GAME NOTES
DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica football team returns home for a very critical matchup with the University of Northwestern (Minn.) Saturday at Public Schools Stadium.
Where:
Public Schools Stadium – Duluth, Minn.
When:
Saturday at 6 p.m. (Superior Youth Football Night)
Watch: https://csssaints.com/watch/?Live=213
Stats: https://csssaints.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
Social Media:
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/CSSSAINTSFB
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www.instagram.com/cssfootball08
Facebook:
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St. Scholastica Saints
2018 Stats
Record: 2-2, 2-1 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
What You Need To Know About The Saints:
-The Saints let the game against Martin Luther College slip away from them Saturday, with the game tied at 21 aside at halftime the Knights got four third quarter touchdowns to put the game out of reach.
-It was the first time the Saints have lost a game, while the score was tied at the half in program history.
-Senior
Ben Buthe (New Prague, Minn./New Prague HS) hauled in two scores from
Zach Edwards (St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) on Saturday. It was Buthe's first multi-receiving-touchdown game in his career. Buthe remains only 51 rushing yards short of 1,000 for a career, but has been seeing more time at wide receiver.
-The Saints allowed a program high 477 rushing yards on 78 attempts in the loss to the Knights, it broke the previous record set also by the Knights on Halloween night 2008 with 422 rushing yards.
-
Aaron Olson (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) continued his impressive season hauling in four catches for 145 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown continues the program record of UMAC games with a TD (19 straight games), but it also puts Olson alone at the top for touchdowns in a Saints uniform with 31.
- Edwards also added to his great season, adding 336 yards in the air and getting into the end-zone three times. Edwards did just enough against Martin Luther to get to 4,000 career passing yards, he eclipsed the mark by two yards becoming the third Saint to achieve this feat. Currently, Edwards is on pace for 3,200 yards this season it would be the most by a Saints quarterback by over 500 yards.
Offensive Players to Watch:
-Freshman running back
Bryceton Butkiewicz (Kettle River, Minn./Moose Lake HS) – Watch for Butkiewicz to see some more carries this week against the Eagles to help get the Saints run game back on track, he led Saints runners in touches last week.
-Junior wide receiver
Eddie Lee (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS) – Lee continues to add to his career year with five receptions for 127 yards against the Knights last week. He now leads the Saints in receiving yards (369), receptions (24), and touchdowns (3).
-Junior quarterback
Zach Edwards (St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) – Looks to continue his success in 2018 by building off his success from 2017 against the Eagles where he threw for 304 yards and dropped in the Saints only two touchdowns to escape victorious against the Eagles 14-7.
-Senior wide receiver
Aaron Olson (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) - Olson looks to continue his program record for touchdowns in consecutive conference games. He is also two receptions shy of becoming the fourth player to record 100 catches in a career and 151 yards shy of setting the program record for career receiving yards.
Defensive Players to Watch:
-Senior linebacker
Quinten McGregor (Northfield, Minn./Northfield HS) - McGregor had a strong effort against the Knights last week totaling 15 tackles, he is now tied with fellow senior linebacker Jonathon Senger for the team lead in tackles with 40.
-Sophomore defensive lineman
Tandrell Foster (Hurley, Wis./Hurley HS) – Foster has a breakout game Saturday with five total tackles, including a big tackle for loss in the fourth quarter.
What You Need to Know About The Eagles:
2-3, 2-1 UMAC
-The Eagles started 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 2016, a season where they went on to win the UMAC at 8-1 and advance to the NCAA playoffs.
-However, they are coming off a 15-13 home loss to MacMurray College (Ill.) last week. Northwestern was held out of the end zone until the fourth quarter in that loss.
-The Eagles have recovered 10 fumbles in five contests so far this season, which ranks them at number one in the country. They also rank inside the top-50 for interceptions with six.
-The Eagles have leaned heavily on their senior signal caller Taylor Lindahl. Through five games Lindahl has 924 yards and three touchdowns.
-Lindahl's favorite targets include a pair of juniors and a sophomore, the trio have combined for 49 receptions and 789 yards. Evan Pruitt (Jr.) leads the groups with 366 yards and 20 receptions, Gavin Welch (Jr.) has added on 247 more yards, and Caleb Sieben (So.) has 176 yards of his own.
-On the ground for the Eagles it is the junior Payton Bowdry and sophomore Nate VanBeusekom that anchor the run game. The duo have combined for 110 of the team's 159 total carries. Bowdry has totaled 244 yards and a pair of scores and VanBeusekom has picked up 171 yards of his own.
-UNW leads the UMAC with 16 sacks. (CSS gave up seven sacks last week to MLC)
-George Obitz leads the conference with 48 tackles, while Jadon Hatt leads the UMAC with three interceptions.
Series Record: CSS leads 6-4
(Last Meeting 14-7 CSS – 9/30/2017)
Series History: The two teams have been back and forth pretty much since the Saints program was first created in 2008, neither team has more than a three game win streak against the other. Each of the last four meetings have been decided by seven points or less with the Saints going 3-1 in those games. The last time Northwestern visited Duluth, it defeated the Saints 14-7.
Looking ahead: The Saints will stay at home next week as they face Greenville University Ill.) for their 2018 Homecoming game.
