Saint John's junior punter Naufahu Anitoni (Fairfield, Calif./Justin-Siena) averaged 42.6 yards on five punts in SJU's 10-3 win over nationally ranked Concordia-Moorhead Nov. 11 in the regular-season finale. He came up big in the fourth quarter as three of his punts were downed inside the Cobbers' 6-yard line (at the 1-, 2- and 6-yard lines) with SJU holding a 10-3 lead. Anitoni was named the MIAC Special Teams Athlete of the Week Nov. 13 for his performance.
He ended the regular season with an average of 39.2 yards on 34 punts.
No. 6/7 SJU (9-1, 7-1 MIAC) travels to play No. 9/14 North Central (9-1, 7-1 CCIW) in the first round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs this Saturday, Nov. 18. Kickoff is scheduled for noon at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium in Naperville, Ill.
The postseason appearance is the 28th (24th at the NCAA Division III level) and fourth consecutive for the Johnnies, who earned one of the NCAA's five at-large berths. SJU has a 42-22 (.656) all-time postseason record and is one of six Division III programs that have reached the second round of the NCAA playoffs each of the last three seasons: Linfield (Ore.), Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas), Mount Union (Ohio), Wesley (Del.) and Wheaton (Ill.).
