With snowflakes welcoming the University of Redlands Bulldogs to Clemens Stadium, it seems winter kicked off just in time for the NCAA playoffs. The flurries in the sky and the flurry of late second quarter points scored by the Johnnies combined to provide a cold afternoon and a long trip back to Southern California for the Bulldogs. Here’s a look at the numbers that shaped the Johnnies’ 41-13 first round playoff win:
Tale of Two Halves: By the time Brian Weber hauled in a 13-yard pass from Alex Kofoed with under a minute remaining in the second quarter, he was already well on his way to a huge day. That reception, which set up a 14-yard Mike Patnode touchdown grab on the next play, came just moments after Weber’s 61-yard catch-and-run extended the Johnnies’ lead to 14-6. The reception also put him over the century mark for receiving yards on the day, with 5 catches for 102 yards.
Amazingly, that would be Weber’s last reception of the day. Alex Kofoed threw 12 passes in the second half, only 4 of those to wide receivers, and none to Weber. The Johnnies went to a more conservative offense in the second half, designed to protect the lead created by the big plays just before halftime. The main beneficiary of this offensive shift was running back Mike Patnode. He caught three of the four second half passes thrown his way, including his second touchdown reception of the afternoon. Patnode’s 6 catches paced the Johnnies.
Our #5 proved better than their #5 on Saturday as Johnnies receiver Brian Weber runs away from Redlands corner Brad Smith for a 61-yard touchdown.
Mr. Consistent: For Weber, Saturday’s performance was business as usual. He topped 100 yards receiving for the fourth time on the season and now has a touchdown catch in 8 of the 11 games St. John’s has played this year. His 61-yard second quarter touchdown reception is tied for the Johnnies second longest offensive play from scrimmage on the year, just short of the 62-yard touchdown pass that Kofoed and Weber connected on against St. Thomas. Mike Patnode has the season’s longest run, a 61-yard scoring effort against Hamline.
New Team, Same Result: The win over Redlands marked the Johnnies’ 14th straight win in the first round of the NCAA playoffs. St. John’s received a first round bye in 2003 before beating St. Norbert in the second round, meaning the Johnnies have won at least one game every time they have qualified for the playoffs since 1985.
The Johnnies ride another impressive winning streak into next week’s game with Central. St. John’s has beaten the Dutch the last four times the teams have met, ending Central’s season in 1989, 1999, 2000, and 2006. Only the 1999 game was played in Collegeville.
The Johnnies lost to the Dutch 13-3 the first time the two teams met, in Pella, IA, in the 1987 NCAA West Regional Final. Since then, St. John’s has won 10 straight games against Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foes, all of them playoff games.
A Call for More Nice Fields: I hate to keep harping on the discrepancy between the Johnnies’ performances at home versus on the road, so let’s take a look at the issue from a different angle this week. In the three games the Johnnies have played on natural grass fields, at UW-River Falls, at Carleton, and at Bethel, the offense has struggled mightily, averaging 15 points and 303 offensive yards per game.
On artificial turf—the 6 home games, as well as road games at Hamline and Gustavus—the Johnnie offense has been nearly unstoppable, rolling up 465 yard of offense and more than 47 points per game. The three lowest single-game point- and yardage-outputs of the season have come in the three games on natural grass.
This has exciting implications for this week’s game, as well as potential games on the road to the Stagg Bowl. As fans who made the trip down to Pella for last season’s game may recall, the Dutch installed new-style turf similar to Clemens Stadium’s SprinTurf prior to the 2006 season. If the Johnnies survive the trip to Pella, they are an Eau Claire upset at Bethel away from hosting the regional final in Collegeville. From there, the likely quarterfinal match-up at Mount Union and potential Stagg Bowl would also be on artificial turf fields.
Quick Hits: The Collegeville crowd may have gotten a glimpse of the future on the Johnnies’ final drive of the game. With 5:04 of the 4th quarter remaining, sophomore quarterback Jordan Hansel, junior running back Billy Ryan, and a platoon of backup linemen entered the game to try to run out the clock. Eight plays, 39 Ryan rushing yards, and 3 first downs later, St. John’s had done just that behind the aggressive play of the offensive line… Both offenses struggled on 3rd down (Redlands was 4-of-15, while the Johnnies were nearly as bad at 4-of-13) but combined to go 6-for-7 on 4th down (the Bulldogs converting 3 of their 4 attempts, while St. John’s was perfect on their three tries)… In jumping to a 24-6 lead, the Johnnies held the ball for only 10:18 in the first half, but controlled the clocking in the second half with a time of possession of 19:39… The 47-yard field goal attempted by Redlands kicker Joe Macmillan in the 2nd quarter was the longest attempt by a Johnnie opponent this season. Even with a stiff wind at the kicker’s back, the try fell well short… The announced attendance was 2,637, the Johnnies’ lowest total for a game at Clemens Stadium this season.
