Mid States

[Football] Bees slowed in second half in loss to No. 11 Cougars

St. Ambrose played well but couldn't keep up in the second half in a 38-17 loss to No. 11 Saint Xavier Saturday afternoon at Brady Street Stadium.In a battle of the two remaining MSFA Midwest League unbeatens, the Cougars outscored the Bees 21-0 in the second half to move to 6-2 overall and 4-0 in the conference. SAU slips to 3-4 overall and 3-1 in league play. All four Bee losses have come to nationally-ranked opponents.Many of the final stats, like the final score, were a bit deceptive.Saint Xavier threw for 432 yards, but St. Ambrose came up with a pair of interceptions, both from Griffin Zajac, and five sacks. Bernard Buhake had 2.5 sacks, Liam Kelly had 1.5 and Brody Mason picked up the other.Offensively, SAU used a variety of weapons. Brandon Baalman (52 yards) and Isaiah Hawkins (48 yards) combined for 100 rushing yards. Declan McDonald completed 15 passes for 168 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Vince Vignali had one of those touchdown receptions, an acrobatic catch in the end zone that gave St. Ambrose a 17-10 lead late in the second quarter. Video below courtesy SAUtv.But the Bees were hurt by three turnovers and the inability to get a stop on a few key plays.The Cougars' first touchdown came after the Bees misplayed a punt. That came with St. Ambrose nursing a 7-3 lead following McDonald's 8-yard touchdown pass to Chris Collier late in the opening quarter. Tom Gillen booted a 41-yard field goal in the second to knot the score at 10-10.Then, after Vignali's touchdown catch, SAU forced SXU into a 3rd-and-17 from the Cougar 18-yard line, but the Bees surrendered a 50-yard completion to set up the Cougars. Later on that same drive, with two seconds remaining on the clock, SAU allowed a six-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the half which tied the game at 17-17 at the break.The defense allowed a 35-yard touchdown pass on a 4th-and-8 play in the third quarter and the Cougars were able to pull away from there. Saint Xavier added a 36-yard touchdown pass in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter before picking off a pass and returning it 42 yards for a touchdown to complete the scoring.Vignali hauled in four receptions for 69 yards. J.D. Villafuerte also caught four balls for 36 yards. Blake Wittman had three receptions.Jeremiah Jackson Sr. led the defense with eight tackles. Buhake and Jaxson Nelson each had seven stops.The Bees will play their final home game of the season next Saturday against St. Francis (Ill.). The Senior Day game will kick off at 1 p.m.