Saint John's University junior running back Sam Sura (South St. Paul, Minn.) ran for a school-record 281 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries (8.8 avg.) in only three quarters of play during the Johnnies' 31-7 win at Wisconsin-Eau Claire Sept. 13. He surpassed the old record of 278 yards, set by Chris Moore '01 against Macalester on Sept. 18, 1999, with a 10-yard run in the third quarter. He left the game three plays later with the Johnnies ahead 31-0 and was named the MIAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.
He now has 449 yards and five touchdowns on 60 attempts (7.5 avg.) through the season's first two games, including an average of 10 yards per carry (330 yards on 33 carries) in the first half alone. Sura appeared in nine games last season and led the Johnnies in both rushing yards (575) and rushing touchdowns (4).
Sura currently leads all divisions of NCAA college football in rushing yards per game (224.5 ypg.) among student-athletes that have played more than one game. He also leads NCAA Division III in total rushing yards (449), is tied for fourth in rushing touchdowns (5) and is fifth in all-purpose yards (237 ypg.).
SJU (2-0, 0-0 MIAC) opens conference play with a 1 p.m. kickoff against Concordia-Moorhead (2-0, 0-0 MIAC) this Saturday, Sept. 20, in Clemens Stadium. The contest will be the Johnnies' Tackle Cancer game to benefit the Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund. Fans attending the Johnnies' home opener are encouraged to donate. SJU will also sell Tackle Cancer t-shirts for $10 from 11:30 a.m. until kickoff inside the stadium. All proceeds from the t-shirt sales will be added to the monetary collection.
