On Saturday, Oct. 25, the St. Olaf Football team defeated St. Scholastica 44-41 in a tight game at Klein Field.
After trailing by 14 points multiple times during the game, the Oles came back to tie the game midway through the fourth quarter. With the score tied at 41-41, St. Scholastica ate up over seven minutes of the clock, driving down the four-yard line in the final two minutes. After the Saints fumbled at St. Olaf’s 17-yard line with 1:37 left in regulation, the Oles drove 71 yards to get into field goal range. Kicker Ethan Hess ’28 hit a 29-yard field goal as time expired, securing the Oles their third win of the season.
In an interview with The Olaf Messenger, Hess recapped his experience of the game.
“It was a really big game,” Hess said. “In the past three years, this [matchup] has been a one-score game, so going into it we knew it would be hard, but we were ready to go.”
“Throughout the entire game, you can have your ups and downs. You can’t really think much of it in the moment. You just have to do your job the moment the whistle blows, trust your training, and go when they need you,” Hess said.
After taking a timeout, St. Scholastica fumbled the ball on an exchange between the quarterback and running back, allowing St. Olaf to get the ball. This opened up the floor for Hess’ game-winning field goal, getting a dramatic comeback to win the game.
“This was definitely one of the best moments of my life,” Hess said. “I have never had the opportunity to have this strong impact on the game that everyone can see. All my teammates trusted me to make that game-winning kick, and it felt surreal.”
This is only Hess’ second year on the football team, but he has already made quite the impact on the team. In his first season as the primary place kicker, Hess has made nine out of 11 field goals in the first six games of the season, been named the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Football Special Teams Player of the week twice, and made a 44-yard field goal, the longest made field goal by an Ole since 2013. Hess has also recently been named to the 2025 Fred Mitchell Award Midseason Watchlist, which is only given to 38 collegiate placekickers and compiled based on performances through Oct. 11.
“It felt surreal, I have heard of the award before, but I didn’t think anything of it,” Hess said. “I am very grateful to be on the watchlist.”
As the season winds down, we can’t wait to see what comes next for Hess and the whole football team.
