DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica football team looks to open the 2019 season with a win for the first time since 2014, their last season opener in Duluth.
Where:
Malosky Stadium – Duluth, MN
When:
Saturday at Noon
GAME NOTES
Watch: https://csssaints.com/watch/?Live=359&type=Live
Stats: https://csssaints.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
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Twitter:
https://twitter.com/CSSSAINTSFB
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St. Scholastica Saints
2018 Stats
2018 Record: 6-4, 6-2 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
What You Need To Know about the Saints:
-The Saints are in Duluth for their season opener for the first time since the 2014 season when they defeated Ripon College (Wis.) 28-27.
-New coach
Mike Heffernan will be making his head coaching debut on Saturday.
-The Saints are in search of their first UMAC championship since the 2015 season. The three-year drought is the longest for CSS since the 2008-2010 seasons, the first three years of the program.
-The Saints welcome back senior quarterback,
Zach Edwards (St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) who became the team's leader for career passing yards last season, with 5919 yards. Though, the Saints lost their most prolific pass catcher,
Aaron Olson (Esko, Minn./Esko HS). Olson has the most reception yards, receptions and touchdown receptions, in Saints' history. Edwards and Olson Connected for 24 touchdowns through the 2016-2018 seasons.
-Last year the Saints averaged 324.8 YPG in the air, ranking eighth in NCAA Division III.
-The Saints will return on three starters on defense in 2019. Seniors
Will Halloran (Belle Plaine, Minn./New Prague HS),
Eric Soderberg (Cohasset, Minn./Grand Rapids HS) and
Cal Germain (Osceola, Wis./Osceola HS)
-Last year the Saints allowed only 165.1 YPG through the air, ranking them 30
th in NCAA Division III passing defense.
Players to Watch on Offense:
-Senior wide receiver
Eddie Lee (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS) – Lee finished 2018 with 917 receiving yards, which led the team. Lee comes into 2019 as one of the top targets for quarterback
Zach Edwards (St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley HS).
-Junior quarterback
Zach Edwards (St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) – Edwards finished eighth in NCAA Division III in passing yards (3,195) in 2018. He led the conference in touchdowns (29) and ranked 14
th nationally. He also ranked fifth in the nation in passing yards per game (319.5). The 3,195 matched a program record for passing yards in a season.
-Sophomore wide receiver
Mitchell Adrian (Altoona, Wis./Altoona HS) – Adrian finished with 310 yards in eight games last year, ranking fourth on the team in receiving yards. With
Aaron Olson (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) and
Christian Rund (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul HS (Hamline)) leaving due to graduation, look for Adrian to get a big share of the targets next to Lee.
Players to Watch on Defense:
-Senior defensive back
Will Halloran (Belle Plaine, Minn./New Prague HS) – Halloran in 2018 recorded 28 tackles and recorded a fumble recovery. Halloran led the Saints with nine pass breakups a season ago. He has totaled 18 in his career and is three away from fourth all time, and five from being third.
-Senior linebacker
Eric Soderberg (Cohasset, Minn./Grand Rapids HS) – In his first year on defense in 2018, Soderberg totaled 29 tackles and 3.5 tackle-for-loss. He also recorded an interception and two pass breakups. He moves down to linebacker for the 2019 season.
-Senior defensive lineman
Cal Germain (Osceola, Wis./Osceola HS) – Germain has played in all 30 games so far in his career. In 2018 he totaled 59 tackles, 2.5 tackle-for-loss and a sack. Germain will help anchor the defense in the trenches.
Opening Day: Saturday, the Saints will kick off their 12
th season in program history. In the 11 previous openers in CSS football history they own a record of 3-8.
UMAC Preseason Poll
1. Martin Luther – 61 points (6 First Place Votes)
2. Northwestern – 54 points (2 First Place Votes)
3. MacMurray – 49 points
4. St. Scholastica – 47 points (1 First Place Votes)
5. Westminster – 35 points
6. Greenville – 29 points
7. Minnesota Morris– 22 points
8. Iowa Wesleyan – 17 points
9. Crown – 10 points
Upcoming Opponent
Mayville State Comets
2018 Record: 1-9, 0-7 NSAA
What You Need to Know about the Comets:
-Despite having a top caliber passing offense the last few seasons, the Comets have little to show for it. The Comets have a record of just 2-19 in the past two seasons.
-The lone win last season for Mayville State was the four-point win over the Saints in their home opener.
-Senior QB Creighton Pfau is coming off a little bit of a down junior campaign that saw him throw for 1946 yards in 10 games (194.6 YPG). In 2018 he threw for 14 TD and added 614 yards and eight TDs with his legs.
-Darrel Wilson hauled in 36 passes for 415 yards in his junior season. He will be a player to watch with recently graduated Trent Momon out of the Wide Receiver group.
-As a freshman in 2018, Josiah Walker lead the Comets with 70 tackles, he also recorded 6.5 tackles-for-loss and a sack. Walker should be a big force for the Comets up the middle this season
Series Record: MSU leads 1-0 (
Last Meeting: 33-29 MSU – 9/8/2018)
Series History: In the first meeting between the two programs last season, the Saints jumped out to an early lead, but managed only one offensive score after the first quarter. The Comets then scored the lone touchdown of the fourth quarter to prevail 33-29.
Looking Ahead: The Saints will host Presentation College (S.D.) in their second game of a season opening three-game home stand. Kickoff will be at noon at Public Schools Stadium.
