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-Bruns & Bungum (0:36)

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's jumped out to a 17-0 lead and held on for a 17-14 win over Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Saturday, Sept. 14, in a rain-soaked Collegeville.

The two teams combined for nine turnovers in the game, none bigger than an Eau Claire fumble on the Johnnies' 14 yard line with just over a minute to play. SJU (2-0, 0-0 MIAC) fumbled two punt returns, turned the ball over on downs on the Blugolds' three-yard line, fumbled on the UWEC three-yard line early in the fourth quarter, and had an interception called back due to a roughing the passer penalty.

Sophomore wide receiver Josh Bungum (Paynesville, Minn.) caught eight passes for 158 yards, including an 84-yard touchdown in the second quarter, and added 27 yards on the ground. Senior quarterback Connor Bruns (Baltimore, Md./Loyola Blakefield) threw for 236 yards (15 of 29 passing) and senior running back Jake Essler (New London, Minn./New London-Spicer) added 66 yards on 18 carries.

Eau Claire running back Joel Sweeney carried the ball 43 times for 266 yards and two touchdowns, the second-most yardage by an opponent in SJU history. The Johnnies, however, held UWEC quarterback Mark Munger to just 4-for-17 passing, intercepted two passes and posted four sacks.

The announced crowd of 7,491 witnessed an interesting first quarter in which UWEC held the ball for 10:48. The Blugolds gained a free possession on a muffed punt return but missed a 34-yard field goal. UWEC's Cody Taubman intercepted a tipped pass from Bruns and returned it to the Johnnies' seven-yard line three plays later. On third-and-goal, junior Matt Workman (Minneapolis, Minn./Holy Angels) helped stand up running back Mitch Olson on the one-yard line and ripped the ball loose, projecting it out to senior Dylan Graves (Mora, Minn.) at the seven-yard line.

SJU responded with a 15-play, 93-yard drive that ended on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Bruns to senior Blake Belland (Chaska, Minn.), on fourth-and-seven.

A 37-yard kick return and personal foul set up UWEC in good position to answer, but senior Darryl Williams (Hawthorne, Calif./Verbum Dei) sacked Munger on fourth-and-five from the 15 and forced a fumble.

The Johnnies marched down to the one-yard line, highlighted by a 25-yard run from Bungum, but were forced to settle with a 24-yard field goal from freshman Alexi Johnson (Shakopee, Minn.) to make it 10-0.

The Blugolds went three-and-out, but punter/linebacker Scott Burzynski picked up the first down on a fake punt. An illegal block, however, brought the play back and forced the visitors to punt.

On third-and-five, Bruns hit a wide-open Bungum for an 84-yard touchdown with 1:38 left in the first half.

The second half belonged to Sweeney and a handful of SJU blunders. The 6-foot-1, 249-pound tailback posted 195 yards on 24 carries, an average of 8.1 yards per attempt, and two touchdowns in the second half alone.

SJU, meanwhile, ventured to the UWEC three-yard line on two drives and left with no points, fumbled another punt return and had a 37-yard field-goal attempt blocked.

Following the blocked field goal, Sweeney moved the chains for four first downs, 60 yards total on nine carries, before Olson fumbled following a four-yard gain on the SJU 14-yard line. Sophomore Sam Sura (South St. Paul, Minn.) sealed the win on a nine-yard gain that moved the chains and enabled SJU to run out the clock. Sura finished the game with 42 yards on four carries.

Sophomore Reid Bjorklund (South St. Paul, Minn.) led the SJU defense with 12 tackles (six solo) and two fumble recoveries. Junior Andrew Rose (Stillwater, Minn.)_ followed with 11 tackles (five solo), including one for a loss and the game-saving forced fumble. Sophomores Blake Bellefeuille (Sartell, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral) and Drake Matuska (Kasson, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville) added nine tackles apiece. Bellefeuille posted two sacks.

Senior Nolan Lortz (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech), making his first start at free safety, and junior Andrew Norri (Virginia, Minn.) added an interception each. Norri also had a third-quarter interception called back due to a penalty.

The two teams combined for an 11-for-30 showing on third down and 3-for-10 in the red zone.

The Johnnies open MIAC play at No. 2 St. Thomas (2-0, 0-0 MIAC) next Saturday, Sept. 21. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. at O'Shaughnessy Stadium in St. Paul.

Notes: The win is SJU's 500th (500-150-10) in the modern era (since 1946)…the .765 winning percentage since 1946 is the best across all divisions of college football…Ricky Gales of Simpson (Iowa) holds the opponent rushing record with 51 carries for 389 yards on Nov. 18, 1989…the Johnnies are now 28-12 all-time against opponents from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC): Wisconsin-Eau Claire (9-6), Wisconsin-La Crosse (5-1), Wisconsin-River Falls (7-1), Wisconsin-Stevens Point (2-0), Wisconsin-Stout (2-0), Wisconsin-Superior (2-1) and Wisconsin-Whitewater (1-3)…Superior no longer offers football as a varsity sport…despite a 585-237-24 all-time record (.706) in 103 seasons, the Johnnies are now without a loss through the season's first two games for only the 55th time.