October 17, 2009
The Saint Paul Pigs were coming into the day 4-0 on the season. They needed a win against rival St. Cloud to wrap up a perfect season and clinch home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. A lot was on the line as St. Cloud needed a win to keep their play-off hopes alive.
The game opened up with some hard hitting from the St. Paul side. The Pigs had come to win today. The majority of the first 40 minutes was played in the Bottomfeeders end. Bethel Paul Staats put the Pigs on the board first with a penalty kick from the 25 meter mark. Score 3-0. Significant improvement was seen from the pack today and they continued to bang against the larger St. Cloud side. After continually pushing St. Cloud down the field, Animal picked up a lose ball and after some nifty running, gave the Pigs their first try of the day, with the conversion, the Pigs now led, 10-0. A small let down allowed St. Cloud control of the ball and they were able to get a try of their own. A missed conversion brought the half time score to 10-5.
In the second half, the Pigs continued where they left off. The pack continuing to control the game. Seeing a hole in the defense, Zac Bauer picked up a penalty kick and zig zagged through the Feeders defense to score a marvelous try, with the conversion the score was 17-5. The Pigs were feeling the game was in their control. St. Cloud is not a team to be taken lightly, with their backs against the wall they continued to push. With 10 minutes to go, the Pigs made a few mistakes which allowed St. Cloud to march down the field and punch in the try, closing the gap to 17-12. St. Cloud had a few changes to tie the score, but the Pigs defense held on to win 17-12.
With an undefeated record the Pigs will face the number 2 seed team out of Iowa on their home pitch on October 31st.
Tries:
Bauer (1), GrandPrè (1)
Conversions:
Colby (2)
Penalty Kicks:
Staats (1)