Notables
-Ripon scored 8 points off of CSS special team mistakes, and the other nine off of CSS turnovers (fumble, pick-6 INT)
-The last loss when leading at the half was vs. Martin Luther on September 25, 2010
-Only the third loss in 49 games when the Saints out-gained their opponents
RIPON, Wis. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica football team out-gained Ripon College (Wis.) 298-144, but the Red Hawks scored all 17 of their points off of CSS mistakes to down the Saints in the season opener at Ingalls Field 17-16.
First Half
The Saints defense began the game by forcing a Ripon punt on just four plays. On CSS' first possession, after a couple of first downs, the Saints fumbled on Ripon's half of midfield. The Red Hawks took advantage of the turnover as Connor Greenwald made a 30-yard field goal to make it 3-0.
St. Scholastica was then intercepted on the ensuing possession to start the second quarter. After the Saints defense held Ripon to a three-and-out, the offense got a drive going thanks to 34 yards on the ground by Preston Robinson and a 23-yard completion to Levi Bean. That setup a 37-yard field goal attempt by freshman Donovan Blatz and he converted to tie the game at 3-3.
Following another Ripon punt, Dakota Paulson connected with Nick Murphy for a 62-yard touchdown on 1st-and-20 to give the Saints a 10-3 halftime lead.
Second Half
On the first offensive play of the second half, the Saints would be intercepted for a third time. However, it did not hurt as the CSS defense did not budge and forced another Ripon punt.
A couple of possessions later, a Ripon fumble would be scooped up by Mason Bloomquist who ran it in for an 8-yard touchdown to make it 16-3 Saints. Things then got wacky on the point-after attempt as the kick was blocked and returned the other way for two points for the Red Hawks to make the score 16-5.
On St. Scholastica's next possession, CSS would throw its fourth interception of the game and this one taken 48 yards for a touchdown by Decker Thompson. The 2-point attempt failed and the score stood at 16-11 midway through the third quarter.
The score remained 16-11 entering the fourth quarter when another special teams mistake hurt the Saints. At midfield, the saints lined up to punt, but the snap got away and rolled all the way down to the St. Scholastica 4-yard-line.
On third-and-goal at the CSS 1-yard-line, Ripon would fumble but it was recovered by running back Nathan Kuehl at the 3-yard-line and ran in for a touchdown to give the Red Hawks a 17-16 lead with 7:25 remaining. Once again the 2-point conversion failed.
On each of St. Scholastica's final two possessions, the Saints moved inside Ripon's 40-yard-line, but turned it over on downs in each instance as Ripon prevailed in an odd way 17-16.
Key Team Stats
Total Yards: CSS-298, Ripon-144
Passing Yards: CSS-232, Ripon-51
Interceptions: CSS-4, Ripon-0
Punt Attempts: CSS-2, Ripon-9
Top Performances for CSS
Dakota Paulson passed for 232 yards and ran for 53 yards. Paulson also connected with 10 different receivers. Alex Mangan had a team-high 10 tackles, including three for a loss. Mitch Ejnik added seven tackles.
Top Performances for the Opponents
Connor Greenwald ran for 63 yards on 17 carries. Bradley Knoblock tied a program record with three interceptions.
Up Next
The Saints will begin conference play and have their home opener next Saturday when they welcome MacMurray College (Ill.) to Public Schools Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. The action can be seen live on Saints Sports Net.