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ST. PETER, Minn. – Saint John's bounced back from a 9-0 deficit and ended its three-game losing streak with a 24-16 win at Gustavus Adolphus on Saturday, Oct. 22, in St. Peter.

Gustavus (1-6, 1-4 MIAC) took the opening kickoff and marched down to the five-yard line with a first-and-goal situation. Similar to last fall's meeting, the SJU defense held strong and forced the Gusties to settle for a 20-yard field goal. Junior Connor Grill (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) sacked GAC's Logan Becker for an eight-yard loss on third-and-goal from the two.

Following an SJU fumble on the ensuing kickoff, GAC chewed up 44 yards on seven plays, ending on a one-yard touchdown run from Phillip Butler. The PAT attempt failed to make the score 9-0 in favor of the host Gusties with 6:14 left in the first quarter.

The Johnnies, however, ended the first half with 17 unanswered points. Junior Jimmie Mattson (Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial) put SJU (3-4, 2-3 MIAC) on the scoreboard by tying a school record with a 52-yard field goal at the end of the first quarter.

Both teams exchanged turnovers before the momentum finally settled on the Johnnies' side. SJU forced a turnover on the Gusties' next possession, but sophomore Ben Krebsbach (Plymouth, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) was intercepted on the Johnnies' first offensive play. Two plays later, junior Bobby Fischer (Plymouth, Minn./Osseo) picked off Becker and returned it 23 yards to the GAC 17. Junior Stephen Johnson (Mahtomedi, Minn.) gained five yards on first down and Krebsbach hit senior Brent Graboski (Woodbury, Minn.) for a nine-yard gain to the Gusties' three-yard line. Krebsbach took it over on the next play to give SJU a 10-9 lead.

Gustavus took over on its own 12-yard line via penalty and traveled 53 yards before turning the ball over on downs. Senior Nick Zweber (Elko, Minn./New Prague) and freshman Maze Thompson (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) stuffed Brian Karg for a loss on fourth-and-two on the SJU 34.

SJU returned the favor by marching 56 yards on 10 plays down to the Gustavus nine-yard line. SJU chose to go for it on four-and-six, but Krebsbach's pass to Graboski fell incomplete.

The Johnnies forced a three-and-out and took over on the GAC 45-yard line with 53 seconds remaining in the half. Sophomore Connor Bruns (Baltimore, Md./Loyola Blakefield) came off the bench and connected with senior Sam Pederson (La Crosse, Wis./Aquinas) for a 45-yard touchdown on his first play from scrimmage. Mattson's extra point gave SJU a 17-9 lead.

The Gusties cut their deficit to one point thanks to a 26-yard touchdown pass from Becker to Elliott Herdina on their first possession of the second half. The GAC defense tightened up as well, allowing SJU only 34 yards of offense in the third quarter.

Johnson gave the Johnnies some breathing room with a five-yard touchdown run with 3:42 remaining.

GAC had two more offensive possessions, but the host Gusties turned the ball over on downs and threw an interception, the second for Fischer on the afternoon, to end the possibility of a comeback. Fischer now has all three of the Johnnies' interceptions this season.

Johnson ended the day with 55 yards on 22 carries to lead the Johnnies' ground game. Krebsbach threw for 57 yards and added 21 more on three carries. Bruns finished six of eight for 75 yards through the air. Senior Andrew Rotschafer (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and junior Taylor Dammermann (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer) led the SJU defense with 10 tackles apiece. Senior Evan Cobb (Becker, Minn.) added 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, while Grill totaled two sacks by himself.

Becker ended the day 23 of 40 passing for 246 yards and added 16 yards on 17 carries. He was sacked five times, including four on third down.

Gustavus out-gained the Johnnies 328-219 and held Gagliardi's squad to 10 first downs. SJU, however, won the field-position battle. The Johnnies' average starting field position was the 50-yard line, compared to GAC's own 23. Mattson and fellow junior Scott Ramey (Baxter, Minn./Brainerd) made significant contributions to the stat line. Mattson averaged 65.2 yards on five kickoffs, while Ramey averaged 37.0 yards on seven punts, including four which pinned GAC inside its own 20-yard line (two inside the 10).

With the win, SJU head coach John Gagliardi improves to 481-133-11 (.778) in 63 seasons overall and 457-127-10 (.778) in 59 seasons in Collegeville.

The Johnnies return home to host Carleton as part of Family Weekend next Saturday, Oct. 29. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville.

Notes: Mattson's 52-yard field goal tied the SJU record set by Russell Gliadon against St. Olaf nearly two years to the date, Oct. 24, 2009…the Johnnies gained only 207 yards of offense in the 10-3 win over the Oles…Fischer's pair of interceptions was the first multi-pick game since Alex Powell intercepted Augsburg's Marcus Brumm twice on Sept. 25, 2010...the win is the 575th in the program's history (575-232-24 record in 101 seasons).