Macalester vs. St. Thomas statistics
Macalester kicked off its 2008 football season - it's first under new head coach
Tony Jennison - by making the short trip down Summit Ave. to take on St. Thomas for the 93rd time in the program's history. The Scots had an outstanding game against an athletic Tommie team with more experience and a much bigger roster, and played a hard-hitting and competitive contest.
Statistically, the game was fairly even, with UST out-gaining Mac 17-12 in first downs and 353-245 in total yardage, but Macalester was within 11 points at 21-10 and with possession of the ball in the third quarter before St. Thomas put things away with third and fourth-quarter touchdowns.
"I am very proud of the way our team competed,” said Coach Jennison following his head coaching debut. “We played hard and played together. With a much smaller roster and a lot of underclassmen playing prominent roles, we went toe to toe with an upperclassman-dominated, tradition rich, powerhouse of the MIAC for four quarters.”
“I am confident that whoever watched the football game saw how much progress this program has made and can see that this program is headed in a very positive direction. We are not happy with the outcome but our vision remains clear. We will take a lot of lessons from this game, make improvements and continue to move forward and closer to our vision."
The Scots scored their points on a 34-yard
Jeff Swick (Sr., Fond Du Lac, Wis.) field as the time expired in the first half, and on a 2-yard
Jacob McDonnell (Jr., Duluth, Minn. / Marshall) third-quarter touchdown run to cut the UST lead to 21-10.
Swick's field goal capped an 11-play drive, and McDonnell's score finished off a 12-play, 73-yard possession which used up 7:56 in possession time to start the second half. These two drives helped the Scots earn a commanding 37:00 to 23:00 minute Macalester advantage in time of possession.
Macalester quarterback
Trevor Miehe (So., Holmen, Wis.) went 15-for-22 passing for 132 yards, throwing four times for 51 yards to
Matt Mitchell (So., Chippewa Falls, Wis.) and four times for 48 yards to
Jon Elliott (So., El Paso, Tex. / Andress).
The rushing attack was led by McDonnell, who ran 20 times for 71 yards. McDonnell's touchdown was his 26th in just 15 career games at Macalester.
Graham Brown (Fy., Annandale, Minn.) picked off a Tommie pass for an interception in his first college game, while
Brian Foster (So., Shannon, Miss.) led a strong Mac defensive effort with seven solo tackles and four assisted stops. Foster recovered a fumble which he forced, and also had a tackle for loss.
Moments following McDonnell's third-quarter TD, the Scots stopped St. Thomas on four downs near midfield and had a first down at UST's 41-yard line. However, a Tommie interception on the next play stopped Mac's momentum and halted the team's best chance to get closer.
UST's Fritz Waldvogel caught six passes for 98 yards and Ben Wartman ran for 84 yards and two scores.
The Scots play their '08 home opener next Saturday (Sept. 13) against Crown at 6 p.m.
