St. Scholastica scores first win on the road

SAINTS EARN FIRST ROAD WIN IN PROGRAM HISTORY

WATERTOWN, Wis. -- The St. Scholastica football team can add another first to the program as the Saints traveled to Maranatha Baptist Bible College (Wis.) and defeated the Crusaders 33-8 today for the team's first-ever road victory.

It is the Saints' second-ever victory in the program's second year of existence. The first win came against Trinity Bible College (N.D) last season at Public Schools Stadium, 47-8.

After a good opening kickoff return by Jonny Bennett, who advanced the ball into Crusader territory, the Saints were stopped on four downs and gave the ball to Maranatha. After a halfback pass by the Crusaders got the ball into CSS territory on their first play from scrimmage, the Saints defense held strong and forced Maranatha to turn the ball over on downs.

After a Maranatha punt late in the first quarter, the Saints drove the ball 80 yards on seven plays with the drive capped off on a Christopher Henagin 1-yard touchdown plunge. The extra point was missed as the score was 6-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The Saints recovered a fumble inside Maranatha's 20-yard-line in the second quarter, but were unable to capitalize, turning the ball over on downs. However later in the second quarter, Henagin received the option pitch from Jake Olson and scored from five yards out. Matt Holter added the extra point and the Saints extended their lead to 13-0.

Then following a Zack Dubanoski interception, the Saints added to their lead with a Jake Olson 12-yard touchdown pass to former Superior Spartan Keegan O'Neill to make the score 19-0. That would be the score at the half.

In the second half, the Crusaders would get their first points when the Saints had a bad snap deep in their own territory and had to take a safety. After the free kick, Maranatha was inside the St. Scholastica 20-yard-line, but Scott Greening intercepted his second pass of the afternoon and appeared to bring it back for a 95-yard touchdown. However, a penalty on the return negated the score. The Saints were still able to capitalize as Henagin scored his third touchdown of the day with another 1-yard touchdown run to make the score 26-2.

After the Crusaders were able to score their first touchdown of the season, the Saints added one more score at the end of the game when backup quarterback Alex Thiry connected with Matthew Johnson, another former Spartan, for a 67-yard touchdown pass to make the final score 33-8.

The Saints out-gained the Crusaders 480-250 in the game. The CSS defense held Maranatha to just 29 yards on the ground on 27 attempts.

Christopher Henagin rushed for 147 yards and a career-high three touchdowns. Olson was 18-of-35 for 218 yards and one touchdown. Johnson had a four catches for a career-high 119 yards. The same can be said for Tyler LeRoux, who had a career-high six receptions for 98 yards, filling in for the injured Mike VanMassenhove.

JP Leary III and Sean Graskey each had nine tackles to lead the Saints defensively. Leary also had three tackles for a loss in the game. The defense as a whole had program-best 11 tackles for a loss. Punter Alex Duea had a nice day with four punts averaging 44 yards and two landing inside the 20-yard-line.

VanMassenhove and Graskey are also former Spartans.

The Saints return home Saturday when they face Wisconsin Lutheran College at Ole Haugsrud Field. The kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and can be heard live on ESPN Radio 560-WEBC and can be seen live courtesy of the iFan Sports Network on csssaints.com.

St. Scholastica ... 6-13-7-7--33

Maranatha Baptist. ... 0-0-0-2-6--8

CSS--Christopher Henagin 1 run (kick failed)

CSS--Henagin 5 run (Matt Holter kick)

CSS--Keegan O'Neill 12 pass from Jake Olson (kick blocked)

M--Safety

CSS--Henagin 1 run (Holter kick)

M--Mike Crawford 2 run (kick blocked)

CSS--Matt Johnson 67 pass from Alex Thiry (Holter kick)

A--171.

CSS ... Mara

First downs 24 ... 11

Rushes-yards 32-179 ... 27-29

Passing 301 ... 221

Comp-Att-Int 21-40-1 ... 17-43-3

Return Yards 52 ... 95

Punts-Avg. 1-7.0 ... 0-0.0

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 ... 0-0

Penalties-Yards 13-98 ... 10-86

Possession 28:54 ... 31:06

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--CSS, Henagin 21-147, Travis Nehowig 4-26, Jake Olson 6-6. Maranatha, Crawford 11-37, Rob Dupre 1-10, Rob Kohlhaus 3-7, Timothy Manion 1- (-7), Mark Maize 4-(-7), Andrew Green 6-(-11).

PASSING--CSS, Olson 18-35-1-218, Thiry 3-5-0-83. Maranatha, Green 15-36-2-181, Crawford 2-7-1-40.

RECEIVING--CSS, Tyler LeRoux 6-98, Johnson 4-119, O'Neill 4-28, Don Anderson 3-23, Henagin 2-17, Todd Belger 1-12, Jonny Bennett 1-4. Maranatha, Dupre 8-148, Crawford 6-38, Manion 2-25, Kohlhaus 1-10.