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By PAUL BEITLER
Sports Editor
After playing their last high school football game for the Norwell Knights, Matt Beste and Nick Krinn packed their suitcases and headed off to college to continue their gridiron careers.
Beste made his way south to Terre Haute to play for Indiana State and Krinn made the short jaunt to Fort Wayne to suit up for the University of Saint Francis Cougars.
At that time, little did the two Norwell stars figure that they would be playing against each other some day.
Well, that is going to become reality on Saturday.
The Indiana State Sycamores (0-1, 0-0 GFC) will host 2004 NAIA national runner-up St. Francis (0-0), at 1:05 p.m. at Memorial Stadium (12,764).
The two high school friends are fifth-year seniors, having been redshirted as freshmen.
Beste (6-4, 260) is a starting tight end for the Sycamores, while Krinn (6-2, 278) is the starting right offensive tackle for the Cougars.
Krinn is the son of Mike and Jennifer Krinn of Ossian, while Beste is the son of Bud and Cindy Beste of Uniondale. Each played their final high school season under first-year head coach Jeff Miller, who graduated from Norwell and also went on to be a star quarterback for the Sycamores.
The Sycamores lost their first home and season opener last Thursday to the Eastern Illinois Panthers 24-13. It was the first time since the 2000 season that the Sycamores opened a season against a team from the Division I-AA ranks.
Sycamore senior quarterback Blayne Baggett tied a school-record with 32 completed passes in his debut against Eastern Illinois. He tied a mark that has stood since the 1985 season. Baggett’s 54 attempts were just three shy of the school’s most-ever. He tossed the ball for 260 yards and connected with Beste for a 34-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
Saturday’s meeting will be the first between ISU and St. Francis.
The Cougars dropped the NAIA National Championship contest in 2004, and are nationally-ranked this season.
Indiana State last faced a NAIA team in 2002, when the Sycamores defeated Cumberland College 14-10 to open the home portion of the schedule. Indiana State has not opened the season with two home contests since 2000, when the Sycamores dropped decisions to both Eastern Illinois and Eastern Kentucky.
Another Norwell graduate (2004) is listed as a probable starter for the Cougars. Cale Grzych (5-9, 175), who is a redshirt freshman, is listed as the extra-point and field goal kicker. He is the son of Tom and Bev Grzych of Ossian.
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