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Berger Perfect as Green Knights Roll Knox, Monmouth Looms Next

From Sports Information Director, October 3, 2009 | Football
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

DE PERE -- St. Norbert College received a perfect passing day from Rob Berger and scored touchdowns on its first seven possessions en route to a 56-13 trimming of Knox College in a Midwest Conference game at Minahan Stadium.

Berger set a school record for completion percentage in a game, going 12-for-12 for 165 yards and three touchdowns. The Green Knights offensive clicked from the start, taking a 49-7 lead just 2 1/2 minutes into the second half.

The win moved St. Norbert to 5-0 overall, 4-0 in the Midwest Conference, and sets up a showdown for first place in the MWC next Saturday at fellow unbeaten and 11th-ranked Monmouth College.

St. Norbert recovered a Knox fumble on the third play from scrimmage and needed just two plays to score on a John Weninger 2-yard run just 2 minutes 12 seconds into the game. Knox (0-5, 0-4) answered on the next series with a 46-yard touchdown pass from Bill Meyer to Brent Newman, but it would be all St. Norbert the rest of the way.

Berger hit Weninger on a shovel pass for a 2-yard touchdown to give St. Norbert a 14-7 lead at the end of the quarter, and Todd Sheedy scored on a 6-yard run on the Green Knights' first second-quarter series.

St. Norbert held Knox to a three-and-out and needed just five plays to score on a 7-yard scramble by Berger to lead 28-7 with 7:12 left in the first half. Berger found Joe Green on a 7-yard touchdown pass with 2:31 left in the first half to settle on a 35-7 halftime lead.

Berger would play just two plays from scrimmage in the second half, hitting Jeremy Gezella on a 33-yard touchdown pass just 28 second into the third quarter. St. Norbert recovered a fumble two plays later and would score again on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Mike Fabrizio to Adam Nitsche with 12:32 left in the quarter and a 49-7 advantage.

St. Norbert would score for the last time on an impressive 16-play, 64-yard drive that chewed up 7:42 off the clock, capped off on a Joey Kobs 4-yard touchdown run with 4:15 left to play.

The Green Knights rolled up 451 yards of total offense on just 61 plays and had 27 first downs. Sheedy was St. Norbert's leading rusher with 70 yards on 10 carries. Fabrizio added a 9-for-13 passing day for 111 yards and one touchdown, and Gezella was the leading receiver with five catches for 102 yards.

Knox had 238 yards of total offense, with 68 coming on its final drive of the game. Mike Pinter led the Prairie Fire with 55 yards rushing on 12 carries with one touchdown, while Bill Meyer completed 3 of 8 passes for 54 yards and one touchdown.

St. Norbert head coach Jim Purtill picked up his 96th career win at St. Norbert, tying him with Howard "Chick" Kolstad for the all-time football coaching wins lead at the school.

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