Mid States
[Football] SAU drops final game of the season to Robert Morris
St. Ambrose saw its season come to a close with a 28-24 loss at Robert Morris Saturday night.The Bees twice rallied from deficits only to fall short, ending the year 4-5 overall and 4-2 in the conference, good for a three-way tie for second place. Four of the five losses came to teams ranked in the NAIA top 25.A slow start put SAU in a 14-0 deficit in the opening quarter. But the Bees reversed momentum in the second quarter.Declan McDonald tossed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Blake Wittman to get St. Ambrose on the board. After the defense forced a three-and-out, McDonald connected with Vince Vignali on a 63-yard pass play that ultimately set up Jake Osterberger's two-yard touchdown run that tied the game at 14-14.The Bees got the ball back late in the half and marched 45 yards, in large part to a 33-yard completion to Wittman, leading to Tom Gillen's 42-yard field goal with 20 seconds left that gave St. Ambrose a 17-14 lead.SAU had a chance to add to its lead on the opening drive of the second half, but Gillen's 34-yard field goal attempt was blocked. RMU (5-5, 4-2 MSFA) capitalized by piecing together a 13-play, 58-yard drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown pass to put the Eagles back in front 21-17.In the fourth quarter, Ryan Zitkus came up with a big sack on a third-and-9 play pinning the Eagles deep in their own territory. A 28-yard punt gave the ball to the Bees at the RMU 40-yard line and they took advantage. After a defensive holding penalty, a 17-yard run from Brandon Baalman and a 12-yard McDonald-to-Vignali completion set up Baalman's one-yard scoring burst to put St. Ambrose back in front 24-21.The teams traded punts before Robert Morris took advantage of a short field to punch in what became the game-winning touchdown with 3:47 left.Penalties were the story of the game as the teams combined for 25 penalties totaling 219 yards. And it was the final penalty of the evening that virtually ended any SAU comeback hopes.Facing a fourth-and-14 from their own 36, McDonald found Yemi Odugbesan for a 56-yard pass play that would have given the Bees the ball inside the Eagles' 10-yard line, but the play was called back due to offensive pass interference. SAU was forced to punt with just over two minutes left and RMU was able to pick up a first down on a crucial third-down play before running out the clock.McDonald completed 10-of-21 passes for 203 yards. Vignali had four receptions for 103 yards and Wittman hauled in three catches for 73 yards.Baalman rushed for a team-leading 35 yards as the Bees were limited to just 60 yards on the ground.Jeremiah Jackson Sr. led a defense that allowed just 260 total yards with 11 total tackles. Zitkus and Vybert Greene Jr. each had six stops. Zitkus also recorded 2.5 sacks while Bernard Buhake also added a sack.