St. Mary is 0-3 against Ainsworth since October of 2022 but things could change on Friday. The Cardinals will take on the Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. St. Mary's will come into the contest with an undefeated record on the line.
St. Mary's is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They claimed a resounding 66-28 win over Creighton. That's two games straight that the Cardinals have won by exactly 38 points.
Gage Hedstrom produced another solid performance rushing for 151 yards and three TDs on only 13 carries, while also throwing for 244 yards and six touchdowns. His longest rush was for an impressive 64 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Another player making a difference was Ben Barlow, who picked up 149 receiving yards and four scores.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something St. Mary's proved: they limited Creighton to a paltry 2.7 yards per carry. While one picked up at least nine total tackles, Hedstrom stood above the rest. He rushed for 151 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 carries, and also threw for 244 yards and six TDs. St. Mary's didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 8.1.
St. Mary's didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off four passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Keigan Couch, Logan Brabec, Barlow, and Drake Berg picked up one apiece.
Meanwhile, Ainsworth came up short against Neligh-Oakdale on Friday and fell 40-28.
St. Mary's will have to keep a close watch on Zaine Evans and Chris Fernandez, a pair of players who had a big impact on Ainsworth's prior game. Evans picked up 77 receiving yards and a pair of scores, while Fernandez threw for 142 yards and a pair of TDs. Jacob Ortner got in on the action too, returning a kick for a touchdown.
Ainsworth's loss dropped their record down to 0-4. As for St. Mary's, their victory bumped their record up to 4-0.
St. Mary's couldn't quite finish off Ainsworth when the teams last played back in September of 2024 and fell 70-68. Thankfully for the Cardinals, Morgan Kinney (who rushed for 209 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 11.6 yards per carry, and also threw for 22 yards and a pair of TDs while completing 80% of his passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
