On the day the Johnnies put up 604 yards of offense, including 404 passing yards and took a 35-0 lead into halftime. The scoring came early and often as SJU took their opening possession 51 yards in 5 plays capped off by a 2 yard TD run by Sr. RB Jakob Reding.

Hamline came back with an 11 play drive, but were not able to convert on the field-goal attempt and the Johnnies got the ball back at their own 3 yard line. SJU turned around with a 10 play drive of their own, which resulted in a 6 yard touchdown run for Sr.QB  Joe Boyle.The Johnnies increased their lead to 14-0.

The Johnnie defense held strong and forced the Pipers to punt after 3 plays and the Johnnie offense took up where they left off with another scoring run by Boyle,this time from 4 yards out to cap off a 10 play 61 yard drive. The Johnnies lead is increased to 21-0.

The Pipers did show some signs of life on offense with their next drive, accumulating 24 yards before they were forced to punt the ball back to the Johnnies. After feeling a sense of urgency, Joe Boyle and Jr. WR Sam Pederson connected on the very first play of this possession for a 86 yard TD pass. In doing so, when they entered the record books with the fourth longest touchdown pass in school history as well as increasing the lead at this point to 28-0.

Both teams exchanged interceptions but, as half-time approached Joe Boyle found Soph. WR Max Forster for a 71 yard pass play that made it down to the 3 yard line. As time was winding down in the half and two penalties later it appeared of that the Johnnies would let this scoring opportunity slip away before time expired in the half. Never fear Johnnie fans, Fr. RB Nick Schneider scored from 13 yards out with 12 seconds on the clock. The Johnnies went into the locker-room leading 35-0.

In the third quarter Boyle hit Soph. RB Stephen Johnson with a 21 yard TD pass with 9:31 remaining in the third quarter. The Johnnies lead was increased to 42-0.

Boyle was relieved by Sr. QB  Andrew Hengel who closed out the scoring when he threw a  39 yard TD pass to WR Mitch Bidleman with 5:54 remaining in the third quarter,to make the final score SJU 49-Hamline 0.

Sr. QB Andrew Hengel

Boyle was 11 for 17 passing for 318 yards with 1 interception and 2 TDs giving him back to back 300 yard games.

The leading rusher for the Johnnies was Sr. RB Bryan Virnig who racked up 56 yards on 4 carries. Ian Goldsmith Soph. DB had 7 tackles and Sr. DL Griffin Hayes had 1 1/2 sack and Sr. DL Kyle Schroeder had 2 TFL. Jake King Soph LB had an interception and Mike Bonynge Soph. DB recovered a fumble.

Sr. RB Bryan Virnig

The announced crowd was 1,688  this was the smallest crowd at Clemens Stadium since 1992. As Johnnie fans we may not think twice about having the stands full for every home game and at many away games around the conference the SJU fans outnumber the home crowd. When you think about it, in blizzard conditions to attract a crowd of 1,688, most teams in Division III and many  teams in Division II  would be thrilled to have attendance like this in ideal weather conditions.

This brings the 2010 season to a close, the first time that the Johnnie haven’t made it to the postseason since 2004. The 3rd place finish in the MIAC was the lowest finish since 1997. For the seniors, we all know this is not how you envisioned the end of your playing career at SJU but sometime soon you will look back on your time with this group of guys and remember this is one of the best times of your life. Now we welcome you to the real world where you are spectators instead of participants and every time you come back to SJU you will remember the best times of your life were spent in Collegeville and played out on the fields around the MIAC and a special place that is called The Natural Bowl at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville,Minnesota.

*Photos appear courtesy of gojohnnies.com

Joe Boyle Sr. QB

This was the Johnnies sixth 500+ yard offensive performance on the season. Meanwhile, the Johnnie defense shut down the St. Olaf running game allowing just 75 yards on the ground. In doing so,SjU held one of the MIAC elite running backs,Leon Clark, to  just 6 net rushing yards. Midway through the 2nd quarter the Oles had 1st and goal from the 2 yard line and the Johnnies shut down Clark on 2nd and 3rd downs forcing the Oles to settle for a FG.

Offensively the Johnnies were led by Jakob Reding with 116 yards on the ground,scoring once and Nick Schneider who had 33 yards on the ground but scored 2 TDs. Through the air Joe Boyle found Reding 5 times for 24 yards and a TD. Boyle hit Brett Graboski 3 times for 25 yards and a TD and Nick Schneider  had 2 receptions for 88 yards and a TD. Boyle spread the ball around nicely  connecting with 8 Johnnie receivers going 24 of 35 with 1 interception for 329 yards.

Nick Schneider Fr. RB

Jakob Reding Sr. RB

The Johnnies scored twice in the final 6 minutes of the first half to bring a 28-3 lead into the intermission. The first being a 8 play 74-yard drive ending in a 6 yard TD pass from Boyle to Reding. The last score of the first half was a 54 -yard pass from Boyle to Schneider as time ran out in the half. Jimmie Mattson connected on the PAT for the 28-3 half time lead.

The Johnnie defense shut down the St. Olaf ground game forcing the Oles into some predictable situation where the Johnnie defensive line could pin their ears back and let their athleticism dominate play. Kyle Schroeder,David Burns and Mike Bonynge were the leading tacklers for the Johnnies with 6 tackles each. Scchroeder had 2 QB sack and Burns added a sack as well.

David Burns Sr. DL

Mike Bonynge So. DB

Kyle Schroeder Sr. DL

The Johnnies have done well in shaking off early season losses, where miscues on the part of SJU greatly influenced the outcome of those games. This team could have “played out the string” but instead they stuck together and made correction in their execution and will finish their season next week at home against Hamline.
We at JohnnieFootball.com hope to see you at the pre-game tailgate party and the game. Johnnie-up everybody!

*Photos appear courtesy of gojohnnies.com

The Johnnies got on the board in the 1st qtr. with an 11 play 80 yard drive capped off with a 3 yard scoring run by Jakob Reding.

The Johnnies would get a 23 yard scoring pass from Joe Boyle to Stephen Johnson and another 2 yard run by Reding in the 2nd qtr. to go into the halftime break leading the Knights  by a score of 21-7.

Coming out for the start of the 2nd half the Johnnie defense gave up some yards early in the opening drive but, were able to get an interception by Kevin Wenner at the goal line and return it to the 25 yard line. The Johnnie offense took over and drove the ball down the field but were not able to score a touchdown however, Jimmie Mattson was successful in kicking a 30 yard field-goal for the Johnnies.

Kevin Wenner Soph DB

The 4th qtr. saw the Johnnies close out their scoring for the day with a 4 yard pass from Joe Boyle to Josh Overman.

Leading the way for the Johnnies on defense was John Stanton who had 10 tackles,he was credited with 1/2 a sack and was in on a tackle for a loss as well. Billy Lawrence had 8 tackles and 2 pass break-ups and Kyle Schroeder was a beast in the middle of the defensive line creating chaos all day being credited with 4 1/2 tackles for loss and 1 1/2 sacks. The Johnnie defense held Carleton to 76 rushing yards. Ian Goldsmith joined Wenner in also intercepting a Carleton pass.

John Stanton Sr. LB

Joe Boyle was 18 of 27 passing with 2 TDs and no interception for a total of 290 yards. Stephen Johnson was the lead horse in the stable of talented running backs with  75 yards on 17 carries. Josh Overman was Boyle’s favorite target with 6 catches for 112 yards.

Stephen Johnson Soph. RB

Next week the Johnnies get back on the bus for the familiar ride to Northfield to take on the Oles of St. Olaf College.The bus driver knows the way and there will be some friendly card games to be sure, but a victory is what will be on the minds of the Johnnies as their plan to finish out the 2010 season one victory at a time is on track.

*Photos are courtesy of gojohnnies.com

The 1st qtr. saw the Johnnies come out and move the ball at will on their first drive,moving 64 yards on 8 plays capped off by a 10 yard TD run by Jakob Reding. The PAT was unsuccessful and the Johnnies were off and running 6-0.

The Johnnie defense came out fired up and ready to shut down any offensive scheme the Gusties would throw at them. After the Johnnie defense forced a 3 and out the Johnnie offense took over and moved the ball on the ground and in the air, ending with a 12 yard TD pass from Joe Boyle to Brent Graboski, the PAT was good and the Johnnie held a 13-lead.

The 2nd qtr. was and abrupt about face as the Johnnies committed multiple turnovers and went into the half-time break clinging to a 13-6 lead.

Halftime adjustments have long been a strong point of the Johnnie  coaching staff, and this game was no different. The Johnnie defense created turnovers and the Johnnie offense took advantage of holes created in the Gustie defense along with  the hard running of Nick Schneider.  Schneider  had scoring runs of  44 yards,32 yards and 10 yards as the SJU ground game became more valuable as the rain began falling at a steady pace through-out the second half. For the day, Schneider had 14 carries and accumulated 179 yards on the ground.

Nick Schneider FR RB

Next week the Johnnies travel to Northfield, to take on the Carleton Knights. The Knights have a scrappy squad who will be playing their first game on their home field since the devastating flooding of the Cannon River that has taken place in Northfield this fall.

*Photo courtesy of gojohnnies.com

The Royals won  the turnover battle as well as the game, emerging victorious by a score of 17-14 in Arden Hills eliminating the Johnnies chances for a piece of the MIAC title and any hopes of an NCAA tournament appearance this year.

From the beginning of the 2000 season to this point in the 2010 season coach John Gagliardi and the Johnnies have posted a combined record of 110-22,including an undefeated season and a national championship in 2003. During this same timeframe the Royals and Johnnies are knotted up at 5 wins and 5 losses each.  For the casual observer of MIAC football, the game played last week at Collegeville in front of 16,000 + fans would be called  a rivalry, but when one team wins 12 out of 13 contests is that still considered a rivalry? To me, at least over the past decade, the Bethel Royals are the team in the MIAC that I am most concerned with and their .500 winning percentage against the Johnnies is evidence of that.

Royals coach Steve Johnson has devised a formula that consists of a big, fast, physical defensive unit that swarms to the ball and an offense that is centered around a big, agile offensive  line that is quite comfortable running over you or  running a sweep, highlighted by a pulling lineman, around opposing defenses. Combine this with what seems to be a never ending string of big, physical quarterbacks who are just as comfortable running the ball as they are throwing it; not to mention a “who’s who” of MIAC All-Conference running backs  over the past decade. I recall a quote from Steve Johnson during their run through the NCAA West Region in 2007, “we have a bunch of road graders up front (referring to his offensive line) so we might just as well keep grading the road.”  The primary reasons for the Royals being so successful against the Johnnies in the past decade,ball control by the Royals and forcing Johnnie miscues.

The Royals got on the board first and would never look back, as a deflected 1st Qtr. pass found the open arms of Royal linebacker Ross Petterson who returned the interception 28 yards for a touchdown. The Royals would add a FG and another touchdown and would go into halftime leading 17-0.

The Johnnies made some nice halftime adjustments and played most of the second half in a “no huddle/hurry-up” style offense. The Johnnies threatened  to score with about four minutes remaining in the 3rd Qtr., only to fumble at the Bethel one-yard line. In the 4th Qtr. the Johnnies scored twice. The first score was a 4-yard pass from Joe Boyle to Stephen Johnson at the 12:49 mark of the 4th Qtr. followed by a 1 yard scoring pass from Boyle to Harry Awe with 51 seconds remaining. The score by Awe gave the Johnnies an opportunity for an on-side kick,that was recovered by the Royals who were able to run out the clock as the Johnnies were out of time-outs. Sam Pederson was the leading Johnnie receiver with 5 catches for 102 yards.

Harry Awe Soph RB

Stephen Johnson Soph RB

The Johnnie defense was led by Billy Lawrence,Griffin Hayes and John Stanton each with 10 tackles. Hayes and Kyle Schroeder each had a QB sack.  Connor Grill and Mike Bonynge combined for a QB sack.

The Johnnies are inactive next week and will return to action on October 23rd at Collegeville for Family Weekend hosting Gustavus Adolphus College. During this time off the players will have an opportunity to heal some bumps and bruises that they have accumulated during the course of the season, it will also give coach John Gagliardi unwanted time to agonize over back to back losses for the first time since the beginning of the 2001 season. John may want to, instead of agonizing over these two very  hard-fought losses, recall his first season as head coach of the Johnnies when his team defeated the perennial champions of the MIAC, The Gusties of Gustavus Adolphus College. As a sign of their appreciation for knocking off the “king of the mountain” in the conference the monks bought John the first television set in Collegeville.

Jimmie Mattson Soph. Kicker

Many Johnnie fans also questioned an interception thrown by Joe Boyle with less than a minute to go in the game. “Why would you throw a sideline pattern when you  should be positioning in the center of the field to attempt a field goal in the closing seconds?”, this was the conversation that was going on between  thousands of Johnnie faithful in the stands and later in St. Joe at the La Playette and Sals as Johnnies and Bennies anguished over this loss to the Tommies. The answer that most Johnnie fans were not aware of is that the pass was tipped slightly by a defensive lineman at the line of scrimmage taking just enough velocity  off the ball to allow the UST defensive back to make a diving interception. If that pass wasn’t tipped at the line, there’s a pretty good likelihood that the Johnnies  either would have had a significant gain or perhaps a touchdown on that play as the Johnnie receiver  was open, had the pass gotten to him.

Joe Boyle Sr. QB

The Johnnies had beaten the Tommies the past 12 games, number 13 wasn’t so lucky for the Johnnies. St. Thomas hadn’t won in Collegeville since many of the players parents were in their late teens or early twenties. There is also the fact that the “Holy Grail”, a traveling trophy that had taken up permanent residency in the trophy case at the Donald McNeely Spectrum, now will rest in the multimillion dollar athletic training facility that was recently constructed on the campus of UST. Coach John Gagliardi was quoted  in the St. Cloud Times  as saying he knew the winning streak against St. Thomas wouldn’t last forever,but this loss in this fashion really hurts.

For now the Johnnies post season aspirations are out of their own control, having two losses to regional opponents makes the 2010 playoffs  a long shot. As odd as it may sound the Johnnies will need help from St. Thomas and Eau Claire, meaning besides SJU all Johnnie fans should be rooting for St. Thomas and Eau Claire as well as for the upset of other regional teams such as Whitewater, Coe College and Linfield College in games yet to be played in their season.

As for the players and coaches, their focus is on the next game against the always tough Bethel team in  Arden Hills on Saturday.

*Photos are courtesy of gojohnnies.com

The Johnnies recorded four interceptions of Auggie QB,Marcus Brumm. Alex Powell had 2 interceptions and John Stanton and Andrew Rotschafer each recorded one.

Alex Powell Soph. DB

John Stanton and Mike Bonynge led the defense with 6 tackles each. Paul Plombon and David Burns each recorded a QB sack. The SJU defense held the potent Auggie attack to 291 total offense.

Paul Plombon Freshman DL

The six touchdowns put up by the Johnnies were nice mix of run and pass by Sr. QB Joe Boyle who was 23 for 30 connecting on 2 TD passes,with no interceptions for  339 yards. Boyle was sacked twice and also ran for 2 TD.

The Johnnie ground game was a nice complement to the Johnnies air game. The Johnnies had 197 yards on the ground, led by Harry Awe’s 55 yards and 1 TD and Stephen Johnson’s 51 yards. The aerial display put out by the Johnnies was a nice combination of quick hitting timing routes off the snap and a few downfield passes. Stephen Johnson had six catches for 69 yards,Josh Overman had 4 catches for 57 yards and a TD and Jakob Reding caught 4 passes for 52 yards.

Josh Overman Sr. TE

Also scoring TD’s for the Johnnies were Harry Awe who caught a TD pass from Boyle and John Ries,who came in to relieve Boyle in the 4th Qtr. scored on a QB keeper.

The Johnnies had 549 yards of total offense and combined yards,including return yards of 661.

Kicker Jimmie Mattson was successful on all 6 of his PAT and had 2 FG to round out the scoring for SJU.

As everyone knows this coming Saturday, October 2, 2010 is Homecoming at St. John’s and the Johnnies will be hosting the Tommies from the University of St. Thomas.The Tommies are undefeated and are sporting a Top-5 national ranking. It should be one heckuva game! Be sure to arrive early if you want to avoid the parking problems that many encountered last year for the Johnnie-Tommie game. There will be parking in the fields off of County Road 159 with bus service to the stadium. Please be respectful of our guests from Tommieland  and cheer the Johnnies victory.

Johnnie-up everybody,cause it’s Homecoming and it’s Tommie Week!

* Photos appearing in this article are compliments of  GoJohnnies.com

The Johnnies came out throwing with Sr. QB Joe Boyle finishing the day 16 of 23 for 275 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 interception.

Harry Awe,Soph. RB

Harry Awe, Soph. RB, also put the ball in the air with two option passes, completing both for a total of 92 yards  including a 34 yard reception to Jr. WR Brent Graboski for a TD. Graboski took advantage of a good week of practice and an injury to starter Brayde Lipp to lead the Johnnies in all purpose yards with 3 receptions totaling 116 yards and 2 TD. Sam Pederson,Jr. WR, had 4 catches for 101 receiving yards.

Brent Graboski, Jr. WR

Jakob Reding, Sr. RB and Stephen Johnson, Soph. RB led the running attack with 68 and 63 yards respectively. Both Reding and Johnson found the end zone on the ground while fellow RB Nick Schneider found pay dirt on the receiving end of a Boyle pass.  Josh Overman do it all Sr. TE/WR rounded out the TD count for the Johnnies.

To combat the Concordia offensive schemes the SJU defense altered their look, employing a three-man defensive line in many instances. Mike Bonynge was the leading tackler,with 8 total tackles,followed by Kyle Schroeder contributing 7 tackles and Evan Cobb, Alex Powell, Ian Goldsmith and John Stanton each contributing 6 tackles. Cody Socher added a QB sack.

All in all this is a good win for the Johnnies, getting off to a victory to start the conference schedule is definitely what the team had envisioned at the start of training camp. Winning the MIAC title and getting  the automatic playoff berth is on schedule, but the task at hand does not get any easier with next week’s trip to Minneapolis to face an undefeated Augsburg team that loves to throw the ball all over the field as  evidence of the 65 passes they threw this past weekend.

Winning one game in the time has been a successful formula for John Gagliardi  during his tenure at SJU, the squad will concentrate on the Auggies and those of us fans can concentrate on the tests that are on the horizon in back to back weekends in October. Given his track record,I’d say that history favors John’s approach.

*Photo appearing in this article are courtesy of www.gojohnnies.com

Eight Johnnies scored touchdowns and five Johnnies intercepted passes thrown by Northwestern’s sophomore signal caller Josh Balzer.

John Stanton Sr. LB #13

The Johnnie offensive unit brushed off a fumble in their first series by QB Joe Boyle, and produced a very balanced attack, showcasing their depth at running back with all four main running backs Jakob Reding,Stephen Johnson,Nick Schneider and Harry Awe all finding the end zone. Boyle did a nice job of spreading the ball around to receivers Sam Pederson,Brayde Lipp and Josh Overman as well as the stable of running backs to keep the Northwestern defense off balance throughout the day.

For the most part the Johnnie defense played well, five interceptions are evidence of this, but as any opening game will have there were a few breakdowns in coverage. One of these breakdowns resulted in a touchdown of a 28 yard pass reception and run coming at the 9:05 point of the 2nd quarter. This  breakdown in coverage will be resolved when the team and coaching staff takes a look at video of the game early next week there is no doubt about that. The impressive answer to this error in coverage was on the ensuing kickoff where SJU returned man and starting cornerback Mike Bonynge, fielded the ball near left sideline eluded a Northwestern defender cut across the field and picked up a wall of blockers, ran over a Northwestern defender and then engaged the afterburners as he rocketed to the end zone to nullify the previous score by the Eagles. The five interceptions for the Johnnies came from John Stanton, Mike Bonynge,Alex Powell,Justin Nilson and Andrew Rotschafer.Billy Lawrence was the leading tackler for the Johnnies.

Mike Bonynge Soph CB #12

Next week with Johnnies travel to Eau Claire,Wisconsin to take on the Blu-Golds in what  has traditionally been a very tough, hard-hitting contest. The competition increases each week as the season progresses. It’s nice to have the first game jitters out of the way and take away some very positive things on both sides of the ball, knowing there are also things to improve on.At this point,the Johnnies are 1-0 and that’s as good as it gets with one game under the belt.

The Johnnies took on the Carleton Knights in the season finale and prevailed 41-14 in a game that saw a little bit of everything. The Johnnies were playing without starting QB Joe Boyle, Starting RB Jakob Reding and starting MLB Ryan Wimmer, but their back ups played well.

Billy Lawrence stepped in for Wimmer and he had 2 interceptions and 3 tackles. During the return of the second interception Billy appeared to  be channeling J.C. Watts, the great Oklahoma Sooner QB of the late 1970’s who ran the option offense to perfection. After Lawrence made the interception he saw he was about to get tackled,  as he was in the grasp of two Carleton defenders he pitched the ball to Nate Anderson who took the ball to the end zone for the first score of the game with 2:44 remaining in the 1st quarter. The Russell Gliadon PAT made the score SJU7-Carleton 0

After Carleton scored early in the 2nd quarter, the Johnnies Stephen Johnson scored from 2 yards out with 7:51 remaining in the 2nd quarter. The half time score was SJU 14-Carleton 7 after another successful PAT by Gliadon.

At half time the Johnnie coaching staff made some nice adjustments and put in a new “triangle” formation to create space for the outside running game. Greg Sowden played an instrumental role in the success of this scheme. Sowden, who was projected to play left offensive guard this season, is back from early season injuries and really is a sixth offensive lineman in this type of a running formation. When the coaching staff put in this package, I’m sure they thought only of the blocking ability Sowden brought to the table. What the team also inherited  was a precise route running, sure handed, pass catching tight end as Sowden showed off his skills in the pass catching game later in the contest. After running the ball exclusively to the left side and seeing Stephen Johnson make nice gains each time,  QB John Ries found Josh Overman open on the right side for a 21-yard TD pass on this opening drive of the 3rd quarter.Gliadon again made the PAT for a 21-7 SJU lead.

Ethan Eid had missed several games early in the season recuperating  from a groin as well as a shoulder injury. Being held together with duct tape and baling twine, Eid has returned to action and is in fine form. At the 7:02 mark of the 3rd quarter, Eid stepped in front of a Carleton pass and bumbled, rumbled and stumbled 59 yards for the second SJU defensive TD of the afternoon. Followed by another Gliadon PAT the score was 28-7 in favor of the Johnnies.

The 4th quarter saw Carleton score again and the Johnnies scoring twice more. The second running TD by Stephen Johnson, as his star continues to rise for the Johnnies heading into the play offs, was from 2 yards out with 6:20 remaining in the game. Again, Gliadon made the PAT.

Scott Ramey scored the final TD of the day with 1:33 remaining in the contest on a QB keeper. The PAT was wide to the right making the final score SJU 41- Carleton 14.

The leading tackler for the Johnnies again was John Stanton with 11 tackles. Andrew Pierskalla had 4 tackles and 2 sacks. Noel Meyer also had a sack and Griffin Hayes had a fumble recovery to highlight the defensive statistics beyond what was mentioned earlier with Lawrence, Anderson and Eid.

The offensive statistical leaders were John Ries who was 9 of 16 passing for 119 yards with 1 TD and no interceptions.  Stephen Johnson has 128 yards on 26 carries and 2 rushing TDs.

The passing game saw Josh Overman with 3 catches for 73 yards and a TD. Kellen Blaser caught 2 balls for 22 yards.

The play offs begin next Saturday November 21. At the time of this writing it is not known where the Johnnies will play and who their opponent will be. With an undefeated record and being ranked in the top four teams in the nation over the past several weeks, conventional wisdom says the Johnnies should have their first round game at home., but  as goes the saying “time will tell”.

If you are an early morning reader of this column, don’t forget to check back on JohnnieFootball.com later today as our panel will discus the Johnnies first round opponent and the Road to Salem.