Given virtually no chance to win at Clemens Stadium on Saturday, the St. Thomas defense did its part to ensure an easy St. John’s win, allowing the Johnnies to march up and down the field for 51 points. The St. Thomas offense, however, wasn’t so willing to follow the script. Their high octane passing offense kept the game reasonably competitive until Aaron Blackmore scored an insurance touchdown for the Johnnies with less than 2 minutes left. Here’s a closer look at the numbers that defined the latest chapter of the storied rivalry in Collegeville:
Home Sweet Home: Entering 2007, St. John’s had played 4 games in front of 12,000 or more fans in school history. The 12,123 reported attendance for this week’s game against St. Thomas is the second time they have hit that plateau this season alone (12,339 against St. Olaf on October 6th). Saturday’s crowd was the 2nd largest to take in a Tommie/Johnnie Game (12,145 in 1997 at the Metrodome) and the 6th largest in school history (almost a thousand short of the record of 13,107 in 2003 vs. Bethel).
For the season, the Johnnies set a school regular season record for average attendance (9,923 per home game) and finished a narrow second in total attendance (49,614 for 5 home dates, vs. 51,284 in 2006 for 6 home games). If the Johnnies beat Bethel in two weeks—securing at least one home playoff game—they have a good chance of breaking their season attendance record for all games, 58,465 set in 9 games in 2003.
Time to Kill: At the end of the first quarter, St. Thomas had held the ball for over 12 minutes and run 30 plays. Conversely, the Johnnies only managed 8 plays from scrimmage in the 2:59 that they had possession of the ball. With one team holding such a tremendous advantage in time of possession, it wasn’t surprising to see a lopsided score at the quarter break. The surprise was that the Johnnies were the team with the upper hand, leading 21-7.
St. John’s orchestrated first quarter scoring “drives” of 3 plays and 84 seconds, 1 play and 10 seconds, and 3 plays and 67 seconds. The Tommies’ lone scoring drive of the quarter came on a methodical 16 play, 90 yard effort that consumed 6 minutes and 13 seconds. Amazingly, the Johnnies won the time of possession battle for the game, ending up with the ball for 32 minutes and 39 seconds.
Tommie Fireworks: The 453 total yards by the St. Thomas offense is the highest total allowed by the Johnnie defense this season. The game marks only the second time on the year that the Johnnies, who amassed 419 yards of their own, did not manage to outgain their opponent.
Though game statistics at www.gojohnnies.com/football are incomplete, it appears to be the most yards allowed by St. John’s since they gave up 497 to St. Olaf early in the 2001 season. The last time the Johnnies allowed more than 34 points to a regular season opponent was in 2000, when they fell to Bethel 43-36.
Revenge Factor: With the upcoming bye week, the Johnnies have a little extra time to plot their revenge against the Bethel Royals, who beat St. John’s 28-13 in final week of the 2006 season to secure a split of the MIAC title. Since 2000, no conference team has beaten the Johnnies two years in a row, as they successfully avenged losses to Bethel in 2001, Concordia in 2004, and St. Olaf in 2002 and 2005.
Decade of MIAC Dominance: With this week’s win, St. John’s ran their winning streak against St. Thomas to 10 games. Of the 8 MIAC teams the Johnnies face on annual basis, 5 of them haven’t beaten St. John’s in at least a decade: Augsburg, Gustavus, St. Thomas (10 games each), Hamline (15 games), and Carleton (winless in 25 lifetime meetings). When Macalester dropped out of the MIAC following the 2001 season they had gone 33 straight years without beating the Johnnies.
Quick Hits: Neither team missed a placekick as St. John’s kicker Russell Gliadon was 7-for-7 on extra points, St. Thomas kicker Sean Barrett was 4-for-4 on extra points, and no field goals were attempted… Brian Weber’s 11 reception, 169 yard performance set Johnnie season highs in both categories and his 62 yard first quarter touchdown reception was the team’s longest play from scrimmage on the season… The Johnnies converted all 6 of their red zone possessions into touchdowns… For the first time all season, the St. John’s offensive line didn’t allow a single quarterback sack… Last but definitely not least, another passing milestone for Alex Kofoed: He became the 18th quarterback in Division III history to surpass 10,000 career passing yards.
