Box Score

St. Bonifacius, MN. – The St. Scholastica Football team boarded the buses today to compete against Crown College in the Saints' first road game of the season. The team is coming off a nail-biting overtime loss against Rockford University; the Saints had a fury pushing them to succeed tonight. 

The Saints came into St. Bonifacius on Saturday, September 21, to achieve their first win of the season, and they were successful. It did not take long for the Saints to entertain the packed homecoming crowd, and the entertainment never ceased as the Saints continued to extend their lead and ensure their 35-15 victory.

How it happened

First Quarter

With a series of offensive attempts, the Polar's defense continued to make errors on the field, giving the Saints numerous first downs on the Saints' second offensive drive. They plunged deep into the Polar's side and continued to convert on nearly every pass, only getting closer to the endzone. From the five-yard line, the Saints faked a handoff as quarterback Donald West (St. Paul, Minn./Woodbury HS (Iowa Central)) ran the ball in himself to put the Saints on the board, kicker Jacob Andrews (Owatonna, Minn./Medford HS) scored the extra point, which put the Saints up 7-0 only seven minutes into the game. 

With three minutes left in the first period, the Polars scored a touchdown but failed to convert on the extra point. The Saints maintained their lead by only one, 7-6. The score remained the same at the end of the first quarter. 

Second Quarter

Henry Elifson recorded a massive third-down sack, which forced Crown to give up their drive and punt with five minutes remaining in the first half. Not much time remained in the half as both teams looked to score. It would not be easy as the defensive squads for both teams were able to lock down their opposition. The first half ended with the Saints ahead 7-6.

Third Quarter

Javon Williams took the handoff and progressed the ball for a deep first yard down on the Crown 49. Second down on the 49-yard line, West connected with Andrew Burgess II (Tampa, Fla./Cypress Creek HS)I for a massive first down to the 23-yard line. Following that play, the Saints made a spectacular play and ran the same route as West found Burgess for a 23-yard touchdown, followed by the extra point from Andrews to put the Saints up 14-6 just four minutes into the second half. 

The Saints' defense smothered the Crowns' offense and forced their quarterback to run on his own, only to be downed by Anthony Vo (St. Paul, Minn./Roseville HS), forcing a punt. Held to fourth and one, the Saints handed off to Williams and pushed for the first down; they got the three-yard line. 

On the three-yard line, Schlender pushed the ball through the Crown line to ring in another touchdown for the Saints, and Andrews once again converted for the Saints. Following that sequence, the Saints led 21-6 as four minutes remained in the third quarter. Quickly after, the Saints got an automatic first down on the 16-yard line. 

The Saints called their first timeout of the half with 27 seconds remaining in the third, the Saints have been held to fourth down. The Saints came out of the timeout and played the fourth down, which resulted in a touchdown coming off a reception by Williams, Andrews made the extra point kick, putting the Saints up 28-6 at the end of the third quarter. 

Fourth Quarter

The Saints opened the final quarter with an interception, courtesy of Maximilian Neaves (Waseca, Minn./Waseca HS), who was downed on the Saints 35-yard line. With a series of first downs, the Saints advanced to the Crown 11-yard line as West handed off to Williams, who was downed on the three-yard line.

The Saints suffered a detrimental penalty that returned them to the eight-yard line. The penalty did not change anything as on the next play. West connected to Burgess once more for another touchdown and an extra point. This extended the Saint's lead to 35-6 with seven-and-a-half minutes remaining in the game.

The Polars would not take the loss laying down, they responded to the Saints' barrage of touchdowns with one of their own and an extra point. The Saint's lead was cut down to 22, with a score of 35-13. With Crown on the six-yard line, Izaac Hutchinson (Albany, Minn./Albany HS) intercepted the pass, giving the Saints the ball. 

Not long after that, the Polars sacked West in the Saints endzone for a safety, which brought the score to 35-15. The game came to an end with the Saints securing their first win on the season with a final score of 35-15

Up Next

The Saints (1-1, 0-0 MIAC) will once again hit the road, this time to Moorhead, to play their first MIAC game against the Cobbers (1-1, 0-0 MIAC) of Concordia College (MN) on Saturday, September 28. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.