Box Score | Photos (John Biasi/Dawid Chabowski)
Post-Game Videos:
-Senior Defensive Back Nate Anderson (0:13)
-Senior Linebacker Ethan Eid (0:19)
-Freshman Running Back Stephen Johnson (0:26)
-Junior Linebacker Billy Lawrence (0:20)
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – No. 4 Saint John's earned its 22nd outright conference title and MIAC-record 31st conference championship in school history with a 41-14 win over Carleton on Saturday, Nov. 14, in Collegeville. The conference crown is the 27th title under the direction of head coach John Gagliardi, and the 14th in the last 19 seasons.
SJU will make its 24th postseason appearance (and 11th in the past 12 seasons), next Saturday, Nov. 21. The playoff field of 32 teams will be announced live Sunday, Nov. 15, at 2 p.m. on ESPNews. In addition to cable, ESPNews can be found on DirecTV at channel 207 and on Dish Network at channel 142.
The Johnnies have posted a 39-18 playoff record, including NCAA Division III titles in 2003 and 1976. SJU is 18-4 all-time in the first round of either the NAIA or NCAA playoff formats.
The Johnnies (10-0, 8-0 MIAC) took a 7-0 lead with 2:44 left in the first quarter on an unusual interception return for touchdown. Junior linebacker Billy Lawrence (Edina, Minn./St. Thomas Academy) intercepted his second of the quarter and returned it 14 yards before he lateraled to senior safety Nate Anderson (Chanhassen, Minn./Wayzata), who took it the remaining 36 yards to paydirt.
The Knights tied the game at 7-7 with a two-yard run by Jon Lien on the ensuing possession.
Freshman running back Stephen Johnson (Mahtomedi, Minn.) gave the lead back to SJU with a two-yard run with 7:51 left in the first half. The score capped a nine-play, 81-yard scoring drive. Johnson posted his first career 100-yard rushing performance with 128 yards on 26 carries. The last time an SJU freshman ran for 100 yards or more was Korey Dean (100 yards on 20 attempts) on Nov. 7, 1992, against, coincidentally, Carleton.
The Johnnies padded their lead with an eight-play, 69-yard scoring drive to begin the second half with a 21-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback John Ries (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) to junior tight end Josh Overman (Albany, Minn.).
Senior linebacker Ethan Eid (Arden Hills, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) extended SJU's lead to 28-7 with a 59-yard interception return for touchdown with 7:02 left in the third frame. The last time two different Johnnies returned an interception for a touchdown in the same game occurred Oct. 2, 1999, at home against Augsburg. Eric Serbus and current linebackers' coach Brandon Novak returned interceptions for 43- and 35-yard touchdown returns, respectively.
Carleton (3-7, 1-7 MIAC) cut the deficit to 28-14 with 12:42 remaining in the game before Johnson and freshman quarterback Scott Ramey (Baxter, Minn./Brainerd) added rushing touchdowns in the game's final seven minutes to end the scoring.
Ries ended the afternoon nine of 16 passing for 119 yards in his second career start. Overman finished with three catches for 73 yards on the day. Junior linebacker John Stanton (San Rafael, Calif./Marin Catholic) led the Johnnie defense with 11 tackles (eight solo), while senior defensive lineman Kyle Schroeder (Richmond, Minn./Rocori) posted three tackles, all for a loss. Senior defensive lineman Andrew Pierskalla (Farmington, Minn.) recorded two sacks.
With the win, Gagliardi improved his career record to 471-125-11 (.785) in 61 seasons overall and 447-119-10 (.785) in 57 seasons at SJU. The Johnnies are now 27-0 all-time against the Knights.
