After two consecutive drubbings of overmatched opponents at Clemens Stadium, head coach John Gagliardi leads his Johnnies into Laird Stadium in Northfield, MN to battle the Carleton Knights, coached by former Johnnie quarterback Kurt Ramler. If you’ve followed the Johnnies for a while, you’ll remember Ramler as the 1996 MIAC MVP. Ramler now bleeds blue and maize, but his troops will face a staunch test in the visiting cardinal and blue.
Photo courtesy of Tim Ward
Offensively, the Knights have put points on the board. The opened the season by defeating the University of Minnesota-Morris 49-0 and followed that up with a win over Macalaster 34-10. They stumbled last week versus Bethel 45-21 and fell to 2-1 on the season. Junior quarterback Shane Henfling holds the reins for the Knights. He has completed 42 of 66 passes for 705 yards and 2 interceptions, including 178 yards versus Bethel. Junior Chris Gardner is his top target with 18 receptions for 413 yards. He also likes to throw to freshman receiver Dylan Bothun (10 catches for 80 yards), junior fullback Phil Blue (10 catches for 187 yards), and senior running back RJ Jackson (9 catches for 47 yards). The Knight ground game appears less than menacing, as they have rushed for a paltry 149 cumulative yards this season. Jackson has seen the bulk of the carries with 31 carries for 123 yards. Blue is their only other significant ball carrier with 22 rushes for 40 yards. An inexperienced offensive line is at least partly to blame for Carleton’s running woes. Only one starter from the 2006 season is back on a Knights line that has given up 9 sacks this season. Seniors Sam Larsen, Colin Anderson, juniors Jon Nelson, Tim Kane, Steve Ramey, and freshman Ted Longabaugh will have a tough time fending off the likes of Nick Gunderson, Joe Luke, and the rest of the Johnnie defense.
The Knights will bring an experienced defense into the game. Senior linebacker James Colbenson leads the team with 25 tackles this season. He is flanked by senior linebackers Jerad Phelps and Eric Paul. The Carleton defensive backfield has notched 4 interceptions thus far, including 2 by junior safety Drew Ziller, who is also second on the team with 21 tackles. Joining Ziller in the backfield are freshman safety Neil Kolstad and junior cornerbacks Nick Cesarek and Kane Bechstein. The defensive line is anchored by tackle Kaizen Yang, who has recorded 5.5 tackles for loss with 1.5 sacks. Also on the defensive line are seniors James Clark, Mike Morrissey, and junior John Hanks.
In the kicking game, junior Tim Kane is 1 for 2 on field goals and 9 for 13 on extra points. Kane also handles kickoff duties, where he averages 43 yards per kickoff. Junior punter Jeff Potempa has punted 16 times for an average of 35 yards.
It’s my opinion that Carleton will not present the Johnnies with too many problems. While it is obvious that Ramler has the Knights pointed in the right direction, he inherited a team that was in disarray, and it will take more than two seasons to build the program. I think the Johnnies will have too much speed on defense for the Knights to deal with. It will be a big day for the defensive line to make a lot of plays. Offensively, the Johnnies are coming together well and should be able to run and pass at will.
Links
2007 Carleton Stats
Last Weekend for the Knights
Carleton Roster
