Notables:
-Saints held to 84 yards of total offense on the day
-Martin Luther gains 402 yards on the ground
-Soderberg breaks single-game school record for tackles with 22
-MLC recorded eight sacks
DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica football team welcomed Martin Luther College to Public Schools Stadium for an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) showdown on a cold and dreary Saturday afternoon. St. Scholastica would be held in check as it suffered its first loss of the season 27-6.
How It Happened
First Quarter
St. Scholastica started out their first drive with a promising pass and catch from
Zach Edwards (St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) to
Eddie Lee (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS) for a 20-yard gain. The momentum would be put to a halt after a fumbled snap and an interception. Martin Luther would break off solid four- and five-yard gains until a 16-yard rushing touchdown would put them on the board first. Their PAT attempt would be good, making it 7-0 with 8:34 remaining in the first quarter. After another CSS interception on its next possession, Martin Luther would once again break off small chunks of yards until
Chase Kleppe (Orr, Minn./North Woods HS) would force a fumble and recover the ball at their own 44-yard line.
Second Quarter
Martin Luther would have an ineffective drive resulting in a punt at their own 27-yard line and the Saints would start out their drive in great field position at their own 41-yard line. On a third-and-16, Edwards would connect with
Reese Jansen (Eden Valley, Minn./Eden Valley-Watkins HS) for a 26-yard gain to the Martin Luther 26-yard line.
Bryceton Butkiewicz (Kettle River, Minn./Moose Lake HS) would scamper for a quick 10 yards on the next play bringing St. Scholastica to the Knights 29-yard line. A five-yard penalty would be followed by a 24-yard completion from Edwards to
Mitchell Adrian (Altoona, Wis./Altoona HS) to put the Saints on the board with 12:49 remaining in the half. The PAT was blocked to leave the Saints trailing the Knights 7-6. Martin Luther would get back to their ground game attack by driving the football 71 yards resulting in a touchdown with 5:18 remaining in the second quarter.
Will Halloran (Belle Plaine, Minn./New Prague HS) blocked the extra point resulting in a 13-6 halftime lead for Martin Luther.
Third Quarter
Martin Luther would receive the second half kickoff and would capitalize on. A strong rushing attack would lead the Knights to their third rushing touchdown on the day. A 64-yard drive would be capped off by a 24-yard touchdown run. A successful PAT would result in a 20-6 lead for Martin Luther College with 11:27 left in the third quarter. The Saints offense would be unable to gain any traction on its first possession of the second half resulting in a punt by
Eric Soderberg (Cohasset, Minn./Grand Rapids HS) that pinned the Knights on their own one-yard line. Martin Luther was stuffed on a fourth down attempt at the Saints 46-yard line allowing great field position for St. Scholastica. The Saints would get trampled by the Knights' defensive line losing 22 yards on the drive, resulting in another punt.
Fourth Quarter
The Knights scored on the first play of the quarter. A successful extra point increased their lead to 27-6. Martin Luther would continue to make life difficult for the Saints on offense allowing only 10 yards of offense in the final quarter. Martin Luther would continue to run out the clock on the ground to win 27-6.
Top Performers for CSS
Edwards threw for 104 yards and one touchdown. Adrian caught the lone touchdown, while hauling in eight receptions for 45 yards. Defensively
Eric Soderberg (Cohasset, Minn./Grand Rapids HS) had a career game with 22 tackles on the day. Kleppe followed with 15 and
Andy Lakmann (Sartell, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral HS) was right behind him with 13 take downs.
Top Performers for the Opponents
The reigning UMAC Offensive Player of the Year Austin DeNoyer ran for 225 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Ethan Aguilar had only three completions, but one of those was a touchdown.
Marquise Jackson-Hunter had 4.5 tackles for a loss as the MLC defense recorded eight sacks and 15 tackles for a loss.
Up Next
The Saints will take a short road trip to St. Paul to face off against UMAC rival, The University of Northwestern Eagles. St. Scholastica looks to get back to their winning ways next Saturday. Game time is scheduled for a 6 P.M. kickoff.
