LEAVENWORTH, Kan. – On an emotional night at Berkel Memorial Stadium as the University of Saint Mary football team played in honor of fallen Spire Christian Yanos, the Spires hung on for a 13-10 upset win over No. 18 Tabor College. It came down to the final 20 seconds as Tabor missed what would have been a game-tying 44-yard field goal.

The Spires are 1-0 on the season and in the KCAC, while Tabor falls to 0-1 overall and 0-1 in the KCAC.

GAME FLOW
Saint Mary played stifling defense all night long against a tough Tabor offense. The Blue Jays were able to only score three points in the first three quarters. The Spires scored a touchdown on a 43-yard run from Demontrel Wilson with 7:38 left in the first quarter. Tabor was able to block the extra point as the Spires led 6-3.

Saint Mary added another touchdown on a one-yard run on fourth down from Nic Roller. Saint Mary took a 13-3 lead into halftime.

The Spires killed two separate opportunities for the Blue Jays in the third quarter - recovering a fumble and forcing a turnover on downs. Early in the fourth quarter as Tabor was driving down the field, they took the ball all the way to the USM seven-yard line. On third down, Trey McGee threw an interception as Nicholas Holmes picked it off and sprinted all the way to the 50-yard line.

Holmes would pick off his second pass late in the fourth quarter to squash another Tabor drive. But with 2:42 remaining, Tabor scored on a 19-yard run from Josh Johnson to cut the Spires lead to three.

The Blue Jays forced a three and out and drove down to the Saint Mary 27-yard line. The game would come down to the last play where Blue Jays kicker Austin Smith missed wide left on a field goal. The Spires took over and ran out the clock to seal the season opening victory.

COACH OSBORNE QUOTES
"There's so much going on right now with the emotions and Christian (Yanos) that we just wanted to go out there and get better. I was happy to see that the team was able to control their emotions and I thought we used it to our advantage when we were playing.
I felt great about the guys on the field and it was the type of game where we pinned them deep. We've played that way before and I think that's a strength in our program."

KEY STATISTICS

• Wilson led the rushing attack with 130 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
• Drew Cortez threw for 142 yards on 12 completions.
• Holmes had three interceptions for the Spires defense.
• Adrian Luna added one sack on defense.

WHAT'S AHEAD FOR THE SPIRES
Saint Mary travels to play Ottawa University on Sept. 8 in Ottawa, Kan. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.