Box ScoreEAU CLAIRE, Wis. – Saint John's University junior running back
Sam Sura (South St. Paul, Minn.) ran for a school-record 281 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries (8.8 avg.) in the Johnnies' 31-7 win at Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Saturday, Sept. 13.
Sura surpassed the old record of 278 yards, set by Chris Moore '01 against Macalester on Sept. 18, 1999, with a 10-yard run in the third quarter. He left the game three plays later with the Johnnies ahead 31-0 and now has 449 yards and five touchdowns on 60 attempts (7.5 avg.) through the season's first two games.
SJU (2-0, 0-0 MIAC) set the tone with a goal-line stop early in the game. Eau Claire drove 59 yards into a first-and-goal situation from the four-yard line, but Johnnies stuffed the Blugolds to the tune of only two yards gained on four plays.
Pinned on their own one-yard line due to the turnover on downs, the Johnnies responded with a nine-play, 87-yard drive sparked by a 42-yard scamper from Sura. A 29-yard field goal from sophomore
Alexi Johnson (Shakopee, Minn.) put the visitors on the scoreboard, 3-0 with 2:16 left in the opening quarter.
SJU forced a three-and-out and found the end zone 52 seconds later on a 25-yard touchdown run from Sura. He accounted for 55 yards, on two carries, on the three-play scoring drive.
The Johnnies' defense forced another three-and-out and the result was the same, though this time sophomore
Antoine Taylor (Sherman Oaks, Calif./North Hollywood) carried it over from one yard out for his first collegiate touchdown. The seven-play, 58-yard scoring drive was sparked by a 47-yard run by Sura, who ran for 214 yards on 18 carries in the first half alone as SJU headed to the locker room with a 17-0 lead.
Sura scored from 16 yards out in the third quarter and a 28-yard touchdown pass from junior
Nick Martin (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) to sophomore wide receiver
Evan Clark (Phoenix, Ariz./Apollo) on third-and-eight made it 31-0 in favor of SJU entering the fourth quarter.
Eau Claire (0-2, 0-0 WIAC) erased the shutout with a touchdown run on fourth-and-goal from the one with 7:23 remaining.
Taylor spelled Sura and gained 41 yards with the touchdown on 12 carries. Martin finished the night six of 11 passing for 86 yards. Sophomore linebacker
Carter Hanson (Blue Earth, Minn.) led the SJU defense with seven solo tackles. Junior linebacker
Drake Matuska (Kasson, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville) added six solo tackles, including two for a loss, while senior defensive end
Matt Workman (Minneapolis, Minn./Holy Angels) and junior linebacker
Reid Bjorklund (South St. Paul, Minn.) tallied a quarterback sack each.
The Johnnies open conference play with a 1 p.m. kickoff against Concordia-Moorhead next Saturday, Sept. 20, at Clemens Stadium.
Notes: The Johnnies are now 30-12 all-time against opponents from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC): Eau Claire (10-6), La Crosse (5-1), River Falls (8-1), Stevens Point (2-0), Stout (2-0), Superior (2-1) and Whitewater (1-3)…Superior no longer offers football as a varsity sport…SJU is now 14-5 in its last 19 night games.
