Box Score | Listen to Archived Game | Photos (Thomas Brossart)
MOORHEAD, Minn. – Saint John's stopped Concordia's Brett Baune a yard short of the goal line on fourth-and-goal to clinch a 28-21 overtime win on Saturday, Sept. 17, in Moorhead.
The victory is the 480th of head coach John Gagliardi's 63-year collegiate coaching career (480-130-11) and 456th in 59 seasons at SJU (456-124-10).
The Johnnies regained the lead on the first possession of overtime on a 14-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback John Ries (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) to senior wide receiver Brent Graboski (Woodbury, Minn.). Ries ended the day 21 of 25 passing for 207 yards and two touchdowns, both from 14 yards out to Graboski.
Both teams had opportunities to take control of the game. SJU failed to convert three fourth-down conversions, two of which were inside the Cobbers' 35-yard line, and threw an interception in the end zone. Concordia, meanwhile, was three of six inside the red zone and missed a 30-yard field goal for the lead with less than two minutes remaining.
The Johnnies (2-1, 1-0 MIAC) marched 69 yards on their first offensive possession, ending on a two-yard touchdown run by junior running back Stephen Johnson (Mahtomedi, Minn.) to take a 7-0 lead.
The Cobbers (2-1, 0-1 MIAC) tied the game on the ensuing drive on a three-yard pass from Michael Dunham to Bronson Shepherd.
The Johnnie offense, however, kept rolling on the next drive, this time going 60 yards on eight plays. The game's first Ries-to-Graboski connection put SJU back on top, 14-7.
Each team exchanged a pair of punts before Concordia put together a threat with four minutes left in the first half. The Cobbers started on their own 12 and cruised down to the Johnnies' 20 on 11 plays. On second-and-10, junior Bobby Fischer (Plymouth, Minn./Osseo) jumped in front of an errant Dunham pass and returned it 85 yards for an SJU touchdown to increase the visitor's lead to 21-7. The interception, which was the first of Fischer's collegiate career, tied for the fourth longest in school history.
A squib kick gave Concordia the ball on its own 46 and a hook-and-ladder play on first down brought it down to the Johnnies' 18-yard line. Porfirio Diaz made a 32-yard field goal to make it 21-10 in favor of SJU at the half.
The Johnnies turned the ball over on downs and threw an interception in the end zone on the second half's first three possessions. In the meantime, Diaz made his second field goal of the game, this time from 33 yards out, and the Cobbers took advantage of the second turnover on downs early in the fourth quarter. Concordia moved 67 yards on nine plays, ending with a 26-yard touchdown run by Baune on third-and-three to tie the game at 21-21. Baune ended the afternoon with 147 yards rushing on 27 carries.
SJU was forced into a three-and-out on the next possession and Concordia rode the momentum 54 yards, milking five minutes off the clock, all the way down to the SJU 13-yard line. Diaz's third field-goal attempt, however, came up short into the wind.
Ries led the Johnnies to midfield but was sacked on fourth-and-1 with 11 seconds left in regulation.
Concordia won the overtime coin toss and elected defense first, giving SJU the ball on the 25. Sophomore Nick Schneider (Rockville, Minn./Rocori) pounded away with gains of 5, 12 and two yards before Ries was sacked for the fifth time of the game. On third-and-goal from the 14, Ries hit Graboski for the go-ahead touchdown.
The Cobbers' Trent Johnson gained 19 yards on the home team's first offensive play of overtime, but the SJU defense tightened up the rest of the way. Baune gained two yards on first-and-goal, but was stuffed for no gain on second down. Dunham completed a one-yard pass on third down before Baune was stopped short by juniors Taylor Dammermann (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer) and Ben Hillman (Duluth, Minn./East) on what proved to be the game's final play.
Ries posted the Johnnies' third-best single-game completion percentage (.840, 21-25) in school history. Schneider led the Johnnies with 92 yards on 21 carries. Schneider and Johnson combined for 186 yards from scrimmage in the contest. Dammermann led the defense with 14 tackles (two solo), while Hillman added 11 stops (four solo), including two for a loss and 1.5 sacks.
Dunham was 11 of 25 passing for 174 yards and added 33 yards on the ground. His favorite target, Shepherd, grabbed eight passes for 106 yards. Peter Hvidston led the Concordia defense with 14 tackles (seven solo).
Notes: The overtime game was the seventh in SJU history (4-3 record)…the last time SJU failed to convert all three of its fourth-down conversions was Sept. 6, 2008 (vs. East Texas Baptist)…the Johnnies have now won eight consecutive games at Jake Christiansen Stadium…the last Cobber win against SJU at home occurred Oct. 25, 1986 (17-14)…SJU stopped Concordia on fourth-and-goal from the two-yard line with just over a minute left in the 14-12 win on Sept. 23, 2006, in Moorhead...SJU is now 61-22-7 (.717) all-time in the MIAC opener, including a 48-10-1 (.822) record under the direction of Gagliardi...the Johnnies are 31-14-3 (.677) on the road, with a 24-5-1 (.817) mark under the direction of Gagliardi...SJU is now 12-5 in the conference opener following a non-conference loss, including a 9-3 mark under Gagliardi (losses in 1968, 1983 and 2001).
