MIAC Release
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Ten Saint John's University football student-athletes received Academic All-MIAC recognition on Friday, Jan. 29.
In order to qualify for MIAC Academic All-Conference recognition student-athletes must be a sophomore, junior, or senior with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. Athletically, student-athletes in football must compete in 50 percent of their team's varsity regular season contests.
- Senior offensive lineman Blaine Anderson (Hewitt, Minn./Bertha-Hewitt), a management major with a 3.53 GPA;
- Junior quarterback Joe Boyle (Richfield, Minn./Holy Angels), a history major with a 3.50 GPA;
- Senior offensive lineman Ben Dimond (Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka), a psychology major with a 3.71 GPA;
- Senior linebacker Ethan Eid (Arden Hills, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall), an economics major with a 3.67 GPA;
- Junior offensive lineman Jeff Gilbertson (Wabasha, Minn./Winona Cotter), a biology major (pre-veterinary medicine emphasis) with a 3.73 GPA;
- Senior defensive back Dominic Haik (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle), a political science major (pre-law emphasis) with a 3.75 GPA;
- Freshman (junior academically) defensive back Lukas Inveiss (Sartell, Minn./Sartell-St. Stephen), an accounting major with a 3.80 GPA;
- Senior offensive lineman Drew Percival (Wayzata, Minn./Blake), an accounting major with a 3.55 GPA;
- Senior offensive lineman/tight end Greg Sowden (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Park Center), an English major with a 3.60 GPA;
- Junior running back Bryan Virnig (Pierz, Minn.), a management major (pre-pharmacy emphasis) with a 3.89 GPA.
Anderson (left guard), Gilbertson (left tackle) and Percival (right tackle) started all 11 games for the Johnnies on the offensive line. They helped SJU finish second in the MIAC in both scoring offense (28.6 ppg.) and rushing offense (186 ypg.). Dimond and Sowden also saw playing time at the offensive line position, with Sowden also collecting snaps at tight end.
Boyle started nine games for the Johnnies and led the team in passing with an average of 162.3 yards per game. Boyle also had a 55.3 completion percentage (114-206) to go along with his 16 touchdown passes. He also added 107 yards rushing and four touchdowns on the ground.
Eid posted 21 tackles (15 solo), including 3.5 tackles for loss with three sacks and one interception during an injury-plagued senior season.
Haik was fifth on the team in tackles with 38 (26 solo) and tallied two interceptions and five breakups on the year.
Inveiss and Virnig saw plenty of time on special teams and contributed to their respective sides of the ball this past fall.
Anderson and Boyle were named to the 2009 All-MIAC first team, while Eid, Gilbertson, Haik and Percival were named to the second team.
SJU ended the 2009 season with an 8-0 record in the MIAC and a 10-1 overall record. The Johnnies earned their MIAC-record 31st conference championship, the 27th under the direction of head coach John Gagliardi, and made their 24th postseason appearance (and 11th in the past 12 seasons). Gagliardi ended his record 61st season with a 471-126-11 (.784) career record and a 447-120-10 (.783) record in 57 seasons at SJU.
