Saints and Eagles go down to the wire in homecoming showdown

The St. Peter Saints hosted longtime rival New Ulm Friday night as homecoming week came to a close.

With a pair of lead changes in the fourth quarter, the Saints found themselves trailing 22-18 with 1:28 remaining in regulation. The last minute drive came up short with a turnover on downs inside the Eagles 30, allowing New Ulm to earn the win over St. Peter 22-18 as the homecoming spoiler.

The game itself got started with a bang as Ian Wills returned the opening kickoff to the 45 yard line before Alex Korir stepped into a deep pass down the left sideline to Ryan Moelter for 40 yards. Two plays later, Moelter took a direct snap from the center and ran the ball up the gut two yards for a touchdown to put the Saints up 6-0 after the PAT was blocked.

New Ulm's offense stalled on its first drive of the night, resulting in a turnover on downs, but St. Peter Couldn't capitalize, eventually punting the ball away before the end of the first quarter. Kyler Anderson did an excellent job on the punt, pinning the Eagles at their own nine yard line.

New Ulm managed to break off back to back first down runs and three minutes into the second quarter, the Eagle quarterback rushed the ball into the endzone on a keeper followed by a made PAT to take a 7-6 lead. The following kickoff looked like it might have been disastrous as the ball was fumbled by the Saints, but the reason for the fumble was a facemask that was called by the officials, resulting in St. Peter maintaining possession near midfield.

A holding call during the drive contributed to a stall and eventually the Saints punted the ball. After a stalled Eagle drive, St. Peter got the ball back at the 22. After a pair of first-down plays were negated due to holding calls, the Saints broke through with a 15 yard third down pass to Owen Potts for a first.

With 1:24 to go in the half, Korir put the ball in the air for Wills deep down the field and Wills reached ahead to haul in the pass, 30 yards downfield, and stiff-armed the defensive back to the turf before waltzing into the endzone for a 47 yard touchdown. The two-point conversion was no good, giving the Saints a 12-7 lead and the Eagles last minute attempt to score before halftime was shut down when Carter Dale stepped up in the zone to pick off a pass, sending the teams into the half.

New Ulm received the second half kickoff and proceeded to drive the ball methodically down the field, converting a fourth and short once during the drive, ultimately scoring a touchdown on a jump pass from five yards out. The two-point conversion was successful and the Eagles took the lead 15-12 having taken nine minutes and 24 seconds off the clock.

After back-to-back three and outs, St. Peter began a drive in their own territory early in the fourth quarter. A 12 yard run from Wills was followed by a 21 yard run from Moelter as the Saints gained momentum. After getting a first and goal, Wills took a jet sweep from Korir two yards to the left side for a touchdown. The PAT was blocked, giving St. Peter an 18-15 lead with 7:24 remaining.

New Ulm took the next kickoff to the 40 and proceeded to drive downfield with the aim to reclaim the lead. After getting into St. Peter territory, the Saints got a big opportunity when Joseph Connor hit the Eagle quarterback from the blindside, forcing a sack fumble, but New Ulm was able to cover the ball.

The quarterback for the Eagles was guided to the bench and was unable to return and two plays later, New Ulm faced a fourth down and inches. They managed to make the conversion with a power run and managed to rush the ball into the endzone followed by a made PAT to retake the lead 22-18 with 1:28 to go.

The Saints forced a fourth and four with 1:03 to go and kept the drive alive when Kaden Throldahl hauled in a pass with one hand, taking the ball to the 40 of New Ulm. Owen Potts made another reception before going out of bounds but New Ulm managed to sack Korir, forcing the Saints to spike the ball to stop the clock with just 13 seconds left on fourth down. The pass on the next play was deflected by the Eagles, forcing the turnover on downs, securing the victory for New Ulm.

With the loss, St. Peter now holds a record of 3-3 on the season with two games remaining in the regular season schedule. The Saints will hit the road Friday, Oct. 11, when they travel to Marshall to face the Tigers before closing the regular season Wednesday, Oct. 16 with a home showdown against Worthington.