GAME NOTES
DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica football team will have its home finale on Saturday when they welcome the other newest Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) football member in Macalester College to Public Schools Stadium.
Where:
Public Schools Stadium
When:
Saturday at 1 p.m.
Live Web Cast: https://csssaints.com/showcase?Live=573
Live Stats: https://csssaints.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
Social Media:
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/CSSSAINTSFB
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/cssfootball08
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/StScholasticaFootball
St. Scholastica Saints
Record: 0-6, 0-6 MIAC
What You Need to Know about St. Scholastica:
-The Saints will honor their seven seniors on Saturday in
Mitchell Adrian (Altoona, Wis./Altoona HS),
Bryceton Butkiewicz (Kettle River, Minn./Moose Lake HS),
Tandrell Foster (Hurley, Wis./Hurley HS),
Pete Saint Fleur (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips HS (Shasta College-Calif.)),
Mack Nelson (Sandstone, Minn./East Central HS),
Ben Plzak (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Osseo HS), and
Tyler Isane (Badger, Minn./Badger HS (Minnesota Crookston)).
-Adrian enters Saturday's matchup five receptions shy of 200 for his career.
-Adrian is the program's record holder in receptions by nearly 60 receptions.
-Adrian ranks fifth in NCAA Division III averaging 8.3 receptions per game.
-Butkiewicz continues to lead the team in rushing, but has had a total of four attempts in the last two games since sitting out the Carleton game.
-First-year quarterback
Byron Bishop (Sublimity, Ore./Regis HS) has had a completion percentage of 50% or greater in each of his last three starts.
-Bishop's 16 completions against the fifth-ranked Johnnies last week are the third-most allowed by the Johnnies this season.
-Junior defense back
Jake Kukowski (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin HS) leads the defense with 50 tackles and ranks second in the MIAC in tackles per game (8.3)
-First-year linebacker
Jamari Thompson (Little Rock, Ark./Waller HS) is fourth in the MIAC averaging 8.0 tackles per game.
-The Saints have scored only one touchdown in the first quarter this season and that came against Carleton College.
-Third downs have been the story this season, as the Saints are converting only 31%, while opponents are converting 48%.
-CSS also has a minus-8 turnover margin this season, including a season-high minus-4 margin at Saint John's last week in which two of those turnovers led directly to scores.
-After going 5-for-7 in the red zone in its first four games, the Saints are 1-for-6 in their last two games.
Upcoming Opponent:
Macalester Scots
Record: 2-6, 1-5 MIAC
What You Need to Know about Macalester:
-The Scots are coming off a 23-13 victory over Hamline University Saturday night.
-It was an historic win as it was the first MIAC game to feature two Black Head Coaches.
-It was also Macalester's first win in the MIAC since rejoining the league in football and its first since September 29, 2001.
-Michael Nadeau threw for 361 yards in the win and found receiver Rex Desso eight times for 140 yards.
-Nadeau leads the MIAC in league games, averaging 265.5 yards through the air, but also has nine interceptions in MIAC play.
-Desso leads the MIAC with 66 receptions and 114.6 receiving yards per game.
-Desso ranks in the top 10 of NCAA Division III in those categories.
-The Scots would prefer to throw it as they rank at the bottom of the MIAC in rushing, averaging 69.5 yards per game.
-The Macalester defense has recovered eight fumbles this season, which is the second-most in the MIAC.
-Junior Josh Strickler leads the defense with 63 tackles.
-Senior defensive lineman John Newton has been a force on special teams blocking six kicks this season with leads all of NCAA Division III.
-Newton was named MIAC Special Teams Player of the Week this week.
-Senior kicker Jon Neve is 6-for-12 on field goal attempts this season with a long of 41 yards.
Series Record: MAC leads 2-0
Series History: The Saints faces the Scots in a home-and-home series in their first two seasons as a program in 2008 and 2009 … CSS fell at Macalester in its inaugural season in overtime 27-21 … Then in the return trip to Duluth in 2009, the Scots took advantage of CSS turnovers to win 35-13.
Looking Ahead: The Saints now know their opponent for the final week of the regular season as they will travel back to Hamline University next Saturday with the kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m.
