Defense, Staehling Carry St. Norbert Past Lawrence

From Asst. AD/Athletics Communications, October 26, 2019 | Football
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

DE PERE - St. Norbert College's defense and senior wide receiver Samuel Staehling each enjoyed a banner afternoon as the Green Knights posted a 41-0 win over Lawrence University in a Midwest Conference North Division game at Schneider Stadium.

The Green Knights (4-2, 3-0 MWC North) held Lawrence to two first downs and 67 yards of total offense. The Vikings went three-and-out on 11 of their 13 possessions, and their second first down came on a defensive penalty by St. Norbert. The game was the first time since 1946 St. Norbert held an opponent to two first downs or less in a game, when it held St. Joseph's (Ind.) College to one in a 23-0 win on Nov. 17, 1946.

Staehling fashioned his third career 200-yard receiving game, becoming the first player in school history to have three 200-yard receiving games. Staehling finished with seven receptions for 215 yards and two touchdowns, all coming in the first half.

St. Norbert punted on its opening possession but Lawrence lost the ball on a muffed punt return. The Green Knights capitalized three plays later, with Ben Kohl hitting Matt Galanopoulos on a 15-yard touchdown pass just 4 minutes 49 seconds into the game.

On the first play of the second quarter, Kohl hit Staehling on a 51-yard touchdown pass for a 14-0 edge. One possession later, St. Norbert needed six plays to move 60 yards to score on a nine-yard aerial from Gage McClanahan to Staehling with 10:30 left in the half. The Green Knights would added Danny Simon field goals of 27 and 41 yards on their last two possessions of the half for a 27-0 halftime lead.

Following a scoreless third quarter, St. Norbert would score again on a 43-yard punt return for a touchdown by Galanopoulos. The Green Knights would close out the scoring on a 59-yard run by Kohl with 9:18 remaining.

St. Norbert totaled 521 yards of total offense against a Lawrence defense that led the Midwest Conference at 289.5 yards per game coming into the contest. Kohl completed 3 of 6 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for a team-high 95 yards on nine carries. McClanahan completed 13 of 23 passes for 177 yards and one score.

Lawrence would finish with 13 yards rushing and completed just 6 of 16 passes for 54 yards.