Box Score | NCAA Selection Show (5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 16)

NORTHFIELD, Minn. – No. 13/14 Saint John's earned its first MIAC championship and NCAA Playoff berth since 2009 with a 26-6 win at St. Olaf on Saturday, Nov. 15, in snowy Northfield.

The title is SJU's MIAC-record 32nd and the postseason trip is the program's 25th (21st at the NCAA Division III level).

Postseason selections and the 32-team playoff bracket are scheduled to be released at 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16, on NCAA.com.

Junior running back Sam Sura (South St. Paul, Minn.) needed seven rushing yards to break SJU's single-season rushing record and finished with 136 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries for his school-record seventh consecutive 100-yard rushing game (ninth of the season). He registered 90 yards on 20 carries in the first half and did not play in the fourth quarter with SJU ahead 26-6. Sura now has 1,605 yards and 16 touchdowns on the year, eclipsing the previous record of 1,475 set by Tim Schmitz in national-championship season of 1976.

A forced fumble and recovery by sophomore linebacker Carter Hanson (Blue Earth, Minn.) gave SJU the ball on the Oles' 44-yard line late in the first quarter. Sura put SJU (9-1, 7-1 MIAC) on the scoreboard with a nine-yard touchdown run seven plays later with 1:16 left in the first quarter. 

Hanson recovered another fumble, this time on the Johnnies' own 32, with under five minutes left in the second half. Junior quarterback Nick Martin (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) hit junior wide receiver Josh Bungum (Paynesville, Minn.) for a 27-yard touchdown catch-and-run with 1:32 left before halftime.

Martin found Bungum again, this time from 17 yards out, in the back of the end zone 4:10 into the second half. Freshman kicker Alexi Johnson (Shakopee, Minn.) missed the extra point, ending his consecutive PAT streak at 38. Bungum ended the day with six catches for a season-high 94 yards and the two scores.

Sura scored his second touchdown of the day from 21 yards out with 3:55 left in the third quarter. Johnson extra-point attempt was blocked, leaving SJU's lead at 26-0.

St. Olaf (1-9, 1-7 MIAC) erased the shutout with a three-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal with 19 seconds left in the third quarter. Junior cornerback Trevor Warner (Murrieta, Calif./Vista Murrieta) blocked the extra point.

Martin ended the day 11 of 15 passing for 132 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Both interceptions were on deflections. Sophomore running back Antoine Taylor (Sherman Oaks, Calif./North Hollywood) spelled Sura with 66 yards on 13 carries.

Junior linebacker Reid Bjorklund (South St. Paul, Minn.) led the SJU defense, which held the Oles to 199 yards of offense and a 3-for-13 showing on third down, with seven tackles (four solo), including 1.5 tackles for a loss. Hanson added six tackles (three solo), including half a tackle for loss and the two fumble recoveries.