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COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's completed its 2010 football season in fine fashion with a 49-0 shutout of Hamline on Saturday, Nov. 13.
The wind and snow failed to slow down the Johnnies' offense, as the home team racked up 604 yards, including 404 thru the air. SJU (7-3, 6-2 MIAC) built a 35-0 lead at the half, outgaining the Pipers (1-9, 0-8 MIAC) 401-119.
The Johnnies took the opening kickoff and moved 51 yards on five plays, ending on a two-yard touchdown run from senior running back Jakob Reding (Eden Prairie, Minn.).
Hamline responded with an 11-play, 49-yard drive down to the SJU 5, but a field-goal attempt was kicked into line, giving the ball back to the Johnnies on the three-yard line. Ten plays later, senior quarterback Joe Boyle (Richfield, Minn./Holy Angels) ran it in from six yards out to give SJU a 14-0 lead.
SJU forced a three-and-out on Hamline's next possession and took over right where it left off, moving 61 yards on 10 plays. Boyle scored from four yards out on a play that looked disastrous from the start. Boyle and senior center Tim Juba (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) were the only Johnnies moving at the snap, but Boyle somehow dodged defenders and slipped into the end zone.
The Pipers accumulated 24 yards on their next drive, but were forced to punt again. On the Johnnies' very next offensive play, Boyle hit junior wide receiver Sam Pederson (La Crosse, Wis./Aquinas) on an 86-yard touchdown pass to give SJU a 28-0 lead with 6:15 left in the first half. The pass is the fourth-longest in school history.
Both teams exchanged interceptions before Boyle hit sophomore wide receiver Max Forster (Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins) for a 71-yard gain down to the three-yard line. Two penalties later, freshman running back Nick Schneider (Rockville, Minn./Rocori) scored on a 13-yard run with 12 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Boyle hit sophomore running back Stephen Johnson (Mahtomedi, Minn.) for a 21-yard scoring strike with 9:31 left in the third quarter.
Senior quarterback Andrew Hengel (Bemidji, Minn.) ended the scoring with a 39-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Mitch Bidleman (St. Joseph, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo) with 5:54 left in the third quarter.
Boyle completed 11 of 17 passes for 318 yards, his second consecutive 300-yard passing performance and third of the season. He also added 23 yards and two more touchdowns on three carries. Senior running back Bryan Virnig (Pierz, Minn.) led the Johnnies with 56 yards on four carries. Sophomore Ian Goldsmith (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) led the SJU defense with seven tackles. Senior defensive linemen Kyle Schroeder (Richmond, Minn./Rocori) and Griffin Hayes (Mendota Heights, Minn./St. Thomas Academy) collected two and 1.5 tackles for loss, respectively. Hayes' 1.5 tackles for loss were also sacks. Sophomore linebacker Jake King (Mounds View, Minn./Totino-Grace) intercepted a pass, while sophomore cornerback Mike Bonynge (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer) recovered a fumble.
Hamline's Adam Meyer ended the day 15 of 30 passing for 166 yards. Zach Cornish recorded 46 yards on 13 carries.
With the win, SJU head coach John Gagliardi completes his 62nd season with a 478-129-11 (.782) career record and a 454-123-10 (.782) record in 58 seasons at SJU.
Notes: The announced crowd of 1,688 is the smallest crowd for an SJU regular-season home game since Oct. 31, 1992 vs. Macalester (1,352 witnessed an SJU 41-0 win)…the Johnnies recorded over 500 yards of offense in each of their seven wins this season…the 600-yard game was the first for SJU since Oct. 29, 2005 (672 in the 63-9 win over St. Olaf)…the shutout is the first since Oct. 13, 2007 (40-0 at Gustavus) and the 101st of John Gagliardi's career at SJU...the third-place finish in the MIAC is the lowest since 1997, which is also the last instance in which SJU did not finish second or better.
