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ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – Saint John's out-gained Bethel 348-210 but committed four turnovers, one of which was returned for a touchdown, as the host Royals defeated the Johnnies 17-14 on Saturday, Oct. 9.
All three SJU losses have been decided by three points or less. Three of the four Johnnie turnovers occurred in Bethel territory, including one on the Royals' one-yard line. The Johnnies (3-3, 2-2 MIAC) also turned the ball over on downs on Bethel's nine-yard line in the first quarter. SJU held Bethel to six first downs and 58 yards of offense in the second half.
Following a punt by each team, Bethel's Ross Petterson intercepted a tipped pass from senior quarterback Joe Boyle (Richfield, Minn./Holy Angels) and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown to give the home team an early 7-0 lead.
The Johnnies responded with a 66-yard drive, but turned the ball over on downs at the nine-yard line. The Royals (5-0, 3-0 MIAC) reacted with its first offensive scoring drive, which ended on a 37-yard field goal by Matt Wetherell to extend Bethel's lead to 10-0 12 seconds into the second quarter.
Bethel forced SJU to punt on its next two offensive possessions. On fourth-and-16, SJU was flagged on a roughing-the-punter penalty, which gave the Royals a fresh set of downs on SJU's 42. Eight plays later, Jesse Phenow gave BU a 17-0 lead with a three-yard touchdown run.
SJU forced the Royals to punt on their first two possessions of the second half. Following the second, on third-and-one from the Bethel 41, Boyle hit junior wide receiver Sam Pederson (La Crosse, Wis./Aquinas) for a 40-yard gain, but Pederson fumbled on the one-yard line, where it was recovered by BU.
The Johnnies held Bethel to a three-and-out, and responded with a seven-play, 52-yard scoring drive. Boyle connected with sophomore running back Stephen Johnson (Mahtomedi, Minn.) on a four-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 17-7 with 12:49 left in the fourth quarter.
The Royals punted its next two possessions, but the Johnnies responded with two turnovers. The first time, Boyle threw his second interception of the game in an attempt for a 20-yard pass to the Bethel 23. Pederson fumbled for the second time, on a 16-yard gain, in the second instance.
Following a miscue on a Bethel punt, SJU took over on the Royals' 47-yard line with 1:35 left in regulation. Five plays later, sophomore running back Harry Awe (St. Paul, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) caught a one-yard touchdown pass from Boyle to make it 17-14.
Bethel recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock to end the game.
Boyle recorded a completion to eight different receivers and ended the game 24 of 35 passing for 288 yards. He also led the Johnnies' ground game with 38 yards on seven carries. Pederson recorded his second 100-yard receiving game of the season with 102 yards on five catches. Seniors Griffin Hayes (Mendota Heights, Minn./St. Thomas Academy), Billy Lawrence (Edina, Minn./St. Thomas Academy) and John Stanton (San Rafael, Calif./Marin Catholic) paced the Johnnie defense with 10 tackles each. Fellow senior Kyle Schroeder (Richmond, Minn./Rocori) tallied six tackles, including 2.5 for loss and one sack. Hayes and Lawrence also added 1.5 tackles for loss apiece. Bethel entered the game averaging 40.5 points and 462.2 yards of offense per game, including 285.5 yards on the ground.
The Johnnies enter their bye week before hosting Gustavus Adolphus for Family Weekend on Saturday, Oct. 23. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville.
Notes: SJU is now 3-3 for the first time since 1997…the Johnnies have now lost back-to-back MIAC games for the first time since the 1983 season…the last time SJU lost back-to-back games, in the same season, was 2001…the Johnnies have now lost three consecutive games in Arden Hills…the last time SJU lost three straight games in one location, outside of Collegeville, to a MIAC opponent was 1972 at Gustavus Adolphus (1968: 13-0, 1970: 24-8, 1972: 23-6; in St. Peter).
