Box ScoreMINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Saint John's scored 17 unanswered points in the second half in a 24-7 win at Augsburg on Saturday, Nov. 1, in Minneapolis.
Junior running back
Sam Sura (South St. Paul, Minn.) accounted for 59 percent of SJU's offense with 170 yards on 31 carries, including 107 yards on 16 attempts in the first half alone, but fumbled three times in the game.
Junior wide receiver
Josh Bungum (Paynesville, Minn.) complemented Sura with 101 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries to post the Johnnies' first pair of 100-yard rushing performances, in the same game, since James Lehner (10-109-1TD) and Mike Lofboom (26-111-2TD) led SJU to a 38-13 win on Oct. 23, 2004, at Augsburg.
Augsburg (3-5, 2-4 MIAC) tallied the first touchdown of the game with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Ayrton Scott to Hunter Friesen with 2:28 left in the first quarter. The score capped a 14-play, 80-yard drive. The Auggies converted a third-and-10 and a fourth-and-eight on the drive.
Sura's second fumble of the game gave Augsburg prime real estate on the SJU 36. The Auggies avoided a three-and-out thanks to a defensive-holding penalty on third-and-14, but the SJU defense held strong, forcing Augsburg into a 36-yard field goal attempt that went wide left.
SJU (7-1, 5-1 MIAC) put together a 58-yard drive on the ensuing possession, but turned the ball over on downs on the Auggies' 22-yard line. The defense then did its part by forcing a three-and-out and the determined Johnnie offense tied the game at 7-7 with 51 seconds left in the first half. Bungum carried the ball on five straight plays before junior quarterback
Nick Martin (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) dove for two yards on fourth-and-two from the Augsburg 13. Bungum scored from 11 yards out on the very next play. The Johnnies out-gained Augsburg 124-15 in the second quarter.
Scott fumbled the snap on a fourth-and-three attempt on the first possession of the second half and the Johnnies capitalized. SJU put together a bruising 11-play, 34-yard scoring drive that ended on a 28-yard field goal from sophomore kicker
Alexi Johnson (Shakopee, Minn.) to give the visitors a 10-7 lead.
The Auggies picked up 22 yards on a fake punt (on fourth-and-six), but turned the ball over on downs on the SJU 12.
Sophomore safety
Lucas Glomb (Woodbury, Minn./Hill-Murray) intercepted Scott on a deep pass, on third-and-20, and returned it 59 yards down to the Auggies' 17. Martin connected with sophomore fullback
Zack Sundly (Harris, Minn./North Branch) for a six-yard touchdown pass, his lone completion of the day (1-for-6), to give SJU a 17-7 lead with 12:58 left in the game.
Augsburg turned the ball over on downs again, this time on the SJU 46, and the Johnnies answered with a 54-yard scoring drive that ended on a one-yard plunge from Bungum at the 1:52 mark of the fourth quarter.
SJU held the Auggies to 258 yards of offense, a 2-for-14 showing on third down and 3-for-6 on fourth down.
The Johnnies return home to host MIAC-leading Bethel (7-1, 6-0 MIAC) for a 1 p.m. kickoff next Saturday, Nov. 8, at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville.
Notes: The last time SJU passed for less than 20 yards in a game was in the 21-0 win at Concordia-Moorhead on Oct. 17, 1998 (four of nine for 18 yards)…Bungum's performance was SJU's first 100-yard rushing game by a "non-running back" since Blake Elliott's memorable 110 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries in the 24-6 win over Mount Union (Ohio) in the 2003 national-championship game.
