Saints Ready for UMAC Title Game

NSO – NEWS RELEASE

DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – For the second straight year, The College of St. Scholastica and Greenville College (Ill.) will square off in the regular season finale to determine who will receive the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference’s (UMAC) automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Playoffs.

Where:
Public Schools Stadium

When:
Saturday at 1 p.m.

Live Video: http://www.csssaints.com/ssn

Live Stats: http://www.csssaints.com/ssn

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St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 9-0, 8-0 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats

The Saints cruised over the University of Minnesota Morris last weekend … Freshman running back Preston Robinson (Northfield, Minn./Northfield HS), who was wearing No. 42, instead of his normal No. 21 set a program record with five touchdowns (all rushing) … Three of his touchdowns came in the first quarter alone … The lone points surrendered by CSS was a safety in the third quarter.

Senior Day: St. Scholastica will honor 17 seniors on Saturday for Senior Day … The class has won three straight UMAC Championships and has an overall record of 35-6.

UMAC Success: The Saints have won 20 straight UMAC games; a streak dating back to October 20, 2012 … CSS has lost only one UMAC game in the last three seasons … That 2012 loss came against Northwestern at Ordean Stadium.

Ranked for the First Time: St. Scholastica received one vote in this week’s American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III poll, which marked the first time, the Saints have ever received votes in that poll.

Role Reversal: In 2013, it was Greenville that came into the regular season finale, undefeated with the second-longest winning streak in NCAA Division III … The Panthers were the team hosting and were coming in receiving votes in the AFCA Division III poll.

Getting Defensive: The Saints have allowed only two offensive touchdowns in the last 18 quarters … CSS has held its last two opponents out of the end zone for the first time in program history.

20 is the Magic Number: The Saints are 41-0 since 2010 when they score at least 20 points.

Red Zone Success: The Saints are 44-of-45 in converting red zone opportunities this season, which leads NCAA Division III … 42 of the 45 opportunities have resulted in touchdowns.

Harper Milestones: Quarterback Tyler Harper (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS) remains tied with Alex Thiry for career touchdown passes at 59

Cedarleaf on the Edge: CSS defensive lineman Blake Cedarleaf (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi HS) remains tied with Christopher Doran for the programs career sack record at 13.5.

Series History: The Saints are 3-1 all-time against the Panthers … The last time Greenville visited Duluth was a 45-3 victory for the Saints on Homecoming at Malosky Stadium … That was the first time the Saints did not allow an offensive touchdown in a game … However, the last time the Panthers visited Public Schools Stadium, they defeated the Saints 35-7 in 2010.

Greenville College Panthers
The Panthers (7-2, 7-1 UMAC) feature a spread option attack much different than the option teams the Saints have already seen this season … Greenville is fourth in NCAA Division III, averaging 344.8 yards on the ground … Leading the way is freshman running back Nathan Callaway, who leads the conference averaging 124.8 yards per game and 13 touchdowns … Callaway is currently seventh in the nation in total rushing yards … At quarterback, freshman Eric Northey has thrown for 926 yards and 11 touchdowns, while running for 573 yards and five touchdowns … Sophomore linebacker Nicholas Morrow leads the defense with 59 tackles, while junior linebacker Joey Silva leads the UMAC with 6.5 sacks … The young Greenville squad features six starting freshman, compared to two starting seniors.

Head Coach Robbie Schomaker: Coach Schomaker is in his second season as head coach of Greenville … In his first year, which was an interim season, he led the 2013 football team to a record of 9-2 and the program’s fifth NCCAA Victory Bowl appearance … The 2013 squad broke numerous team records in extending a winning streak spanning two seasons to 17 games and winning nine games in a season for the first time in program history … Schomaker came to Greenville in 2010 … The Panthers finished in top 10 in the NCAA Division III for rushing yards with an average in excess of 300 yards per game each year Schomaker served as offensive coordinator.