Box Score
Box score
MILWAUKEE - Junior wide receiver Dominique
Johnson (Milwaukee, Wis./Vincent) caught nine passes for a
school-record 217 yards and one touchdown as the Wisconsin Lutheran
College football team held on for a 36-29 Homecoming victory over
the College of St. Scholastica Saints on Saturday afternoon at
Raabe Stadium.
Wisconsin Lutheran looked as if it was going to run away with an
easy victory over St. Scholastica, jumping out to a 21-2 lead early
in the second quarter. The Warrior offense put on a fantastic show,
gaining over 500 yards and scoring five touchdowns. But it was the
defense that forced a key turnover during a late fourth quarter
drive that preserved the exciting Homecoming win.
The visiting Saints, from hailing from Duluth, Minn., were
playing in their first college football game in the school's
96-year history. Early on, they appeared overmatched from the first
play from scrimmage. On the first snap, Josh McCormick (Fond du
Lac, Wis./Winnebago Lutheran) found Johnson in perfect stride
streaking down the left side of the field for a 57-yard strike.
McCormick then hit Larry Hairl (Chicago, Ill./Clemente) with a
10-yard touchdown pass to put Wisconsin Lutheran up 7-0.
The Warriors then gift-wrapped two points for the Saints. While
on their own seven yard line, a bad snap over McCormick's head sent
the ball into the end zone and out of bounds for a safety.
WLC got those points right back on its next possession,
highlighted by a big 37-yard run by Hairl. On the Saint's three
yard line, McCormick hit a wide-open Nate Rosenberg (Hortonville,
Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) for a touchdown and a 14-3 lead.
On the Warriors' first drive in the second quarter, Hairl busted
lose for a huge 71-yard dash. On the very next play, freshman Jesse
Muldrow (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) sprinted 19 yards up
the middle to find the end zone and put the Warriors up 21-2.
Matthew Johnson's 14-yard touchdown run midway though the second
quarter was the first in St. Scholastica history, bringing the
Saints within 12 points at 21-9.
A 28-yard run by Muldrow and a 34-yard catch by Johnson set up a
touchdown pass from McCormick to Hairl. That drive put WLC up by 19
(28-9) with 49 seconds left in the first half, but the Saints
decided not just sit on the ball and run the first half clock out.
Freshman quarterback Jake Olsen completed four straight passes, the
last one for a TD score, to take some momentum into the second
half.
The third quarter was highlighted by a 92-yard Wisconsin
Lutheran drive that ended with a great touchdown catch. McCormick
threw a toss up ball for Johnson in the end zone, and despite
double coverage, still came down with the football, making the
score 36-15 in favor of the Warriors. But the game was not over
yet. In the final quarter, the Saints scored two straight
touchdowns while managing to quiet the Warrior offense which seemed
unstoppable all day.
St. Scholastica's second touchdown in the fourth quarter put the
score at 36-29. A successful onside kick attempt put the ball back
in CSS's hands near midfield with just over two minutes remaining
in the game. After a Saint first down, Darnell Williams
(Campbellsport, Wis./Campbellsport) ended the drive by intercepting
a pass up the middle to seal the win for the Warriors.
Hairl carried the ball 16 times for 174 yards while also hauling
in two TD passes. McCormick finished 17-for-30 through the air for
290 yards and four touchdowns. WLC finished with 525 yards of total
offense. Johnson finished 313 all-purpose yards, also a
school-record.
John Torres (Kaukauna, Wis./Kaukauna) and Jon Jones (Milwaukee,
Wis./Riverside) led the defense with eight tackles apiece.
Rosenberg had seven tackles and a sack. Kaylan Gaines (Lake Worth,
Fla./American Heritage) also had 5.5 tackles and two sacks.
Williams and Colin Makepeace (Cape Canaveral, Fla./Cocoa Beach)
both added an interception.
Wisconsin Lutheran (1-2) has next week off with its bye week.
The Warriors will be back on the gridiron on October 4 when they
open Northern Athletics Conference action at Concordia University
Chicago in River Forest, Ill., at 1 p.m.
