St. Ambrose made a statement early and never let up as the Bees rolled to a 49-7 win at Trinity International, giving Vince Fillipp his first victory as head coach at his alma mater.

On the first play from scrimmage, Tom Casey found Yemi Ward for a 70-yard touchdown pass giving SAU a 7-0 lead just seconds into the contest. The Bees never let up.

De'Viann Titus-Porter intercepted a pass later in the quarter, giving Casey and the Bees a short field. Six plays later, Casey connected with Israel Taylor on an 8-yard touchdown pass for a 14-0 lead.

That was just the start of a big day for the Bees in the Mid-States Football Association Midwest League opener for both teams.

Casey found Ward and Taylor for second touchdowns in the second quarter. He hit Taylor with a 16-yard touchdown pass and Ward with a second 70-yard scoring strike to extend the halftime lead to 28-0.

In the third quarter, St. Ambrose got touchdown runs from Ray Bouye III (7 yards) and Kaden King (8 yards) as the lead ballooned to 42-0.

T'Nahleg Hall added a 5-yard touchdown run in the final quarter to complete the scoring.

Casey finished 14-of-21 for 236 yards and the four touchdowns before giving way to Caleb Swanson. Ward hauled in five catches for 174 yards and two scores. Justin Wright had four receptions and Taylor and Demetrius Coleman each caught three passes.

King led an SAU rushing attack that totaled 269 yards with 116 yards on 16 carries. Hall had 86 yards on 11 attempts, Bouye added 53 yards on nine carries, and Austin Kalar ran for 17 yards on four attempts.

And while St. Ambrose racked up 505 total yards, the Bee defense limited Trinity International to 243 yards of offense. SAU forced three turnovers with Vince Shaw and Major Haas joining Titus-Porter with interceptions.

Max Gourley led the team with four total tackles. Three Bees - Jayden Rodgers, Jarian Dunlap Jr. and Rolando Sepulveda - each finished with three tackles. Anthony Brown had a sack while Gourley and Connor Grabins split another. 

SAU, now 1-3 overall and 1-0 in the MSFA, will play at home for just the second time this season when the Bees host Judson next Saturday at Brady Street Stadium.