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NORTHFIELD, Minn. – A week after falling to Concordia-Moorhead on its Homecoming Day, Saint John's returned the favor with a 31-0 shutout of St. Olaf on Saturday, Oct. 5, in Northfield.
The Johnnies (4-1, 2-1 MIAC) out-gained the Oles 517-204, including a 239-32 margin on the ground, and posted a 24-6 advantage in first downs.
SJU found the scoreboard first on a 10-yard touchdown pass from senior Connor Bruns (Baltimore, Md./Loyola Blakefield) to junior Rob Voshell (Sartell, Minn./Sartell-St. Stephen) with 2:34 left in the first quarter. The score capped an 11-play, 60-yard scoring drive.
Following a St. Olaf (1-4, 0-3 MIAC) three-and-out, freshman Jakob Certeza (Temecula, Calif./Great Oak) ran for 56 yards down to the STO seven-yard line on first down. Bruns hit sophomore Josh Bungum (Paynesville, Minn.) for a seven-yard touchdown pass on the next play to give SJU a 14-0 lead with 44 seconds left in the opening quarter.
The Johnnies moved 53 yards on six plays into a first-and-goal situation from the Oles' eight-yard line, following another three-and-out, but had to settle for a 22-yard field goal from freshman Alexi Johnson (Shakopee, Minn.) with 10:35 left in the second quarter. The Johnnies gained 160 yards rushing on 23 carries (7.0 avg.) in the first half alone.
Sophomore Sam Sura (South St. Paul, Minn.) scored from one yard out with 2:42 left in the third quarter to give SJU a 24-0 lead. The play capped a seven-play, 70-yard drive that included completions of 19, 24 and 19 yards by Bruns.
Bruns ended the scoring for SJU with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Voshell, his third touchdown reception in the last two games, with 3:43 remaining. The drive covered 80 yards on 13 plays and burned 8:09 off the fourth-quarter clock.
Certeza recorded his first collegiate 100-yard rushing game, in his first start, with 114 yards on 14 carries. He also gained 37 yards on two catches. The 100-yard rushing performance is the first by an SJU freshman since Stephen Johnson '13 ran for 101 yards on 24 carries in the NCAA-playoff loss to Coe (Iowa) on Nov. 21, 2009, in Collegeville.
Sura fell two yards short of his first 100-yard rushing performance with 98 yards and a touchdown on 21 attempts. He has 306 yards on 72 carries (4.2 avg.) this fall. Last season's leading rusher, the aforementioned Johnson, gained 469 yards on 127 attempts in 10 games.
Bruns ended the day 24 of 34 passing for 278 yards and three touchdowns, his first three-touchdown passing performance since Nov. 12, 2011, at Hamline (W, 61-0). Coincidentally, that game was also the Johnnies' last shutout victory.
Bungum became the 28th Johnnie in school history to eclipse the 1,000-yard plateau with 10 catches for 73 yards Saturday. He now has 89 receptions for 1,055 yards in 15 career games, and leads the MIAC in catches (47) and receiving yards (480) through five games this fall.
Voshell caught eight passes for 116 yards, the second 100-yard performance of his Johnnie career, and two touchdowns. He is now second on the team with 13 receptions for 180 yards and three touchdowns in his last two games, his first two of the season after fracturing his ulna Sept. 1.
Junior linebacker Andrew Rose (Stillwater, Minn.) led SJU with seven tackles (six solo), including a sack. SJU registered eight tackles for a loss and two sacks, while holding STO to a 2-for-11 showing on third down.
The Johnnies converted 10 of their 17 third-down opportunities but were 1-for-4 on fourth down. SJU turned the ball over on downs three times inside the Oles' 30-yard line in the game, from the 25- (second quarter), 27- (third quarter) and 11-yard lines (fourth quarter).
SJU returns home to host Augsburg for Family Weekend next Saturday, Oct. 12. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville.
Notes: The shutout is the first for the Johnnies over St. Olaf since Oct. 31, 1998, in Northfield (W, 35-0)…the six first downs allowed is the lowest total by an SJU opponent since Hamline mustered only three in the 56-7 SJU win on Oct. 21, 2006, in Collegeville…SJU is now 38-14-1 all-time against the Oles, including a 23-5 record since 1986…Bruns passed Dennis Schleper (1979-82) for ninth in school history in career pass attempts, and now has 443, 59 behind Ross Denne (1999-02)…he is also ninth in career pass completions with 254, 35 behind Pat Mayew (1988-91)…Bruns needs 207 passing yards to pass Willie Seiler (1990-93) and crack the Johnnies' all-time passing list in 10th.
