When the playoffs roll around, you have to be playing your best football of the season if you want to advance to the next week. With each victory comes the reward of playing a tougher opponent the following week. Mistakes are magnified in the playoffs and having an interception or a fumble recovery returned for a TD is very tough to overcome. Having both an interception and a fumble recovery returned for a TD proved to be too much for the Johnnies as the Coe College Kohawks rolled into Collegeville and rolled out with a victory and a ticket to round two of the NCAA Division III playoffs next week against The University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
Coe College started the scoring for the day in the 1st quarter on a 13 play, 61 yard drive which was capped off by their QB Brad Boyle finishing the drive on a 1-yard run. The SJU defense blocked the PAT and the score was Coe 6- SJU 0
SJU took the next possession and put on a drive that ended the 1st quarter and continued to the 2nd quarter.At the 14:45 mark of the 2nd quarter, SJU QB Joe Boyle had a pass tipped and picked off by Coe LB Calvin Thomas who returned the ball 93 yards for a Coe TD. The PAT was good and Coe was up 13-0 at this point of the game.
SJU took possession and put together an 8 play ,61 yard drive where Joe Boyle was scrambling and found Sam Pederson open for a 43 yard TD pass at 10:13 of the 2nd quarter. The PAT by Russell Gliadon was good and the score was Coe 13 SJU 7.
At the 2:58 mark of the 2nd quarter Brad Boyle of Coe found Ryan Jones for a 10 yard TD pass. The PAT was good and Coe increased it’s lead over SJU by a score of 20-7.
SJU kept pace with the Kohawks as Joe Boyle, again on a broken play, found Ben Vanderheyden open on a 58 yard TD pass at the 2:01 mark of the 2nd quarter. The Gliadon PAT was good and the halftime score would be Coe 20-SJU 14.
Coe was the first to score in the 3rd quarter as Brad Boyle found Michael Rozum on a 19 yard scoring pass at the 7:43 mark of the 3rd quarter. The PAT was good and Coe increased it’s lead to 27-14.
With 48 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter Joe Boyle found Andrew Rotschafer open in the end zone on a 7 yard pass play. The Gliadon PAT was wide and the score was Coe 27-SJU 20.
At the 10:06 point of the 4th quarter Coe’s Calvin Thomas scored his second defensive TD of the day on a 76 yard fumble recovery. SJU’s Joe Boyle was helped off the field the play prior with a lower back injury suffered as he scrambled for yardage near the 1st down marker. Back up QB John Ries was forced into action. The following play a fumble occurred on the hand off exchange, as Thomas picked up the ball he broke two SJU tackles and was off to the races. The PAT was good and Coe increased it’s lead 34-20.
Joe Boyle was able to return to the game later in the 4th quarter as the Johnnie defense forced a fumble at their own 3 yard line with Coe looking to score again. Joe Boyle engineered a 16 play 97 yard drive in 3:18 seconds. Joe Boyle had found Kellen Blaser in the end zone on a 2 yard TD pass. The Gliadon PAT was good and SJU narrowed the Coe lead to 34-27 with 1:09 remaining.
SJU attempted an onside kick, but Coe was able to recover and from there the Kohawks ran the clock down to seal the victory.
Statistically SJU led in every category, including turning over the ball which turned out to be the difference maker when you play a team like the Kohawks.
Stephen Johnson ran the ball 24 times for a net 101 yards for the Johnnies. Kellen Blaser was the leading receiver on the day with 6 catches for 69 yards and the TD. Josh Overman caught 4 balls for 54 yards. Joe Boyle threw 34 passes, completing 20 for 285 yards and 4 TD. Boyle also threw the interception that Thomas of Coe returned for a Kohawk TD.
Defensively Bobby Klint had 10 tackles and a fumble recovery. John Stanton had 7 tackles. Jeff Bohlman had 5 tackles, a forced fumble and blocked the PAT on Coe’s first TD. Ryan Wimmer had 5 tackles and a forced fumble. Dan Franta had 4 tackles. David Burns had 3 tackles, a tackle for a loss and a QB sack. Mike Bonynge had 3 tackles and a fumble recovery . Griffin Hayes, Kyle Schroeder and Jimmy Sharpe combined for an additional 2 QB sacks and 2 additional tackles for loss.
For the seniors who played their last game,the finality of it all is tough. Every year only one team is happy at the end of the season and that is the Stagg Bowl champions. The sting will diminish after a couple of days and the good memories you have of SJU and the years you had playing football will remain. The friendships you have made over your years at SJU will be some of the strongest friendships you will form over your lifetime. Look back not with what could have been, but with fond memories of your accomplishments.
The seniors have now entered into the next chapter of their lives,that of Johnnie football fan. You are now part of the Johnnie Nation, welcome. You are St. John’s.
