ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College football team scored two touchdowns in the second half and had the ball in the red zone late in the fourth quarter, but the Scots fell to St. Scholastica, 23-17 Saturday afternoon at Macalester Stadium. Macalester drops to 2-2 overall and 0-2 against MIAC competition, while the Saints improve to 2-2, 1-1 MIAC.
With senior quarterback
Michael Nadeau (Garden Grove, Calif./La Quinta) not in the lineup today, sophomore quarterback
Jude Wallin (Wayne, Pa./Radnor) engineered a 14-play, 71-yard scoring drive on the Scots' first possession that ended with a 21-yard field goal by senior
Shomrik Mondal (Saratoga, Calif./The Harker School). Early in the second quarter, the Saints' Donald West hit Ricky Weber for a 79-yard touchdown pass to give St. Scholastica a 6-3 lead. A flea-flicker pass from receiver Wyatt Lahr to Weber for a 23-yard touchdown and a 13-3 advantage.
On the third play of the Scots' first drive of the second half, John Lassila intercepted Wallin and ran it back 20 yards for the score and a 20-3 lead. With the offense struggling, Macalester relied on its special teams to score its first touchdown of the day. Junior defensive back
Cameron Latvis (West St. Paul, Minn./Two Rivers) blocked a Saints' punt on the goal line, and senior linebacker
Noah Bresson (Homosassa, Fla./Crystal River) recovered it in the end zone to make the score 20-10. After St. Scholastica extended the lead to 23-10 with a field goal early in the fourth quarter, the Scots put together its first touchdown drive. First year quarterback
Kellen Sedlmayer (San Marcos, Calif./Santa Fe Christian) completed five passes on the 10-play, 61-yard drive that ended with a 10-yard pass from Sedlmayer to senior receiver
Michael Poker (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield East) to make the score 23-17.
On the ensuing kickoff, senior defensive back
Gabe Gallardo (Tustin, Calif./Foothill) forced a fumble that was recovered by sophomore
Vasco Sierra (Chicago, Ill./DePaul College Prep) at the Saints' 25-yard line with four minutes remaining. On a 4th-and-3 play from the 18-yard line, Sedlmayer hit Poker for a 6-yard gain and a first down. A sack on third down made it 4th-and-11 from the 13, but this time Macalester was unable to convert, turning the ball over on downs with 1:03 on the clock. St. Scholastica ran out the clock to clinch its first win over the Scots in five meetings.
Macalester, averaging 513 yards of total offense before today's game, gained 249 yards compared to 330 yards for the Saints. Sedlmayer completed eight passes for 64 yards and a touchdown, while Wallin was 14-of-22 for 84 yards and two interceptions. Poker caught nine passes for 68 yards and a touchdown, while senior running back
Logan Pampel (Johnson Creek, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran School) rushed for 47 yards on 10 carries. Bresson and senior defensive back
Troy Barksdale (Bolton, Mass./Nashoba Regional) led the defense with six tackles apiece, with Barksdale breaking up four passes.
Ashton Hain ran for 99 yards on 16 carries, while Weber caught four passes for 141 yards and a touchdown for St. Scholastica.
The Scots begin MIAC Skyline Division play next Saturday, Oct. 7 with a home game against Bethel. The game will start at 7:00 p.m. at Macalester Stadium as a part of Mac Fest.
