.

The only points of the third quarter went to the Saints, an 11 yard completion from Edwards to Thompson, which made the score 21-20 headed into the final 15 minutes of play. The Red Devils scored on their first possession of the quarter, but the two point conversion attempt failed, making the score 26-21. The Saints failed to put points on the board in their next possession, then Eureka scored once more to give themselves the largest lead of the game for either team at 33-21 with just under five minutes left in the game. 

In the last five minutes, three touchdowns would be scored between the two teams. The first coming on a pass from senior center Elliot Simon to Aaron Olson (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) for 28 yard completion, followed by another touchdown for the Red Devils which put the score at 40-27. The Saints managed one last touchdown, a pass completion from Edwards to Thompson to make the score 40-34. This score brought the game through the fourth quarter for the Saints first UMAC loss of the season.

Notable Performances
With Thompson's contributions to the game, he became the first Saint in program history to record more than 1,925 yards in a career and to score more than 29 total touchdowns. He earned 81 yards on five completions with three touchdowns. Olson was just ahead of him in yardage with 86 on four completions. Ben Buthe (New Prague, Minn./New Prague HS) led in rushing with 31 yards on five attempts. Edwards completed 16 passes on 31 attempts for 267 yards and four touchdowns. Donovan Blatz (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View HS) led the defense with five solo tackles, followed by Cal Germain (Star Prairie, Wis./Osceola HS) with four.

For the Red Devils, Nick Holman went 4-for-11 on passes for 45 yards. LeAnthony Reasnover collected 355 yards on 53 rushing attempts with five touchdowns. On defense, Macae Skaggs had two sacks and two solo tackles. Collin Brown earned a sack and two solo tackles. 

Up Next
The Saints (7-2, 7-1 UMAC) finish out the regular season next Saturday when they take on MacMurray College (Ill.) at Public Schools Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.