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SAU Looking To Stay Unbeaten

The St. Ambrose football team is in a similar position this season as they were last year. They've won their first four games, and are going into their game against Trinity International with a lot of confidence to go along with their 4-0 record. The one difference this year is that Trinity comes into the game with a 1-3 record, after coming off a playoff berth last season, in which they were ranked as high as number 14 in the country.

"They're 1-3, but that's a little bit misleading because they've played a couple of very good football teams. Most of their team is back from last year, when they won those tough games, but this year, they've been on the short end of those games," St. Ambrose coach Todd Sturdy said.

Each game gets tougher as the season goes on for the seventh-ranked Fighting Bees, and Saturday should be no exception.

"The records really don't mean a lot, come this weekend," said Sturdy, "We're looking at it as playing Trinity, the playoff qualifier, and a team that can make a push for our conference title."

Although Trinity has struggled early, their coach Derek Dewitt always has his team focused and ready to play come Saturday.

"I think a lot of (Dewitt) as a coach and as a person. His kids always play as hard as anyone and they're going to be as well coached as anyone we're going to play," Sturdy said.

One reason Trinity is off to a bit of a rocky start may be because of their running game, or lack thereof. The Trojans are averaging a mere 37.5 yards per game on the ground. One reason for such a low number may be because they've had to play catch-up in a lot of their games, which forced them to pass. Whatever the case, that 17th ranked run offense in the Mid-States Football Association will face the ultimate challenge this weekend, as they'll go up against the number one ranked run defense in the MSFA.

"(Defensive Coordinator Mike) Magistrelli's doing an outstanding job with our defense," said Sturdy, "He's everything I knew he would be when I asked him to come here and we're very fortunate to have him on our staff. He's just got a great mind for football and provides our kids with a great game plan."

The defense seems to get better each and every game, allowing an average of 4.3 points per game in their last three contests. The Fighting Bees have not allowed a touchdown in two of their four games this season.

"I'm very pleased with where we're at defensively, and I'm excited about the fact that we still have room to grow as a young team," Sturdy said, "We're doing some great things and that's been one of the big strengths of our football team this year."

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