Duluth, MN. – The St. Scholastica Football team played in their second MIAC Conference game of the season, this time at home against the Scots of Macalester College. Today's game was a must-have for the Saints, who were striving to achieve their first MIAC Conference win on Homecoming. 

With Donald West (St. Paul, Minn./Woodbury HS (Iowa Central)) commanding the Saints' offense, it was a battle between the two that resulted in the Saints making a last-minute plunge into the Scots territory to secure the win at the buzzer. 

How it Happened 

First Quarter

The Saints started the game with the ball, and even though it was the first offensive drive of the game, it was clear West had a goal in mind, run the ball. Out of the 12 plays made in the first drive, running back Nick Schlender (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater HS) touched the ball seven times, ultimately scoring the first touchdown of the game, only six minutes into the game. It would take a little while for the Scots to answer the Saints' touchdown. The Scots started their drive on their own 40 yard line, making it to the Saints endzone in only five plays. The Scots decided to go for the extra point kick, and secured the extra point, giving them the 7-6 lead early in the game. Following a short and unsuccessful drive from the Saints, the Scots got the ball back, and after fighting some crushing defense managed to push deep into the Saints' zone, but failed to reach the end zone as the first quarter came to a close. 

Second Quarter

The Scots began the second quarter on the Saints' 17-yard line, and after only one failed rush, they found the endzone just 40 seconds into the second quarter, however their lead would only extend to seven, as their kicker failed to convert on the extra point attempt. The Saints started their offense in the second quarter on their 43-yard line. West went to Schlender but found little success there in this drive and decided to switch to passing. His first pass of the half found Andrew Burgess II (Tampa, Fla./Cypress Creek HS) for a gain of ten yards. 

After a failed pass attempt, the Saints went back to the run game, giving the ball to Schlender once more who ran for 50 yards, finding the endzone. Jacob Andrews (Owatonna, Minn./Medford HS) stepped up to tie the game at 13-13. The score remained the same for the remainder of the quarter. 

Third Quarter

Andrews opened the half with a 60-yard kickoff to the Scots who returned it to their 20-yard line. The Saints' defense stepped up to the challenge, forcing a punt after only four attempts. The Saints' offense stepped in starting their drive on their 34-yard line. It would not take long in this possession for the Scots' defense to match the Saints' strength as on the second play, West took too long and suffered a sack resulting in a six yard loss.

Trying to dig themselves out of the hole, the Saints executed several successful plays but were ultimately overwhelmed by the Scots. West found a receiver, and let the pass fly, but it was brought down by the opposition on their 32-yard line. Macalester saw similar luck on their next drive, getting to within field goal range, their kicker let the kick go, but Colby Jorschumb (Bloomington, Minn./Bloomington Jefferson HS) was there to block the kick. Aaron Baker (Barnesville, Minn./Barnesville HS) was quick enough to reach the ball before anyone else to recover the block for the Saints. The ball was on the Saints' 44-yard line, and with not much time remaining in the third, the Saints needed a strong drive before the time ran out. West attempted a pass that went too far, and Schelder took it for two. The next play hurt the Saints, West had a receiver in his sights and let the ball fly, but the Scots' defense was quick to once again intercept his pass. The third quarter came to an end with the score remaining 13-13.

Fourth Quarter

The Saints saw the end of the tunnel, and the defense knew what they had to do, forcing a turnover on downs very early on. Following a series of back-and-forth possessions with no change to the score, the Saints found themselves in possession of the ball. After a series of successful first down plays, West saw a gap in the pocket and ran the ball in for a 16-yard touchdown, putting the Saints up 20-13 following another extra point kick. The Scots got the ball back on their own 25 yard line, but they didn't stay there long as their quarterback found a player deep for a 34 yard passing play to put them on the 49 yard line. 

Following a series of flags given to both teams the Scots ended up on the Saints 36 yard line, in a perfect spot to make a play. The Scots would get another first down just before Maximilian Neaves (Waseca, Minn./Waseca HS) read the play correctly and intercepted the ball. This gave the Saints an amazing opportunity to extend their lead even further. And they did just that, handing the ball to Jevon Williams (Willmar, MN) who ran for 30 yards, and Andrews who scored another extra point putting the Saints up 27-13 with 1:54 seconds remaining in the game. Macalester did not want to waste time trying to even the game, and that they didn't, using less than a minute to get down 46 yards for a touchdown of their own followed by an extra point. The score with 1:06 remaining in the game was now 27-20. Playing it safe, the Scots went with an onside kick, this attempt turned out to be successful as they recovered their kickoff, and executed a 31 yard passing play, butting them well within range to tie the game. The Saints would receive a detrimental holding penalty, moving the Scots to the eight yard line. 

On the next dive, the Scots found the end zone once more. The Scots went for the extra point but the Saints received a flag for roughing the snapper, giving the Scots another yard, and another chance. The Scots wanted the win out of this play and went for the two-point conversion, they scored putting Macalester up 27-28. Completing the comeback up to this point. The Saints had only 45 seconds to reach the Scots side of the field, but West knew exactly what to do, he found multiple receivers, going on a four-for-four passing run, gaining a total of 71 yards. The Saints found themselves on the Macalester two-yard line with only two seconds remaining in the game. Instead of going for the touchdown, they opted for Andrews once more to come up big for the Saints, and that he did, Andrews drilled a five-yard field goal to secure the Homecoming win for the Saints at the buzzer. The final score of the game was 30-28.

Up Next

The St. Scholastica Football team (2-2, 1-1 MIAC) will travel to St. Peter, MN. to play another MIAC opponent, the Gustavus Adolphus College Gusties (2-2, 1-1 MIAC), on Saturday, October 12. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.