GAME NOTES
DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica football team is back at home for the final time in 2018 as it hosts the University of Minnesota Morris Saturday at Public Schools Stadium.
Where:
Public Schools Stadium – Duluth, Minn.
When:
Saturday at 3 p.m.
Watch: https://csssaints.com/watch/?Live=216
Live Stats: https://csssaints.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
Social Media:
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/CSSSAINTSFB
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/cssfootball08
Facebook:
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St. Scholastica Saints
2018 Stats
Record: 5-3, 5-1 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
What You Need To Know About The Saints:
-CSS will honor 13 seniors on Saturday. The class won a UMAC Championship in 2015 to make the NCAA Division III playoffs that season.
-The Saints currently sit in third place in the UMAC standings behind two 6-0 teams, MacMurray College (Ill.) and Martin Luther College.
-Their hopes on reaching the playoffs come down to this weekend, as MacMurray and Martin Luther will square off in New Ulm. A MacMurray win would give the Saints a chance to earn a share of the regular season championship and a postseason spot, going into the final weekend. A Martin Luther win will clinch a playoff spot for the Knights, no matter what happens the final weekend.
-The Saints cannot finish lower than third in the UMAC.
-In the win over Iowa Wesleyan University junior quarterback
Zach Edwards (St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) threw for a personal-best 442 yards, second-most in program history.
-The Saints air game will be put to work once again as they face one of the UMAC's lowest rated passing defenses.
-Senior wide receiver
Aaron Olson's (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) consecutive touchdown streak in UMAC games ended Saturday as he recorded four catches for 48 yards, but none of which were in the end zone.
-Junior wide receiver
Eddie Lee (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS) and freshman wide receiver
Mitchell Adrian (Altoona, Wis./Altoona HS) both had 10 receptions for 137 yards in Saturday's win. It was the first time in program history that two Saints receivers had double digit catches in the same contest.
-Saturday was the third time this season the Saints have recorded 40 points or more in a game, it would be their lowest for that amount since the 2012 season.
Offensive Players to Watch:
-Junior wide receiver
Eddie Lee (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS) – Lee broke the Saints single-season program record for receptions with 10 in Saturday's win, he is on pace for 69 catches.
-Junior quarterback
Zach Edwards (St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) – Edwards broke 50 career touchdown passes on Saturday and needs only 36 yards to break the single-season passing yards record. Last season against the Cougars, Edwards threw for 266 yards and four touchdowns.
-Freshman running back
Spencer Ross (Two Harbors, Minn./Two Harbors HS) – Ross came into the game Saturday for this first offensive action of the season and totaled 53 yards on six touches, look for him to get some more touches this week.
Defensive/Special Teams Players to Watch:
-Sophomore defensive back
Micadin Kahl (Boyceville, Wis./Boyceville HS) – Kahl recorded four tackles on Saturday, but also picked off Iowa Wesleyan's quarterback for a 60-yard pick-six, his first career touchdown.
-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 third in NCAA Division III. He also picked up his first double-digit game in tackles this season, his 61 tackles on the year ranks fourth on the team
-Senior
Donovan Blatz (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View HS) – Blatz leads the conference and ranks 10
th in the nation in punting with an average of 40.9 yards per attempt.
-Senior defensive lineman
Quinten McGregor (Northfield, Minn./Northfield HS) – McGregor averages 10.0 tackles per games, which ranks second in the conference and 40
th in NCAA Division III.
What You Need to Know About The Cougars:
2-6, 2-4 UMAC
-The Cougars only two victories of the season have been against both teams that rank below them in the UMAC standings, Iowa Wesleyan (13-7) and Crown College (37-33).
-Since the first three weeks of their season when they lost all three games by 40 points or more, all their games have been relatively close, the closest was a week six loss to Northwestern 20-17.
-Quarterback Justin Masloski has led the offense for the Cougars thus far, he has thrown for 1317 yards and leads the team in rushing yards with 237.
-Branden Carlson and Nathan Sheridan both have over 30 receptions and 300 yards on the season for the Cougars.
-Joseph Loija leads the defense averaging 8.4 tackles per game.
-The Cougars have recovered 17 fumbles this season, the most in NCAA Division III. They lead the conference and rank eighth nationally in turnovers gained (24).
-Morris leads the conference in kickoff returns, averaging 20.3 yards per return.
Series Record: CSS leads 8-2
(Last Meeting: 37-3 CSS – 9/23/2017)
Series History: The Saints' losses to Morris have been few and far between. The first meeting between the two went to Morris from there the Saints went on a seven-game win streak and then dropped a shootout in Morris 34-24 in 2016. CSS is 5-0 all-time in Duluth against the Cougars.
Looking ahead: The Saints will travel to Illinois to face MacMurray in the season finale on Saturday, November 10, which depending on this weekend could have a lot of playoff implications for both sides.
