Saturday, September 8th marks the second consecutive year that Saint John’s University will take on the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Although the Johnnies handed the Falcons a 41-9 thumping last year, UW-RF looks to be much improved in 2007, handing Hope College (Michigan) a 54-24 loss last Saturday. The visiting Falcons limited Hope to 344 yards of offense while gaining an impressive 505 yards for themselves.
Offensively, the Falcons will start junior QB Storm Harmon, and while he does not return much varsity experience from 2006, he completed 17 of 24 passes for 306 yards and 4 touchdowns last week. He’s protected by a veteran line with the size we’ve come to expect from WIAC schools (they average 6′4″ 292 pounds). Running behind that mammoth line is senior tailback Nathan Anderson. Anderson carried 17 times for 94 yards versus Hope. Not to be overshadowed by the running game, the Falcons seem to have embraced the passing game since abandoning a wishbone offense in 2006. Last week, senior receiver Josh Grover caught 6 passes for 108 yards, a performance only to be eclipsed by freshman receiver Michael Zwiefel, who finished the game with 10 catches for 158 yards.
Defensively, Alex Kofoed will be looking at a much more veteran backfield than Marietta’s. UW-RF returns senior cornerbacks Jamie Bisch and Shane Hanson, along with senior strong safety Joseph Simonson and sophomore free safety Ben Arata. Seniors Ryan Agrimson and Bruce Baillargeon give them experience at linebacker, and several defensive linemen return, as well, to bolster the Falcon efforts up front.
It goes without saying, but Kofoed’s play will be key in this match-up. He put up impressive numbers last week against a relatively inexperienced Marietta defense, but this Saturday should be a better test. I think establishing the running game early will be important. Aaron Blackmore ran well last weekend, and I think he will be a big part of any Johnnie success Saturday. A bright spot from Saturday’s game (well, one of many) was kicker Russel Gliadon. Many of his kick-offs sailed into the endzones, he was 2 for 2 on field goals, and he nailed all of his PATs. He is looking to be a huge asset to the Johnnie offense.
Defensively, the starters pitched a shut-out versus Marietta, but this week should show whether they played that well or if Marietta’s offense was that bad. Harmon put up good numbers, but he is still an inexperienced QB. The Johnnie d-line will need to pressure him into making bad choices, and the defensive backfield will need to capitalize on any mistakes.
I’m looking forward to an exciting game. Last years match-up was a snoozer, but UW-RF looks to have a team that can compete in 2007. We should know a lot more about this year’s Johnnie squad after Saturday.
Links
2007 UW-RF Falcon Preview
2007 UW-RF Falcon Roster
2007 UW-RF Falcon 2-Deeps
UW-RF versus Hope College Game Story
UW-RF versus SJU Game Preview
