DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Olaf College football team scored touchdowns on its first three possessions on its way to a 37-17 victory over the College of St. Scholastica in Northwoods Division play in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) on Saturday at Mav Heikkinen Field.
St. Olaf (4-2, 3-1 MIAC) leveled its divisional record at 1-1 by scoring 20 first-quarter points to get out to a lead on St. Scholastica (2-4, 1-3 MIAC). The Saints got within six points early in the second quarter before junior Devin McNearny ran the ensuing kickoff back 85 yards for a touchdown, as the Oles led by multiple scores the rest of the way.
After escaping Duluth with a 33-28 victory on a touchdown run by fifth-year senior Jordan Embry with 22 seconds remaining last season in a game St. Olaf led 24-7 early in the third quarter, the Oles maintained their cushion in the second meeting between the two programs by shutting out the Saints in the second half.
In his return to action, Embry continued his climb up the St. Olaf rushing charts by running for 145 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. The 145-yard game vaulted Embry into third in program history with 3,228 yards for his career, passing Hall of Famer Manuel Spreigl '02 and moving within 12 yards of Leon Clark '12 for second. Embry's 29 carries gave him 652 for his career, passing Mark Gelle '76 and Ole Gunderson '72 for second all-time, trailing only Spreigl's total of 692.
Junior Theo Doran recorded his third 300-yard effort of the season, completing 20-of-29 passes for 326 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Senior Derek Hansen had the second 100-yard game of his career, hauling in a career-high nine receptions for 120 yards, while fifth-year senior Payton Schott had six receptions for 109 yards and two touchdowns. The 100-yard game was the fifth of Schott's career and the two-touchdown performance was the third of his career.
After the defense got a fourth-down stop on the first possession of the game, St. Olaf got on the board first with a 10-play, 58-yard scoring drive that culminated in Doran hitting junior Braden Menz over the middle for a nine-yard touchdown on a third-and-goal play. The touchdown was the second of Menz's career.
St. Scholastica ran the ensuing kickoff back into St. Olaf territory before senior Collin Swan made the tackle at the 46-yard line as the last man between the returner and the end zone. The Oles' defense got another fourth-down stop, as sophomore Alijah Cruel corralled Donald West on a quarterback keeper on fourth-and-one at the St. Olaf 26-yard line. Four plays later, Doran found Schott for a 47-yard catch-and-run touchdown to make it 14-0 with 5:03 to go in the first quarter.
The Saints answered less than two minutes later when West connected with Ricky Weber over the middle for a 37-yard touchdown with 3:16 remaining in the quarter. Leading 14-7, the Oles made it three-straight scores with a five-play, 74-yard drive that ended with a 14-yard run by Embry. The big play of the drive was a 44-yard pass from Doran to junior Evan Hammonds that got St. Olaf to the 20-yard line.
The offenses continued to move the ball early in the second quarter, as St. Scholastica went 69 yards in eight plays to get back within six points at 20-14 on a three-yard pass from West to Connor Donovan. The six-point margin lasted just 12 seconds, however, as McNearny broke up the right sideline to return the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown. McNearny's runback was the first kickoff return for a touchdown by an Ole since a 91-yarder by Clark in a 49-24 win over Carleton College on Oct. 16, 2010.
St. Olaf got another fourth-down stop, this time at its own four-yard line, on St. Scholastica's next possession, as West fumbled the ball out of the side of the end zone while trying to get in for a score. The Saints managed to make it a 10-point game at the half on a 29-yard field goal by Jacob Andrews with 4:13 remaining.
After the Saints piled up 327 yards of offense in the first half, St. Olaf limited the hosts to 102 yards in the second half to make the halftime lead hold up. St. Scholastica was 8-for-12 on third down in the opening half but was just 2-for-8 after halftime. The Oles held the Saints to 25 yards rushing in the second half after St. Scholastica ran for 192 yards and averaged 9.1 yards per rush over the first two quarters.
Doran and Schott hooked up for their second touchdown of the game on a 17-yard pass on the first possession of the third quarter to cap an eight-play, 70-yard march. The only other points of the second half were a 30-yard field goal by Swan with 11:36 remaining in the game. St. Olaf overcame a 3-for-10 day offensively on third down by stopping St. Scholastica on fourth down all six times the Saints went for it.
Senior Luke Stanga made a team-high seven tackles (five solo) for the Oles defensively, while classmate Jacob Halek had five solo tackles and four pass breakups. Senior Ben Hestorff broke up three passes and had five tackles, while Cruel and junior Tate Sauerwein recorded six tackles apiece.
St. Olaf plays its next three games at home, beginning with a 1 p.m. kickoff against Augsburg University on Saturday, Oct. 21 at Klein Field at Manitou.
St. Olaf starts quickly on offense in 37-17 win over St. Scholastica
/seasons/2023/boxscores/20231014_d1dj.xml
2023
St. Olaf
37
St. Scholastica
17
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Olaf (4-2) | 20 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 37 |
| St. Scholastica (2-4) | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
Oct 14, 2023