The Saints, who are currently a member of NCAA Division III, but have applied to go NAIA, played up a level and paid the price in a 75-6 non-conference loss to South Dakota School of Mines.
"We challenged ourselves and our program and came to play an NCAA Division II school. They played like an NCAA Division II school," said PC coach Andy Carr. "We were a touch outmatched. Once the snowball started rolling, it kept rolling."
It started snowing early and often as Mines racked up 35 points in the opening quarter. The Hardrockers took advantage of several big plays, including an 81-yard pass for a touchdown, and a 25-yard return off a blocked punt for a score.
The Rockers also controlled life on the line of scrimmage.
Carr said his line is actually playing better than it did a year ago, it's just that the Saints' competition has gotten much better.
"I thought our guys played very hard and are working to get better," Carr said.
The Saints finally broke through and prevented the shutout when Stephen Braswell tossed a 1-yard pass to Eric Schueth for a touchdown with five minutes remaining. The play capped a 6-play drive that covered 65 yards, all through the air. Braswell finished the day with 194 yards passing.
Carr tried to keep things in perspective following the setback.
"There's nothing we can do about this game right now," he said. "Every game is one step. We've played 17 games in the history of our program. It takes time. That doesn't help heal wounds right now, but you have to look at the big picture and understand that it is a process. You can't short-cut the learning process. We have to play snaps at the college football level and unfortunately some of the snaps are not going our way."
PC, 1-6 on the season, travels to Morris, Minn., for another contest at 1 p.m. Saturday. Last season, the Saints fell just short against the Cougars, dropping a 28-24 decision in the closing minutes.
"That's still fresh on our minds," Carr said. "We need to have an opportunity to make a play for a win and then make that play."
Presentation| 0 0 0 6-- 6
South Dakota Mines|36 10 15 14--75
|First Quarter|
SDM -- Brandon Chong 81 pass from Mike Zanutto (Kolten Jelden kick), 14:03.
SDM -- Zanutto 1 run (Jelden kick), 11:28.
SDM -- Jahmal Rover 15 run (Pat Bloemen run), 7:50.
SDM -- De'Andre Bolden 25 blocked punt return (Jelden kick), 7:50.
SDM -- Rover 24 pass from Zanutto (Jelden kick), 2:45.
|Second Quarter|
SDM -- Xavier Matthews 40 pass from Evan Sanders (Jelden kick), 8:16.
SDM -- Jelden 27 field goal, 1:09.
|Third Quarter|
SDM -- Marshall Davis 55 pass from Zanutto (Brandon Luna pass from Bloemen), 8:43.
SDM -- Joey Oberndorfer 20 pass from Zanutto (Jelden kick), 8:23.
|Fourth Quarter|
SDM -- Bolden 5 run (Jelden kick), 12:19.
PC -- Eric Schueth 1 pass from Stephen Braswell (kick blocked), 5:02.
SDM -- Jake Daum 67 run (Jelden kick), 3:49.
|PC SDM
First downs|18 22
Rushes-yards|38-69 30-247
Passing|194 327
Comp-Att-Int|24-38-1 13-27-0
Tot Off Plays|76 57
Punts-Avg.|8-30 3-51
Fumbles-Lost|4-3 1-0
Penalties-Yards|5-35 7-50
|INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS|
RUSHING--Presentation, Keenan Honore 4-46, Tyler Sumption 1-37, Will Vealy 16-16, Matthew James 1-16, Malcolm Bell 3-13, Eric Schueth 4-3; South Dakota Mines, Jake Daum 6-87, De'Andre Bolden 13-69, Chris Sawdey 1-52, Jahmal Rover 6-33, Evan Sanders 1-6.
PASSING--Presentation, Stephen Braswell 23-25-1 for 193, Camden Thomas 1-3-0 for 1; South Dakota Mines, Mike Zanutto 7-11-0 for 225, Evan Sanders 6-15-0 for 102, Pat Bloemen 0-1-0 for 0.
RECEIVING--Presentation, Matthew James 5-46, Jarred Tarrell 3-38, Will Vealy 4-37, Keenan Honore 5-33, Jalanni James 4-31, Eric Schueth 2-8, Kole Olsen 1-1; South Dakota Mines, Brandon Chong 2-128, Marshall Davis 3-82, Xavier Matthews 1-40, Jahmal Rover 2-29, Joey Oberndorfer 1-20, Bernis Berber 1-20, Chris Sawdey 2-8.
TACKLES--Presentation, Wyatt Sumption 6, Josh Boyda 5, Austin Lake 3, Matthew Dean 3; South Dakota Mines, Deshaun Scott 5, Malik Shakur 4, Erik Snead 3, Jeff Faulk 3, Jake Phipps 3, Jacob Hepp 3.