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-Graboski, Mattson & Johnson (1:10)

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's junior kicker Jimmie Mattson (Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial) nailed a 25-yard field goal with five seconds remaining to defeat No. 19 St. Olaf on Saturday, Nov. 5, in Collegeville.

The Johnnies (5-4, 4-3 MIAC) weathered turnovers on its first four possessions, including two in the red zone, and scored 24 consecutive points to take a 24-17 lead. An eight-yard touchdown run by St. Olaf's Leon Clark, his third of the contest, tied the game with 1:54 left. The Oles (7-2, 5-2 MIAC) forced a three-and-out, but the ensuing SJU punt hit an Ole and the Johnnies recovered the loose ball on their own 43. Sophomore quarterback Connor Bruns (Baltimore, Md./Loyola Blakefield) returned to the field after leaving in the second quarter and led SJU on a nine-play, 49-yard drive to set up the game-winning field goal.

Junior running back Stephen Johnson (Mahtomedi, Minn.) ended the day with 38 carries for 196 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, while senior wide receiver Brent Graboski (Woodbury, Minn.) caught five passes for 142 yards. The 38 attempts for Johnson are the third-most in a single game in SJU history. Graboski now has 10 catches for 358 yards in his last two games.

St. Olaf made it look easy on its first offensive possession, marching 56 yards on five plays, ending on a nine-yard touchdown run by Clark.

The Johnnies answered with a strong 50-yard drive, but Bruns' pass on third down was intercepted by Nick Branjord at the Oles' one-yard line. SJU held St. Olaf to a three-and-out, but the Johnnies fumbled the handoff exchange on second down. The Oles took over on the SJU 21 and brought the ball down to the eight before settling for a 23-yard field goal from Jason Obarski.

Down 10-0, SJU came back with another efficient drive, but Branjord intercepted a tipped pass from Bruns at the goal line once again. The Johnnie defense held Clark for no gain on a third-and-short from the Oles' own 21, but Obarski boomed a 79-yard punt for a touchback. STO's Colin Brown forced an SJU fumble on third down and Clark took it over from 17 yards out on the next play. The extra point gave St. Olaf a 17-0 lead with 11:44 left in the second quarter.

Sophomore quarterback Ben Krebsbach (Plymouth, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) came off the bench to direct the Johnnies' next drive and hit Graboski for a 60-yard gain on third-and-two. SJU sputtered on the Oles' 11, however, and settled for a 31-yard field goal from Mattson.

Following a St. Olaf three-and-out, Krebsbach and Co. put together a 10-play, 78-yard scoring drive to cut the deficit to 17-10 with 1:25 left in the first half. Krebsbach hit Graboski for a 19-yard gain on third-and-18, ran for a seven-yard gain on fourth-and-two, and connected with junior tight end Wade Powers (Hawick, Minn./New London-Spicer) for a 31-yard touchdown on the drive.

Junior cornerback Bobby Fischer (Plymouth, Minn./Osseo) intercepted Dobson on the ensuing drive and returned it to the Oles' 37, but Krebsbach was intercepted by Nick Nazarian on third down.

SJU opened the second half with a six-play, 62-yard scoring drive that ended on a 27-yard touchdown run by Johnson to tie the game at 17-17.

Johnson gave SJU its first lead of the game with a six-yard scamper with 3:27 left in the third quarter. The Johnnies held St. Olaf to just 35 yards on four third-quarter drives. The Oles punted on their first five possessions of the second half and fumbled the sixth on a punt return that would have given STO the ball on the Johnnies' 34.

Dobson led St. Olaf on the game-tying drive, a nine plays for 64 yards, which ended on Clark's third touchdown of the game. He finished with 99 yards on 21 carries. Dobson ended the day 11 of 24 passing for 114 yards and an interception, and ran for 63 yards on 13 carries.

Krebsbach finished the afternoon five of 14 passing for 152 yards. He also added 29 yards on four carries. Junior linebacker Taylor Dammermann (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer) led the Johnnies with nine tackles (four solo).

Wes Lynch collected 18 tackles (12 solo), including 1.5 for a loss, for St. Olaf.

SJU out-gained the Oles 411-275 and held a 23-13 advantage in first downs. The two teams combined for nine turnovers on the afternoon.

With the win, SJU head coach John Gagliardi improves to 483-133-11 (.779) in 63 seasons overall and 459-127-10 (.779) in 59 seasons in Collegeville.

The Johnnies end their 2011 season at Hamline next Saturday, Nov. 5. Kickoff is scheduled for a 1 p.m. at Klas Field in St. Paul.

Notes: Johnson's 196 yards rushing are the most by a Johnnie since Mike Patnode ran for 230 at Carleton on Sept. 29, 2007…Mattson is now a perfect eight of eight in the field-goal department this season and 15-for-15 in his SJU career…the six turnovers are the most for the Johnnies since they committed six in the 34-27 loss to Coe (Iowa) in the NCAA Division III playoffs…the last time SJU turned the ball over six times or more and won the game was Nov. 23, 2002, vs. Redlands of California in the NCAA playoffs (SJU committed seven turnovers in the 31-24 win)…St. Olaf needs a win next Saturday against Concordia-Moorhead to finish ahead of SJU in the MIAC standings for the first time since 1978 (the Johnnies ended the 1986 season with a 4-4-1 record, while STO was 4-5; SJU shared the MIAC title with the Oles in 1979).