St. James football still winless
The Saint James Saints are still searching for that elusive first win after five weeks. Residing in Section 3AA, the Saints have struggled to improve on last year’s 1-8 finish but they still have time.
All but one of the Saints’ five losses have been heavily one-sided games, leaning on the side of whomever St. James has played. The defensive struggles the Saints can’t seem to shake aren’t the only issue with the team, but it’s difficult to dig out of a deep hole once the other team gets going. The bulk of points that St. James gives up are scored in the first half, according to the team’s MN Football Hub page.
St. James’ offense hasn’t been able to keep up when the defense gets scored on multiple times early in the games. There have been moments of clarity for the team in spite of some performances this season. In week two, St. James traveled to New Ulm for their game against Martin County West.
The Saints and Mavericks took turns scoring; St. James scored 12 in the first quarter, followed by Martin County West’s 14 points in the second quarter. The score remained close at 20-18 with the Saints trailing through the third quarter. St. James gave themselves one of their only golden opportunities to stay alive in the game.
Luckily enough for the Saints, they were able to get the necessary eight points and forced an overtime with MCW. St. James’ best performance this year still unfortunately wasn’t enough to get the win. MCW scored six and ended the game in sudden death.
Some silver lining can be found in St. James’ season, as their last three opponents are some of the stronger teams in the South Central – White conference. Redwood Valley was one of those losses for St. James and has the most prolific in the conference right now, having scored 165 points in five games.
Another blowout loss for St. James was in store when the Saints returned to New Ulm High School to face the Pipestone Area Arrows. The Arrows hit all of their targets, putting up 48 points to the Saints’ seven. Luverne would be the next team to bully St. James on the scoreboard. Meeting at Sleepy Eye Public’s home field, the Cardinals routed the Saints 40-12, 27 of the Cardinals points were scored in the first quarter.
Hopefully the Saints can turn it around for the final three games to salvage their season. The journey to the end of the season doesn’t get much easier for St. James. The Saints take on Blue Earth’s conference-leading defense for the final regular season game this season being played at Wilson Field in Blue Earth.
The closest upcoming game for the Saints is their last home game, facing Windom. Defensively, the Saints might be in for some trouble when they visit Jackson County Central. The Huskies have the second-highest scoring offense in the conference, whereas the St. James defense has given up the most this season with 157 points allowed.