The annual Johnnie football pre-season luncheon organized by Johnnie alum John Quinlivan was held at the Holiday Inn in St. Cloud on August 9. The turnout was excellent with the Johnnie coaching and administrative staff in attendance.
Mark Lewandowski, a member of the Bear (660 WBHR) broadcast team for Johnnie football, was the master of ceremonies. The Bear works with Relevant Radio WLOL 1330 AM out of Minneapolis and KOWZ 1170 AM out of Owatonna and is looking for another station in western Minnesota to network with so Johnnie football games can be heard border to border in Minnesota.
Offensive coordinator Jim Gagliardi, in his 16th year as an assistant coach, introduced Alex Kofoed, the Johnnie’s returning senior quarterback. Jim described Kofoed as a “tremendous player and a great person.” This will be Kofoed’s fourth year as a starter.
Gary Fasching, defensive coach in his 12 year, told the crowd that this year’s new class is one of the better in the history of the program. Fasching indicated that there are a number of excellent transfers and 67 freshmen on the team this fall.
This year’s new class is one of the better in the history of the program.
Jerry Haugen, defensive coordinator in his 32nd year at St. John’s, indicated that the Johnnies need to replace some great guys on defense. Nick Gunderson, a junior and a pre-season 1st team All-American, would be a dominant force on the defensive line, according to Haugen.
As always, the most entertaining speaker was coach John Gagliardi, who will be in his 55th year as coach at St. John’s and 59th overall as a head coach in college football, a national record. John mentioned that the Minnesota Gophers were enjoying their week of training camp at Collegeville very much and had already indicated that they would be back in ‘08.
John brought back some memories of his early days in Collegeville when he scrimmaged General Custer’s troops on their way out west. According to Gagliardi, based on how the scrimmage went, he knew they were in trouble.
