Northland Sports Online

Saints Keep Winning

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NSO – NEWS RELEASE

 

NEW ULM, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica football team extended its winning streak to eight as they took down Martin Luther by a score of 49-14 on Saturday afternoon.

CSS got off to a rocky start as Martin Luther intercepted a Saints pass during the first drive of the game. The defense stood their ground though, and forced the Knights to a three and out deep in their own territory giving the Saints good field position on their next drive. The Saints took advantage of the field position as they drove down the field and finished it off with a 22 yard touchdown pass from Harper to Mitch O’Neil (Otsego, Minn./Rogers HS) for an early 7-0 lead. The Saints’ next possession started on their own 23 yard line, but that did not stop them from marching down the field for another touchdown, this one coming off a five yard run from Harper. The Saints took off almost six minutes of time off the clock during the drive while going 77 yards on 13 plays.

In the second quarter, the Saints defense stopped the Knights once again. The Knights’ defense, however, would make a big play during the next Saints drive as they returned a fumble 55 yards to cut the Saints’ lead to 14-7. The CSS offense would get back on track though as they took the next drive 65 yards on nine plays that ended on another Harper to O’Neil connection for a touchdown pushing the score differential back to 14 points. The next Saints’ possession would be a lot quicker but it still ended with another touchdown. A big play on the drive was a 54 yard pass from Ben Britton (Anoka, Minn./Anoka HS) to Andrew Smith (Rogers, Minn./Rogers HS) that put the ball on the Knights’ 11 yard line. Robinson finished off the drive on the next play to make it 28-7 at the half.

Martin Luther started the third quarter with the ball but didn’t do much as the Saints’ defense forced another three and out. Mitch Ejnik (New London, Minn./New London-Spicer HS ) would then take the punt 70 yards to the house to extend the Saints’ lead to 35-7. After another three and out for the Knights, the CSS offense would go to work once again going 71 yards downfield on nine plays. The drive was sparked by a 31 yard run from Robinson and capped off by a 19 yard touchdown pass from Harper to Shane Finnegan (Woodbury, Minn./Hill-Murray HS). Martin Luther would get their first offensive touchdown of the game on the next possession as they kept chipping away until Joseph Rodewald punched it in from a yard out to make it 42-14 going into the fourth quarter.

The Saints would finish off the scoring in the game on their next drive in the fourth quarter on a Hunter Thompson (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo HS) 2-yard run. The Knights would attempt a late comeback in the middle of the quarter as they recovered a fumble and the offense drove all the way to the Saints 17 yard line. The CSS defense stood up the Knights’ offense on a fourth and two to keep the score at 49-14, which would end up being the final score.

Harper led the passing attack for the Saints going 11 for 18 for 142 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 28 yards rushing off seven carries and a touchdown. Preston Robinson (Northfield, Minn./Northfield HS) led the running game with 151 yards off 17 carries. Mitch O’Neil (Otsego, Minn./Rogers HS) led the receiving crew with six catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, Alex Mangan (Eagan, Minn./Eagan HS) led the team with 12 tackles with Brady Fish (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee HS ) contributing eight tackles and Jared Moran (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville HS) getting seven as well. Eddie Endicott led all Martin Luther rushers with 55 yards on 21 carries.

The Saints will be back at home next weekend as they take on Eureka. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. from Public Schools Stadium. You can catch all the action live on Saints Sports Net

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