If you would have told St. John’s senior QB Alex Kofoed prior to kick off on Saturday that he would wrack up 301 passing yards, going 16 for 20 and throwing four TD passes he would have been pleased. Now, if you told Kofoed that he would accomplish this in the first half he may not have believed you. Kofoed did not play in the second half, as was the case for several Johnnie starters. This was a nice chance to see some of the younger and less experienced Johnnies get some live game action.
On the third play of the game, Kofoed hit senior WR Brian Weber with a 51 yard scoring play and from there the Johnnies were off to the races. The Johnnies scored on their first five possessions as well as seven of their eight possessions in the first half.
Kofoed spread the ball around nicely throwing two TD passes to Ben Vanderheyden, and one to Brett Saladin before exiting the game at halftime.
The running game looked very nice as a three headed monster consisting of seniors Aaron Blackmore and Mike Patnode along with junior Jeff Schnobrich each scored a TD in the first half. Blackmore left the game in the second quarter after tweaking his knee. He was seen on the sideline with an ice pack on that knee in the second half. Hopefully there is nothing more than a bruise for Blackmore as he is really starting to get into stride in the running game this season.
The second half saw sophomore Jordan Hansel start at QB and lead a scoring drive by hitting Schnobrich with a TD strike. On this drive sophomore RB Kellen Blaser showed his running and blocking abilities in the backfield with Schnobrich.
The Johnnies wrapped up their scoring for the day in the fourth quarter. For the third consecutive week a defensive TD was scored. The play was pretty spectacular as sophomore LB Ethan Eid broke through the Auggie offensive line to put a big hit on the QB popping the ball into the air and eventually into the waiting arms of freshman defensive lineman David Burns who rambled 89 yards down the sideline to pay dirt.
The Johnnie offensive line of Jason Brodmerkel, Jason Primus, Andrew Salvato, Dan Gamache and Ben Dimond did an excellent job of pass blocking and opening holes for the running game. All the starters were out early in the second half giving some of the second and third team players an opportunity to showcase their talent for the future.
To this point you may be thinking that this story is just about the offense. You couldn’t be more wrong. The Johnnie defense was it’s usual smothering self. The only score in the game for the Auggies came on a pass from QB Jordan Berg to WR Muneer Al-Hameed who made a nice move and showed his speed for a 74 yard Augsburg TD.
Nick Kotsmith, Nick Gunderson, Ryan Wimmer, Ethan Eid, Mike Schumacher and Joe Luke led the Johnnies in tackles. The Johnnies recorded sacks, either solo or shared, by Schumacher, Gunderson, Wimmer along with Griffin Hayes and Phil Orzechowski.
Russell Gliadon continued to show his leg strength in the kicking game sending several kick-offs into the Augsburg end zone for no return. Russell did have his first PAT attempt blocked because of a missed blocking assignment up front, but made the remainder of the PAT. There was no FG attempted, as this game was well in hand early. I will once again reiterate that having an accurate and strong-legged kicker can pay huge dividends in the post season and Russell could be that guy for the Johnnies.
Patience Pays off. Before I wrap up this game story I would like to acknowledge a couple of seniors who are now getting to showcase their talents. This scenario plays itself out nearly every year on the SJU football squad. Each squad has seniors who have patiently served time as back ups or a special teams player and once given the opportunity to break into the starting line-up they will shine. Aaron Blackmore and Chace Pollock are the two players I want to acknowledge today. There are others and I will try to recognize them as the season goes on. Blackmore led the ground attack with 10 rushes for 48 yards and a TD in little more than 1 ½ quarters of play and Pollock had 5 receptions for 60 yards. These players and many others like them through the years could choose to go to another school where they could most likely be a 3-year starter. These players know going in that with 180 or more players on the roster at SJU that playing time may be scarce but they come to play at SJU for a variety of reasons. Seeing patience and persistence pay off makes it all worth it for these players and their families. This is Johnnie football, it is a special place with a group coaches and young men who know that the life lessons learned within this group will pay untold dividends in the future.
