GAME NOTES
DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica football team is back on the road for the first time since late September when it faces conference opponent Iowa Wesleyan University on Saturday.
Where:
Mapleleaf Athletic Complex – Mount Pleasant, Iowa
When:
Saturday at 12 p.m.
Watch: https://www.iwtigers.com/SIDHelp/liveEventVideos
Social Media:
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/CSSSAINTSFB
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/cssfootball08
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/StScholasticaFootball
St. Scholastica Saints
2018 Stats
Record: 4-3, 4-1 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
What You Need To Know About The Saints:
-The Saints lost their second non-conference game of the season to Thomas More University (Ky.) last Saturday.
-CSS gave up 33 and 35 points in those non-conference losses.
-In the loss to Thomas More, the Saints were shutout for the first time at home, and the third time overall.
-The Saints currently sit in third place in the UMAC standings behind Martin Luther College and MacMurray College (Ill.). The Saints lone loss came to Martin Luther and still get to play MacMurray in the season finale.
-Martin Luther and St. Scholastica both play MacMurray in their final three games this season, a Martin Luther loss and a CSS win against MacMurray would put the three teams in a three way tie for first place in the UMAC regular season.
-All three teams play on the road this weekend.
-CSS has outscored teams 57-20 in the first quarter, but are being out-scored 157-123 in the final three quarters, including 53-27 in the fourth quarter.
-The Saints were held to a season-low 154 total yards, all of those yards came in the air.
-The Saints have been held under 50 rushing yards three times this season, two of those games they recorded zero and two yards.
-Even with a season low 154 yards through the air, junior quarterback
Zach Edwards (St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) surpassed 2,000 yards for the second time in his career.
Offensive Players to Watch:
-Freshman running back
Bryceton Butkiewicz (Kettle River, Minn./Moose Lake HS) – Butkiewicz got the bulk of the carries against Thomas More, he racked up 48 yards on 18 carries. The Saints ran for more than 200 yards against Iowa Wesleyan last season.
-Junior quarterback
Zach Edwards (St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) – Edwards went for over 2,000 in a season for the second season in a row, now he turns to his attention to this Saturday as he looks to become the second Saint to pass for 5,000 yards in a career. He needs only 144 yards to reach that number. He is also two pass TDs shy of 50 for his career.
-Senior wide receiver
Aaron Olson (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) – Olson was held in check in the loss to Thomas More, but looks to keep his touchdown streak alive in Iowa to 22 straight UMAC games.
-Junior wide receiver
Eddie Lee (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS) – Lee leads the team with 45 receptions. That is the most since Nick Thiry had 47 in 2012. The single-season program record for receptions in a season in 52 held by Mike VanMassenhove in the team's inaugural season of 2008.
Defensive/Special Teams Players to Watch:
-Sophomore defensive back
Cody Pundsack (Melrose, Minn./Melrose HS) – Pundsack led the Saints last Saturday getting in the mix for 14 tackles, including 10 solo tackles and a tackle for a loss. He now ranks third on the Saints defense with 59 tackles.
-Senior defensive lineman
Jordan Kittelson (Avon, Minn./Albany HS) – Kittelson has recovered three fumbles this season, which is tied for the conference lead and ranks second in NCAA Division III.
-Senior
Donovan Blatz (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View HS) – Blatz leads the conference and ranks 18
th in the nation in punting with an average of 40.0 yards per attempt.
What You Need to Know About The Tigers:
1-6, 1-4 UMAC
-The Tigers only victory this season was over Crown College 44-7.
-Iowa Wesleyan traveled to Illinois last week and almost knocked off MacMurray ultimately falling 20-13. In its previous game, they almost knocked off Martin Luther as well, but also fell in that one 28-21.
-In both of those losses, the Tigers led at the half and surrendered the game-winning score in the final three minutes of the game.
-In the loss to MLC, the Tigers led 21-7 with eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
-Quarterback Demarcus Collins has led the offense for the Tigers thus far, on the season he has totaled 1069 passing yards and five touchdowns. He has mixed it up between three receivers, two of which have over 300 yards. (Tanner Holder 346, Jacob Santos 306)
-Collins also isn't afraid to run the ball he is second on the Tigers offense in rushing yards with 289 yards. Running back Stafford Lewis leads them with 328 yards on the ground.
-Marco Ventura leads the defense averaging 8.0 tackles per game.
Series Record: CSS leads 5-0
(Last Meeting: 38-28 CSS – 10/7/2017)
Series History: The Saints have won all five meetings between these two teams, the closest margin coming last year when the Saints defeating the Tigers on Homecoming at Malosky Stadium.
Looking ahead: The Saints will come back to Duluth and play their final home game of the season as they will faceoff with the University of Minnesota Morris at Public Schools Stadium. Kickoff will be at 3 p.m.
