Yesterday’s 28-24 comeback win at Wisconsin-River Falls to open the season was a good (good not great) start. The team wasn’t great, but we’ve come to expect that early in the season. If you are looking for the bread and butter statistics head here. Also don’t forget to follow JohnnieFootball.com Feature Writer Finsleft on Twitter. He was really pounding out the “Tweets” yesterday from the tailgate party as well as the Home stands. I know many of our readers may be thinking, “Twitter, that is for my teenage kid”. Give it a shot and I think you’ll enjoy the “on the scene” updates in real-time.
Big Plays
1. QB Joe Boyle to WR Ben Vanderheyden’s 46 TD reception to pull within 3 points at the half at the end of the 1st half.
2. DE Kyle Schroeder’s sack of River Falls QB Ryan Luessenheide late in the 4th quarter to lock up the win for the Johnnies.
3. Illegal crack back block on UWRF as River Falls was driving the ball late in the game trailing by 4 points. The crackback negated a critical 1st down reception from UWRF Tight End Ryan Hansen (which was subsequently called back by the penalty).
Top Newcomers
1. Freshman RB Steve Johnson from Mahtomedi had 7 carries for 44 yards and looked like he will be a key cog in the running game for years to come.
2. Freshman DB Alex Powell stepped into the left cornerback spot after Adam Weber had to leave the game with a knee injury. He looked poised, showed impressive speed, and made several nice pass deflections.
3. Sophmore DE Griffin Hayes had a critical fumble recovery when the Johnnies desparately needed a turnover which led to the go-ahead touchdown. He was around the football all day long.
Biggest Disappointments
1. The SJU Defense really had a tough day. River Falls was controlling the line of scrimmage and QB Luessenheide was able to break containment several times creating big plays with his legs and through the air.
2. The Johnnie Offensive Line was pushed around all day by the smallish (by WIAC standards) Falcon D-Line. Joe Boyle was under pressure most of the day when he dropped back to pass. Controlling the line of scrimmage is where games are won/lost.
3. Several Johnnies were injured in the game. DB Adam Weber was carted off by what appeared to be a severe knee injury and then LB Ethan Eid was tended to shortly thereafter.
Keep It Coming
1. The 1 yard dive play is clearly not working. Spread out the field (hush maybe bring back the Diamond formation) and move Joe Boyle out of the pocket. The Johnnies had their way with River Falls via the air yesterday. The options throwing the ball are endless. SJU isn’t fooling anybody using the dive play like Concordia-Moorhead does. The Johnnies are a throw 1st team to set up the run.
2. Use depth at positions to keep everyone fresh all the time and which also gets players experience in the case of injuries. I thought it was tremendous to see so many guys getting playing time at running back. Clearly no one has stood out to take the #1 reins, but all the guys who got carries (Reding, Blaser, Johnson, etc) showed they are more than capable of filling the role well.
3. The Johnnie crowd attendance at the tailgate/game was outstanding. I would say it was 3 to 1 Johnnies fans. It was nice to see people coming early to partake in the tailgating before the game. Everyone is always welcome and the food/beverages/camaraderie are second to none at the Division 3 level.
Email me with your questions/comments to touchdowntommy@johnniefootball.com.
